Purely Joyful Movie!

Fantastic!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

A wonderful little horror flick and directorial debut from Brian Yuzna (who had produced Re-Animator and From Beyond by this point). It really is the subject matter and its delivery that make this film so great.Bill Whitney (basketball star and great debater) played by Billy Warlock is seeing a shrink, because he has these thoughts and visions about his family and believes something's amiss. We the viewer are with Bill on his journey unlocking the mysteries of this secret society. Right to the end involving some wonderful old school effects from Screaming Mad George (love that name!) which are pretty cool.Looking on imdb I see screenwriters Rick Fry and Woody Keith also co-wrote Yuzna's Bride of the Re-Animator as well.Highly recommended and if you do check it out hopefully you will not be displeased by this 1989 horror flick.

I remember watching this film in the early 90's while I was well underage of the certification and it stuck with me, occasionally having nightmares about people being pulled inside out. I've watched it many times since and still love the film although I don't have those childish nightmares nowadays. Billy Warlock plays Billy Whitney, a product of the social elite in upper-class Beverley Hills, America. People have been treating him like crap his whole life, like he's not part of the "in-crowd", he slowly starts to get suspicious that not everything is as it seems. Sit back and watch far out 80's horror which despite the visual assault delivers a firm message about class differences which is as relevant today as it was when the film was made. OK, so the acting is a little ham at times, and maybe the OTT gore looks a little dated now but this film still packs a punch and stands out as one of the more random but cult films of the 80's. Incest, cannibalism, comedy, sexual perversions, gore, horror, and shoulderpads. This is a great film, I definitely recommend this if you haven't seen it and like your films nutter than a peanut butter sandwich sprinkled with hazelnuts. Enjoy.

They made some movies with serious balls in the eighties, man. And this is one of them.The movie's basically a vicious, over-the-top satire of what I think many people are afraid is secretly going on with those at the top tiers of society: a covert culture of unimaginable depravity, perversity, exploitation, and soul-annihilating sociopathy. Kind of like Eyes Wide Shut. And that this Hell on earth going on behind the facade of these majestic mansions is, in some mysterious alchemical way, what keeps them on top.The plot is driven by this popular kid from an expensive Beverly Hills neighborhood who is obsessed with his fear that everyone in his life is not what they seem. And based on what we see, this actually looks like it's true: his family is wooden and distant, and all his "friends" appear to regard him with veiled contempt -- except the two whom his parents openly dislike, of course.After a series of events which gradually make his world seem more suspicious, it turns out that he was adopted into this family for the sole purpose of being a human sacrifice at one of their parties.After witnessing one of his friends basically getting turned into a tapestry of mangled flesh, and witnessing bizarre body mutations, he escapes with the help of his other friend -- which seems a bit unlikely, given how cunning and powerful that "Society" was portrayed as being. But I guess they needed to tack on a happy ending.But damn, though -- the movie symbolically taps into a LOT of effed-up things that one's innermost heart fears is going on in secret.Like his high school debate for class president. What appeared at first to be the unpopular nerd vs. the popular athlete was really a fixed game where both sides were completely controlled by the same force... Like how I feel about every presidential election.Or the fact that in the end, which one of his friends gets "sacrificed?" The relatively fat and unattractive one. It makes you think. Why do I just accept that as a movie cliché? Are we, on some level, just like the awful Society that frivolously ruins and desecrates whom they regard as "inferior"? Would we enjoy doing the same if we were born into such a high caste? Is this Society, at the end of the day, just the natural order of things? very disquieting.Another symbol that I think most only see the surface of are the surreal body mutations. In the end, the part where the protagonist witnesses his poor friend (who happens to be Jewish... not sure what that means) gets turned into a huge elastic abomination while getting fisted and eaten. It's not just weird, man, it MEANS something. It could be: -hallucinations brought on by the trauma of seeing your friend get murdered -and this is the scariest thing: it's simply the closest visual metaphor we can get for the unimaginably, appallingly sadistic thing they do to people as part of their ritual. I think it's something like eating their soul, not just raping someone but forcing your way into their deepest being and chewing it up like a damned wad of bubblegum before discarding it, leaving the person an utterly devastated wreck.That's some ballsy sh*t, man. And SCARY. There's like, more going on in the heavens and the earth than we know. Some genius said that once. I appreciate this movie for being the few that makes me feel that way.

Bill's family seems to be a tad off. He feels excommunicated from his family, and doesn't feel like he belongs. He sees a shrink who tells him that what he's going through is perfectly natural, and it's all in his head. With the help of a friend named Milo. Bill uncovers some heinous secrets about his family. I had one thought pop into my head when this movie ended. "What the F did I just watch?!" Subsequently, another commenced right after that one. "What a damn good horror film" Any movie that is ubiquitously in my head throughout the duration of the movie's running time is doing the job very efficiently. This movie is filled with things that you didn't even think was possible. I'm talking things that even the most psychotic people couldn't even conjure up. Think of a very bad nightmare, only MUCH worse. You know what the frightening thing is? The culprit isn't behind metal bars in a prison, or in any type of institution. Brian Yuzna is the culprit, and he's somewhat of a famous director (!) Yuzna does a wonderful job with top notch character development. He makes sure to slow burn you with a build-up that makes sure to take it's time. We aren't sure at first if our hero Bill really is going mad, or if his family is off their rocker like he insists. It's a very smart mystery that lasts until the inconceivable finale. The acting is actually very solid, considering the relatively unknown nature of the cast. Billy Warlock is solid for the most part. He has a couple off moments, but he improves constantly as the film goes along, especially in the second half. He goes from a paranoiac to someone on the brink of insanity in the second half. He conveyed his emotions pretty well. He was quite sympathetic. Evan Richards is decent as Bill's best friend. Devin DeVasquez is hotter than donut grease. I don't care if she was one of "them" I wouldn't hesitate to do it with her. She was actually pretty likable as well, and does some unexpectedly helpful things near the end that actually had me rooting for her. Patrice Jennings is definitely hot as Warlock's sister, and creepy at the same time. David Wiley may give you nightmares with his sickening performance as the Judge. I thought Michael Myers was scary, this guy takes the cake! You may want to keep your lights on when you sleep after this movie is over, because of him. This may just be the nastiest movie I've ever seen. Oddly enough, it's not all that bloody, but some of the stuff is far grosser than any type of blood. The finale almost made me lose my lunch (No exaggeration) we get heads coming out of asses, and a dude becomes a giant hand. We get sick scenes of incest, and flesh is tangled together in the most grotesque ways imaginable with old perverts, and young people alike. I can't reveal any more, but let me just say it's a long ride filled with unspeakable sexual acts. Even the strongest of stomachs will be perplexed at all the twisted atrocities committed. Trust me. You have to see it to believe it. It's not the goriest, but it might just be the sickest. I've seen TONS of horror movies. It's tied for my favorite genre, along with action movies. I've watched Nekromantik 1 & 2, Dead Alive, among others, but they don't compare to the messed up acts in this one. I have no idea what Brian Yuzna was going for in this movie. I just know that it was a very provocative and highly original horror film that engrossed me until the very end. You will find it difficult to stop thinking about it. If I ever run into Brian Yuzna on the street, I'll be getting the hell out of dodge! You have my respects Yuzna, just stay far away from me with whatever drugs you did during this movie. Maybe you really are that twisted, who knows. 8.6/10