I was hoping to catch Society at a recent Grimm Up North
screening but I unfortunately missed it because of work. Luckily, a guy at work
is a huge horror fan and lent me a DVD copy. What intrigued me about the film
was that it has been described as ‘a minor classic in the body horror
sub-genre’. Regular readers might know that I’m not a huge horror fan but I do
enjoy a bit of crazy, no holds barred body horror from time to time. Give me a
film in which a man punches through another man’s stomach until his fist comes
out of his mouth before turning him inside out and I’m there!
For much of its runtime Society plays as a kind of 1980s soap
opera crossed with a soft-core erotic thriller and the first hour provides
nothing beyond a bit of intrigue and laughter at the 80s hair and poor
dialogue. The final half hour though is some of the weirdest stuff I’ve seen on
screen and makes up for the poor opening. Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) is a
rich kid who attends Beverly
Hills Academy
and lives at home with his parents and Sister Jenny (Patrice Jennings). For
some reason Bill feels like he doesn’t fit in and starts to wonder if he’s even
related to the family who are showing signs of unusual behaviour.
