Full disclosure, before watching this documentary I thought that at least a large portion of the story of Brian Yuzna’s cult classic body horror Society was fictional.
While the film does poke at the differences between the rich and the poor, it is unknown that most of this came from the experiences of writer Woody Keith.
Instead of dissecting the film, Keith alongside Brian Yuzna and other voices in the genre community, including the late Julian Sands in a voiceover role, tells his side of the story about how his life in an affluent family was damn near ruined after not fitting into their ideals.
He speaks of an unspoken few who have influence over massive projects such as Disneyland, organised crime and even presidencies. It’s a conspiracy theory fans wet dream.
Keith’s story is quite sad, as he recounts being institutionalized, abused and even dying for 20 minutes due to a drugs overdose.
He now devotes his time to being a voice against human trafficking, and while the story is fascinating, there is no happy ending here.
The Darkside of Society is a riveting documentary, but don’t expect any sort of catharsis from Keith’s story.
The Darkside of Society screens as part of Frightfest 2023.
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