Eat the Rich: 7 Satisfying Horror Films that Skewer the Elite

In the new dark horror-comedy from A24, Death of a Unicorn, absurdity meets the macabre in a deliciously fantastical fashion. The feature debut by director-writer Alex Scharfman, the movie centers around a father (Paul Rudd) and daughter (Jenna Ortega) who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while driving to his billionaire boss’s estate. Upon arrival, […] The post Eat the Rich: 7 Satisfying Horror Films that Skewer the Elite appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Mar 27, 2025 - 19:35

Eat the Rich: 7 Satisfying Horror Films that Skewer the Elite

In the new dark horror-comedy from A24, Death of a Unicorn, absurdity meets the macabre in a deliciously fantastical fashion. The feature debut by director-writer Alex Scharfman, the movie centers around a father (Paul Rudd) and daughter (Jenna Ortega) who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while driving to his billionaire boss’s estate. Upon arrival, their host (Richard E. Grant) and his insufferable family become eager to exploit the unicorn’s body for its magical, medicinal properties. As the story unfolds, Death of a Unicorn pokes fun at the elite, reminding us that sometimes the upper crust does actually get a taste of its own medicine—and, in this case, a little extra horn to boot.

As a genre, horror has long offered filmmakers the perfect conduit to interrogate and explore issues of greed, capitalism, systemic inequality, and the often ruthless nature of the elite. With the ability to provide visceral storytelling baked into its very DNA, horror can reflect society’s darkest anxieties about corporate greed and extreme wealth in a powerfully unique way. By amplifying our deepest fears, horror films offer a provocative space where filmmakers can dissect the sins of the 1% and serve up a critical dish of cathartic cinematic justice for the remaining 99% of us.

If Death of a Unicorn has merely whet your appetite and left you hungry for even more satisfying falls from grace — then get your tickets; it’s now playing — here are seven more selections to check out. So pull up a chair and get ready to sink your teeth into some delectably wicked cinematic offerings where the rich and mighty get their just desserts.

The Skulls (2000)

At its core, Rob Cohen’s teen horror-thriller The Skulls is a classic fish-out-of-water story. As the aforementioned fish, Joshua Jackson stars as Luke McNamara, a local normie with a rough background who scores big when he lands a rowing scholarship to a prestigious Ivy League college. While the prominence of extreme wealth initially makes Luke and his friends feel like total outsiders, things shift when Luke unexpectedly gets invited to join a secret society called The Skulls.

Though initially hesitant, Luke quickly bonds with his privileged and reckless classmate Caleb (played to perfection by Paul Walker) and starts to think The Skulls aren’t so bad after all. Heck, even Caleb’s dad, Litten (Craig T. Nelson) and his partner, Senator Ames Levritt (William Petersen), seem okay. That is until Luke’s best friend Will (Hill Harper) gets murdered. Seeking answers, Luke soon finds himself rowing upstream against a powerful current of wealth, lies, power, and greed. Lucky for Luke (and bad for The Skulls), the school didn’t make him rowing team captain for nothing.

The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

Directed by Roger Corman, this gothic reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s tale serves as a biting allegory against the excesses of the elite, who are often oblivious to the suffering of the masses. As an unstoppable plague sweeps the land, Prince Prospero (Vincent Price), a wealthy Satanist, summons the area’s rich and powerful to his castle—attempting to cheat death by indulging in hedonistic excess and downright cruelty. At the same time, the outside world crumbles under the weight of neglect, disease, and poverty. Then, as a mysterious red-cloaked figure appears at Prospero’s masked ball, the wealthy’s illusion of safety and superiority begins to shatter as their fellow elite begin to drop dead. Not only does this fate beautifully underscore the story’s comment on the futility of wealth and privilege in the face of nature’s indiscriminate wrath, it’s just so darn satisfying to watch.

Frogs (1972)

Like Death of a Unicorn, George McCowan’s eco-horror wonder Frogs transforms a pretty setting into a bloody battleground where nature exacts brutal retribution on a greedy family. In the film, wildlife photographer Pickett Smith (Sam Elliott) literally runs into the wealthy Crockett family kids while canoeing around their island estate. With Smith understandably grumpy about getting dumped into the swamp thanks to some drunk rich kids, the Crocketts seek to make amends by inviting him back to their family’s island mansion for a change of clothes and their annual summer party. Once there, Smith discovers just how ugly the family really is and watches in horror as their blatant disregard for the environment around them upends the natural order, transforming innocent amphibians into agents of vengeance. With its visceral imagery and hopping pace, Frogs delivers a stark indictment, reminding us that the devastation wrought by greed may ultimately awaken the wild forces of nature.

The Hunt (2020)

With a strong roster of familiar faces, The Hunt stars Betty Gilpin (GLOW), Emma Roberts (American Horror Story), Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), and Glenn Howerton (The Strangers) and follows a group of ordinary citizens who find themselves prey in a sadistic sport orchestrated by a secretive cadre of ultra-wealthy elites. Unfolding as a darkly satirical commentary on class warfare and capitalism, the rich commodify the lives of 12 strangers for their twisted amusement, reflecting a society in which power and privilege perpetuate structural exploitation. As the hunted rally together and fight back, the story morphs into a visceral power dynamic reversal that’s as bloody and cynical and satisfying as one can possibly imagine.

Society (1989)

Few films embrace the idea of “eat the rich” as brazenly and humorously as Brian Yuzna’s dark, body horror comedy, Society. Like many angsty teenagers, Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) finds himself becoming increasingly disillusioned by the world and his family’s constant facade of elite sophistication. However, this disillusionment soon gives way to something far more unsettling when Bill discovers his one-percenter parents and their affluent friends are harboring a mind-blowing secret—they literally (and metaphorically) feed off the less fortunate. As the boundaries between class, morality, and physical bodies melt away, Society delivers a visceral critique, laying bare the grotesque reality behind wealth and power. A savage fable like you’ve never seen, Society turns high society into an unappetizing macabre organism feeding on its own corruption like the disgusting creature that it is.

The Purge franchise

Even though every installation of The Purge franchise approaches Purge Night a little differently, each still makes sure to center the brutal mechanics of class warfare and the insidious underpinnings of a capitalist society driven by class oppression. Here, the wealthy and powerful create and encourage the annual night of anything goes (including murder) in a not-so-secret effort to reinforce social hierarchies and cull the lower classes.

Yet, as the night of sanctioned chaos unfolds, the films also showcase the resilience and uprising of the marginalized, who use the chaos as a catalyst to resist and fight back against the elite. In this way, The Purge becomes a bit of a poisoned chalice. Though initially created to suppress dissent and reinforce wealth and power, The Purge typically leads to the lower classes banding together, punishing the predatory, and demanding a radical reordering of societal norms. They’re also fun as hell and an entertaining way to question the legitimacy of a system constructed to thrive on inequality and exploitation.

They Live (1988)

Any way one slices it, John Carpenter’s They Live kicks ass. For one, it stars “Rowdy” Roddy Piper as Nada, a construction worker who stumbles across some sweet sunglasses. Then we find out that these sunglasses not only look cool, but they also reveal messages hidden in various media in an attempt to control the masses. Oh, and they also reveal that those behind this diabolical plan are actually super wealthy, super powerful, super ugly aliens masquerading as human beings. And before one can pop a piece of bubblegum, Nada sets out to burn the whole dang system down while simultaneously exploring the parasitic nature of elite power and the veneer of consumer culture that is nothing more than a façade masking culturally ingrained inequality.

Honorable Mentions: