First Time Watching: "Society"

In this latest installment of "First Time Watching" I view the film Society.


Society was a film that I was eagerly awaiting the Blu-ray release of because the film has a sizable cult following and status which made me interested in checking it out. I was excited to see such an awesome release from Arrow Video. Because I have heard a lot of good things about the film my expectations was slowly rising. Unfortunately, for the most part the film was unable to match my heightened expectations, but that is more because I was expecting a great film rather than the solid film that it was.

The film follows Bill (Billy Warlock) as he navigates the Beverly Hills landscape with a constant feeling of uneasiness. He feels like he doesn't belong and his feelings start to become reality as he uncovers more information about his family and friends. The mystery of the film is slowly and efficiently unraveled as Bill becomes more unsure of his belonging among the people that surround him.

The film has a pretty strong premise but the execution was a little weak. In particular it had a layer of cheesiness that bogged down the social aspects that they were hinting at in the film. As a result it made the film feel dated and it slightly obscured the thought provoking aspects of the film. With better acting, improved writing, and stronger direction this film could have been great. As it stands now it is a solid film with a decent story and a lot of potential. I have a feeling that at the time this film was made the social commentary of the film might have been a little more effective. Also the film has a lot of cheesiness and the juxtaposition between that and serious ideas make the ideas a little less effective.

While the film is definitely not perfect, it does do some things right. The slow ride of unraveling the mystery of the film was pretty effect. It kept me interested in the film despite some of the lesser aspects of the film. The most well done and well known aspect of this film is the special effects. The  crazy gross special effects that take over the final part of the film were very well done. It seemed like practically the whole film was setting up for the over the top special effect event at the end of the film and they were able to deliver.

In the end my initial impression is that Society is a solid film with a lot of potential. Unfortunately not all of that potential is realized because of some weak acting, scripting, and direction. However the special effects were able to make up for some of that. The best thing I can say about the film is that I am interested in watching it again and seeing if I enjoy the film more.