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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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Melissa Barrera Says ‘Scary Movie VI’ Would Be “Fun To Do”

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Melissa Barrera might literally get the last laugh on Spyglass thanks to a possible Scary Movie sequel. Paramount and Miramax are seeing the right opportunity to bring the satirical franchise back into the fold and announced last week one might be in production as early as this fall.

The last chapter of the Scary Movie franchise was almost a decade ago and since the series lampoons thematic horror movies and pop culture trends, it would seem they have a lot of content to draw ideas from, including the recent reboot of slasher series Scream.

Barerra, who starred as final girl Samantha in those movies was abruptly fired from the latest chapter, Scream VII, for expressing what Spyglass interpreted as “antisemitism,” after the actress came out in support of Palestine on social media.

Even though the drama wasn’t a laughing matter, Barrera might get her chance to parody Sam in Scary Movie VI. That is if the opportunity arises. In an interview with Inverse, the 33-year-old actress was asked about Scary Movie VI, and her reply was intriguing.

“I always loved those movies,” the actress told Inverse. “When I saw it announced, I was like, ‘Oh, that would be fun. That would be so fun to do.’”

That “fun to do” part could be construed as a passive pitch to Paramount, but that’s open to interpretation.

Just like in her franchise, Scary Movie also has a legacy cast including Anna Faris and Regina Hall. There is no word yet on if either of those actors will appear in the reboot. With or without them, Barrera is still a fan of the comedies. “They have the iconic cast that did it, so we’ll see what goes on with that. I’m just excited to see a new one,” she told the publication.

Barrera is currently celebrating the box office success of her latest horror movie Abigail.

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Thrills and Chills: Ranking ‘Radio Silence’ Films from Bloody Brilliant to Just Bloody

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Radio Silence Films

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella are all filmmakers under the collective label called Radio Silence. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are the primary directors under that moniker while Villella produces.

They have gained popularity over the past 13 years and their films have become known as having a certain Radio Silence “signature.” They are bloody, usually contain monsters, and have breakneck action sequences. Their recent film Abigail exemplifies that signature and is perhaps their best film yet. They are currently working on a reboot of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York.

We thought we would go through the list of projects they have directed and rank them from high to low. None of the movies and shorts on this list are bad, they all have their merits. These rankings from top to bottom are just ones we felt showcased their talents the best.

We didn’t include movies they produced but didn’t direct.

#1. Abigail

An update to the second film on this list, Abagail is the natural progression of Radio Silence’s love of lockdown horror. It follows in pretty much the same footsteps of Ready or Not, but manages to go one better — make it about vampires.

Abigail

#2. Ready or Not

This film put Radio Silence on the map. While not as successful at the box office as some of their other films, Ready or Not proved that the team could step outside their limited anthology space and create a fun, thrilling, and bloody adventure-length film.

Ready or Not

#3. Scream (2022)

While Scream will always be a polarizing franchise, this prequel, sequel, reboot — however you want to label it showed just how much Radio Silence knew the source material. It wasn’t lazy or cash-grabby, just a good time with legendary characters we love and new ones who grew on us.

Scream (2022)

#4 Southbound (The Way Out)

Radio Silence tosses their found footage modus operandi for this anthology film. Responsible for the bookend stories, they create a terrifying world in their segment titled The Way Out, which involves strange floating beings and some sort of time loop. It’s kind of the first time we see their work without a shaky cam. If we were to rank this entire film, it would remain at this position on the list.

Southbound

#5. V/H/S (10/31/98)

The film that started it all for Radio Silence. Or should we say the segment that started it all. Even though this isn’t feature-length what they managed to do with the time they had was very good. Their chapter was titled 10/31/98, a found-footage short involving a group of friends who crash what they think is a staged exorcism only to learn not to assume things on Halloween night.

V/H/S

#6. Scream VI

Cranking up the action, moving to the big city and letting Ghostface use a shotgun, Scream VI turned the franchise on its head. Like their first one, this film played with canon and managed to win over a lot of fans in its direction, but alienated others for coloring too far outside the lines of Wes Craven’s beloved series. If any sequel was showing how the trope was going stale it was Scream VI, but it managed to squeeze some fresh blood out of this nearly three-decade mainstay.

Scream VI

#7. Devil’s Due

Fairly underrated, this, Radio Silence’s first feature-length film, is a sampler of things they took from V/H/S. It was filmed in an omnipresent found footage style, showcasing a form of possession, and features clueless men. Since this was their first bonafide major studio job it’s a wonderful touchstone to see how far they have come with their storytelling.

Devil’s Due

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Perhaps the Scariest, Most Disturbing Series of The Year

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You may have never heard of Richard Gadd, but that will probably change after this month. His mini-series Baby Reindeer just hit Netflix and it’s a terrifying deep dive into abuse, addiction, and mental illness. What is even scarier is that it’s based on Gadd’s real-life hardships.

The crux of the story is about a man named Donny Dunn played by Gadd who wants to be a stand-up comedian, but it’s not working out so well thanks to stage fright stemming from his insecurity.

One day at his day job he meets a woman named Martha, played to unhinged perfection by Jessica Gunning, who is instantly charmed by Donny’s kindness and good looks. It doesn’t take long before she nicknames him “Baby Reindeer” and begins to relentlessly stalk him. But that is just the apex of Donny’s problems, he has his own incredibly disturbing issues.

This mini-series should come with a lot of triggers, so just be warned it is not for the faint of heart. The horrors here don’t come from blood and gore, but from physical and mental abuse that go beyond any physiological thriller you may have ever seen.

“It’s very emotionally true, obviously: I was severely stalked and severely abused,” Gadd said to People, explaining why he changed some aspects of the story. “But we wanted it to exist in the sphere of art, as well as protect the people it’s based on.”

The series has gained momentum thanks to positive word-of-mouth, and Gadd is getting used to the notoriety.

“It’s clearly struck a chord,” he told The Guardian. “I really did believe in it, but it’s taken off so quickly that I do feel a bit windswept.”

You can stream Baby Reindeer on Netflix right now.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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