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Society [Blu-ray]
(Brian Yuzna, 1989)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Wild Street Pictures Video: Ar row Video
Disc: Region: FREE (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:39:01.518 Disc Size: 42,393,318,985 bytes Feature Size: 29,203,978,752 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.90 Mbps Chapters: 12 Case: Custom Digipak case (see photo below) Release date: June 8th and 9th, 2015
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentary; Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles: English (SDH), none
Extras: • Brand new audio commentary by Yuzna• Governor of Society - a brand new interview with Yuzna (16:52) • The Masters of the Hunt - a brand new featurette including interviews with stars Billy Warlock, Devin DeVasquez, Ben Meyerson and Tim Bartell (22:22) • The Champion of the Shunt - new featurette with FX artists Screaming Mad George, David Grasso and Nick Benson (20:39) • 2014 Q&A with Yuzna, recorded at Celluloid Screams Festival (38:34) • Brian Yuzna in conversation backstage at the Society world premiere (1:56) • 'Persecution Mania' - Screaming Mad George music video (6:09)
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Theatrical Trailer (2:08) DVD of the Feature
Bitrate:
Description: After producing Stuart Gordon's hit
Re-Animator, Brian Yuzna (Bride of Re-Animator,
Return of the Living Dead III) turned his hand to
directing with 1989's Society, and gave birth to one
of the ickiest, most original body horror shockers of all
time.
The Film: The directorial debut of horror producer Brian Yuzna, this low-budget shocker was an overseas success but sat on the shelf for three years before gaining a U.S. release. Billy Warlock stars as Bill Whitney, the troubled scion of a wealthy Beverly Hills family. Feeling like an outcast his entire life, Bill begins seeing Dr. Cleveland (Ben Slack), a therapist who's trying to help him reconcile his conflicted feelings about his parents, who seem to lavish more attention on his sister Jenny (Patrice Jennings). Bill then discovers that his doubts have more of a foundation in reality than simple teen angst. After he receives a copy of an audio tape of horrific sounds at Jenny's coming out party, Bill becomes convinced of the existence of a secret "society" of wealthy people preying on outsiders, and that his family is involved. Excerpt from MRQE located HEREA bizarre fable that starts like a TV soap but soon darkens into a disturbing thriller about an idyllic Beverly Hills community where something is subtly skewed. Handsome teenager Bill (Warlock) feels uncomfortable with his affluent peers. But the usual teen insecurities take on a more sinister aspect when his sister's ex-boyfriend Blanchard plays him a clandestine recording of her 'coming out' party which suggests perverse, incestuous sexual initiation; but when Bill's shrink later plays the tape back to him, he hears only innocuous conversation. How does this connect with rich kid Ted's exclusive teen clique, or Blanchard's death in a road accident? Is there a dark conspiracy, or is Bill losing his marbles? First-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. Suffice it to say that the 'surrealistic make-up designs' by Screaming Mad George (who did the cockroach sequence in Nightmare on Elm Street 4) will stretch even the most inelastic mind. Excerpt from TimeOut located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Society gets an impressive transfer to Blu-ray from Arrow Films. It is dual-layered with a max'ed bitrate for the 1 hour 40-minute feature. As the screen captures can attest the visuals are impressive - tight lines with depth present and bright realistic colors and a minor sense of texture. The 1080P supports solid contrast exhibiting healthy, rich black levels and it looks much better than I would have anticipated. It is transferred in the slightly bastardized 1.78:1 frame - probably opened-up from 1.85. It's pristinely clean - only a few very minor speckles - showcasing an impressive rendering coming from a healthy source. This Blu-ray does its job very well with no digital manipulations or artifacts of any kind.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Arrow use an authentic linear PCM 2.0 channel track at 2304 kbps. There are plenty of squishy effects that come through with aplomb sounding deep, rich and chillingly "eeewwww". The score is by Phil Davies + Mark Ryder (Transcers) and adds some unique flavor to the narrative accentuating the unusual aura. Very solid and spine shilling. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE.
Extras : Absolutely loaded with supplements, including many new specifically for this release including a brand new audio commentary by Brian Yuzna and his detail will be appreciated by those wishing to delve further into the enigmatic Society. We also get a 17-minute brand new interview with the director entitled Governor of Society discussing the 'making of'. The Masters of the Hunt is a 22-minute a brand new featurette including interviews with stars Billy Warlock, Devin DeVasquez, Ben Meyerson and Tim Bartell reflecting on the production. The Champion of the Shunt spens 20 minutes with FX artists Screaming Mad George, David Grasso and Nick Benson with specifics on Society. We also get a 2014 Q&A with Yuzna, recorded at Celluloid Screams Festival running shy of 40-minutes, and a short sound-byte of Yuzna in conversation backstage at the Society world premiere. 'Persecution Mania' is the 6-minute Screaming Mad George music video. There is a theatrical trailer and the limited edition Digipak packaging featuring newly-commissioned artwork by Nick Percival which also includes a collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Alan Jones, illustrated with original archive stills and posters. Part of the LE Blu-ray is Society: Party Animal - the official comic sequel to Society, reproduced in its entirety in a perfect-bound book. A DVD of the feature is included.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze May 12th, 2015
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