The Privilege (2022)

The Privilege has a deliciously nasty hook: it takes the polished, gated world of wealth and elite schooling and lets something ancient and hungry seep through the cracks, turning privilege itself into a kind of curse. It moves with the pulse of a teen thriller—friends digging where they shouldn’t, secrets hiding in plain sight—while layering in occult dread and body-horror jolts that land with real bite. What makes it work is the uneasy tension between “is this trauma and medication” and “is this something far worse,” a paranoia that keeps tightening until the film tips into full-on nightmare. Fair warning: it’s gory, sexually frank, and not subtle, but if you like your horror slick, conspiratorial, and mean-spirited in the best way, it’s an easy late-night pick.

The Privilege is clearly aiming for a slick, youth-focused horror-thriller that mixes elite-school drama with conspiracies, cults, and demonic possession, and it does keep the plot moving with a glossy, high-stakes vibe. The problem is it feels like a checklist of better movies—twists land early, the scares lean more on gore and “what’s behind the curtain” reveals than genuine dread, and the originality just isn’t there. If you’re tired of predictable secret-society stories or want horror that builds atmosphere and character rather than piling on plot, this will likely feel like a noisy remix. Still, if you can enjoy a fast, trashy, over-the-top ride with some nasty imagery and don’t mind familiar beats, it’s serviceable for a late-night watch.