50
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- The first two-thirds of Brian Yuzna's Society are admittedly lackluster. Starring Billy Warlock as Bill Whitney, the Beverly Hills-set tale of a rich kid beginning to distrust the world he grew up in takes more than an hour to figure out its footing. But once that happens, Society assumes an unshakable vise-grip that's nearly impossible to look away from.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleThe real power of Society lies in its bizarre, twisted human monsters and its metaphoric message that misfits and nonconformists will be eaten alive by society. The film depicts that, literally. [20 Aug 1992, p.E4]
- 60Los Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonLos Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonNo one who sees the last half-hour of this movie will ever forget it--though quite a few may want to.
- 60Time OutNigel FloydTime OutNigel FloydFirst-time director Yuzna is happier with the sly humour and clever plot shifts than with the appropriately iconic but sometimes dramatically unconvincing cast. He nevertheless generates a compelling sense of paranoid unease, and shifts into F/X overdrive for an unforgettable horror finale.
- More ambitious than the usual low-budget horror item, SOCIETY doesn't develop its provocative idea--when the rich feed off the lower classes, they do so literally--to the fullest, but has its share of intriguing and chilly moments along the way.
- 50Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenSociety never entirely decides whether it’s a plot-centric horror-mystery or an imagistic fantasy; the film’s self-conscious emptiness drains the incestuous conceit of its shock value, defanging a nervy gross-out.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttYuzna appears to be searching for jokes in every scene. The high-key lighting and bright sets also seem geared to comedy. But since he lacks a true comic script, he comes up with mostly dead air. [28 Feb 1992]
- 20Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovIt comes across as yet another in a long line of poorly produced horror/paranoia bloodbaths, short on everything except cheesy effects.