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Every Horror Fan Must Watch 1989’s ‘Society’ At Least Once

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If you’ve been watching horror films for a while, you’ve undoubtedly seen your share of strange ones. But one of the strangest and most bizarre is also one that is often overlooked. To the initiated, you may have already guessed where I’m going with this. One word: Society.

Brian Yuzna’s 1989 directorial debut is the cream of the crop of bizarre horror films. It’s unsettling, campy, but most of all, gooey. How many films can you describe as gooey? That, in my book, is a victory in itself.

In Society, Yuzna attempts to make a statement about the wealthy in America. Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said that “When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.” However, Rousseau was not alive during the end of the 19th century, and filmmakers like Yuzna had come to think the opposite.

The film is about the Whitney family, but more specifically, Bill (Billy Warlock). His family is obscenely wealthy – excessive, plastic, and phony – and Bill feels completely out of place. He feels like he doesn’t belong in the family, which leads to him considering the fact that he may be adopted. His sister, Jenny (Patrice Jennings) seems to have an incestuous relationship with their parents – and maybe a sexual one with the entire group of wealthy homeowners in their neighborhood. Whatever it is, it’s not right, and it’s taking a toll on Billy’s mental health.

When begins as an odd mystery film with tinges of horror reminiscent of David Lynch eventually swallows itself whole and regurgitates itself, giving birth to the most insane thirty minutes of cinema that I have personally ever seen. It’s not particularly gory, but it absolutely is disgusting. It feels much like a Cronenberg film that’s gone completely off the rails to the point of no return – and, on that note, I applaud the film for doing just that. Once it gets weird, you’re stuck with it.

 

The mystery of the sexual relationship is revealed in a way that is much more surreal than Billy could have ever imagined. There’s a wealthy orgy going on, alright, and Billy finds this out in the worst of ways. As it turns out, it’s not that Billy is adopted – it’s simply that Billy and his family are different species.

I would love to say that the movie works well in both areas of the story – the mystery and the strangeness of the ultimate, shocking reveal – but speaking honestly, the shock factor heavily outweighs any of the serious aspects of the film. The acting isn’t particularly earth-shattering and the storyline is so predictable that I don’t even think it’s possible to spoil anything, but the end sequence (which is called “the shunting”) is almost indescribable in terms of gross weirdness. And while it may seem funny, there’s something extremely disturbing about this movie. Bodies are contorted and bended and melted and stretched in ways that defies logic. If the imagery doesn’t make you even a bit squeamish, you should probably see a therapist.

The goal of this article isn’t so much to analyze Society as it is to simply educate you on why you need to see it. Simply put, it will test the limits of just how much strange you can handle in a film. I won’t spoil what exactly happens – that would take the fun out of watching the movie, wouldn’t it? – but I can beg. I can plead. You need to watch Society. You need to know just how weird horror can get. If for nothing else, Yuzna’s film deserves a watch because of Screaming Mad George. Yes, that’s in the credits. Look it up if you don’t believe me.

So go ahead. Put it in your queue. Rent it, or borrow and old copy from a friend. Whatever you do, just find a way to get your hands on it…but be careful not to get too close.

I mean, where else are you going to be able to find a talking ass like this?

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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