ryan-10075
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.
one-nine-eighty
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.
Leofwine_draca
A well-paced and utterly bizarre horror film with plenty of black comedy and a finale which is unforgettable once seen, this is probably Brian Yuzna's most controversial movie and one of his best along with it. It's certainly unlike any other movie I've seen and therefore deserves points for originality. The film starts off like a typical conspiracy thriller as our young lead Billy Warlock starts to discover some unpleasant things about his family. So far, so good, you might think, but then things become a little weirder as bizarre sex acts are hinted at and Warlock witnesses people twisting their bodies into impossible positions. The suspense thickens and the plot becomes taut as people begin to die and Warlock finds himself mixed up in a far-reaching plot and then WHAM!, Yuzna hits you with an utterly disgusting - yet fascinating - finale which is unlike anything ever before witnessed on film.Although this film is awash with mucus, slime, and perverted sexual situations, the heady helping of dark comedy stops it from being too overwhelming and keeps it entertaining and hilarious in parts. Special effects genius Screaming Mad George contributes probably his finest effects work to date with the "shunting party" at the film's close, which has some graphically nasty gore but mostly just plain yuckiness to recommend it, an extended sequence so surreal that I'm sure Salvadore Dali would be impressed if he was alive to see it. Billy Warlock rises above his BAYWATCH heritage and proves to be a likable male lead and the rest of the supporting cast put in commendably straight performances, up until the end that is when everything takes a bizarre comedic turn for the worse. Utterly watchable and quite unique, this stands true as a pinnacle of cinematic weirdness that hasn't really been matched since in terms of vision and imagination.
spencergrande6
Shunting. I knew not of ye before and wish I could not know not of ye forevermore. Apparently this is a medical term, God save those who have to use it ever again after this film for their jobs.This is a pure blistering B-movie, near perfection for the kind of flick it is. It has a deranged premise, an out in the open and in your face "message"/"theme" whathaveyou that's explored rather than dissected -- ironically through dissections, vivisections and gory surrealism. This is the kind of movie that dares to make your deepest, darkest fears about class, society and social strata an all-too-real horror with taboos of incest, nepotism, murder, and inhuman grotesqueness as both a release -- letting you know your the one that's still human -- and as a call to arms -- thou shall not suffer a witch to live.The ending is a true carnival ride nightmare come to life, bold and shocking. But the lead up to it, while mostly good and serving its purpose, is of the all too low-grade B-movie reality in which stock characters do things and question things, while the audience already knows the answers (it's THAT kind of movie after all) while we wait for the freak show. More atmosphere, mood and mystery would have been nice. And while the main character is likable enough, he's a bit pedestrian and one-note. His impact on Clarissa (who joins him in the end) feels unearned (also pointless since he saves himself).Also what was with Clarissa's mom? I don't get it. Weirdly out of place and making no sense even by this film's loose standards.
AD
