Outside of Society: A Night of Surreal Grotesque and Monsters In/Out Of the Closet
Amidst the wanton wickedness of the weekend before All Hallows’ Eve, MOHA and OUTsider present a drive-in screening of 1989’s Society—a film in which the worst of the well-to-do get the terror treatment they deserve! Directed by Filipino-American, Brian Yuzna, Society is wild, body horror ride that unleashes all the absurdity, gore and garish of your ’80s/’90s fantasies/frightmares. A campy-cum-creepout class satire that serves up a frightful “fuck you” to the excesses and exploitations of yuppie culture of yore: With its tongue-in-cheek tagline of “the rich have always feed upon the poor,” Society is an outlandish sendup of status that strikes a startlingly salient note about how truly scary snobbery can be. In honor of this fabulously frightening flick, in which the camp comes out to play and concealed identities creep their way out of the closet, let’s consider: Are the figures that lurk in the shadows the ones we should fear? Or is it the monsters in broad daylight who pose the most devilish dangers of all? Playing off the petrifying potentialities of evils un/seen, come indulge in a night of fantastical festivities, including a costume contest on the theme of (with due respect to Harry Benshoff) “Monsters in/out of the Closet”—let those deviant imaginations run wild ya vamps! Plus, a macabre music playlist curated by the gayazz ghouls of OUTsider, and other tricks and treats—all culminating in an interactive screening of Society that will set your spine all the way to tingle.
OUTsider is an Austin-based transmedia nonprofit that celebrates the bold originality and creative nonconformity of the LGBTQ+ communities through the presentation of provocative, overlooked and out-of-the-box film, dance, theater, performance art, music, writing and visual art. Through its annual festival and conference, OUTsider unites queer artists, audiences and scholars from around the globe to exchange ideas, ignite conversations, transcend boundaries and experience new pleasures through artistic discovery.
