Poor, poor Brian Yuzna. He has been mired in crap for most of his career -one that has, not so illustriously, spanned over two decades- and ask anybody if they've seen a Yuzna film and they will most likely say: "Uh...Who?" Well, I'm glad you asked: I'm sure you've seen 1985's Re-Animator, which he produced, and maybe you bothered to check out 1990's Bride of Re-Animator, which he directed, and did you see 2003's Beyond Re-Animator, again with him as director? Well, probably not but if you've seen the first two, you may as well complete the trilogy. Actually, scratch that, because it seems Mr. Yuzna is not adverse to beating dead horses and 2010 will see House of Re-Animator, reuniting the director of the original film with the franchise and starring William H. Macy as "The President of the United States" (?!?). Ok, well, if you haven't seen any of the Re-Animator films, maybe you saw 1996's The Dentist -the Corbin Bernsen classic- or 1998's cleverly titled The Dentist 2: Brace Yourself - again with Bernsen, who one must assume either needs the money, has plain given up or is still choking on that fat L.A Law cash from the 80s. Yuzna's had his hand in many of the films that graced the horror shelves at your local video rental outlet when you were a kid and currently, most of his films hang out in discount bins located right next to your nearest supermarket checkout line. So, yeah, poor Brian Yuzna but maybe not, as he could be completely happy with the low-budget swill he makes. For every Steven Spielberg there are 100 Uwe Boll's. I'm sure there are those who would laugh in the face of Hollywood if ever presented with the opportunity of a crossover and gladly continue making their mark on the ever expanding and illuminating Pumpkinhead series. So while Yuzna is cooling his heels making tour-de-force films like Rottweiler, his directorial debut should not be buried underneath the pile.
I originally came across his 1989 film Society because of, ahem, The Young and the Restless. I used be quite the Y&R fan - my insanity included looking up character bios, taping shows I missed, and reading, not posting!, forum posts from fellow fans. So one day last year I was wondering who is this Ben Hollander guy in Genoa City? and promptly checked out who this guy was. The guy playing Jack's campaign manager was Billy Warlock, a guy who made a career out of playing one dimensional studs in General Hospital, Days of our Lives and Baywatch. This guy struck me as just another loser and I'm sure he actually still is, so God knows why I went clicking around his filmography. I'm sure it was just to check to see if this guy's movies sucked as bad as his television career and this time wasting search is what lead me to Society.
This movie is perhaps one of the most disturbing things I have ever watched, which is saying a lot considering the sort of movies I give first, second, infinite chances to. The film concerns the isolation a young man named Bill Whitney (Warlock) feels from his friends and family. He is wealthy, popular and dating a cheerleader, which gets him accepted but still he can't seem to shake the feeling that something is a little off with those around him. After his sister's ex, one of the last of the "normals", gives him a tape of what appears to be his family engaging in a murderous, sex orgy, his world is quickly turned into an incredibly surreal, paranoid nightmare.
The film was released in 1989 in Europe but not until 1992 in the United States. In a 1999 interview, Yuzna stated:
"I think Europeans are more willing to accept the ideas that are in a movie.That's why for example Society did really well in Europe and in the US did nothing, where it was a big joke. And I think it's because they responded to the ideas in there. I was totally having fun with them, but they are there nonetheless."
I am assuming this is because Americans either didn't get or didn't appreciate the whole Wall Street "Greed is Good" satire going on within the film. Perhaps 1992 was "too-soon" to consider just how the excess of the 1980s shaped and blow torched the society we know today. Regardless, it is so obvious that high society is the brunt of the joke here and, much like in the films of Luis Bunuel, it ain't subtle. The culmination of all the mystery, the frustration and the anticipation is within the last scene of the film, which must really be seen to be believed. All the stops are pulled out here, clearly indicating that this is where the majority of the modest budget was invested. It is a sickening scene to watch but insanely fun and never unnecessary.
As far as I know the film is still being distributed in Europe and in the UK through Tartan -the 2002/2004 DVD released by Starz and Anchor Bay, respectively, are out of print- but the Internet is a resourceful tool, my friend. Either download via torrent (I recommend Cinemageddon) or find it used on Amazon or Ebay. It is most definitely worth it.
