A24’s latest horror film is a Gen-Z-flavored murder mystery / dark comedy about
rich 20-somethings whose hurricane party doesn’t go according plan.
Who throws a hurricane party?
"Who wants to play Bodies Bodies Bodies?" "So how do you play?"
The game they play is essentially a real-life version of “Among Us”,
or what’s known to my generation as “Mafia”.
But what starts off as a fun party game quickly stops being all that fun for the characters, as
bodies start dropping and the group becomes desperate to figure out who the killer is
before someone else ends up dead.
And before you ask, no, of course they can’t get help because they’re at a remote family mansion
where the lights inevitably go out and cell phone reception stops working.
Classic horror movie tropes. Backstabbing and murder mystery shenanigans ensue.
Now, I was a little bit concerned going into this because any movie
that focuses on portraying a specific generation runs the risk of turning it into a caricature, and
“Bodies Bodies Bodies” takes the comedic approach on top of that, so the risk was even higher.
Fortunately, the director Halina Reijn knew what she was doing here, and was
really open to collaboration and improvisation from the actors
in order to make these characters work, to make the way they interact and speak feel realistic.
The movie walks the line between satire and authenticity impressively well,
and the cast has a lot to do with that.
On the page, this is a story that uses the murder mystery framework to explore how friendships and
relationships function for this generation, and to pull that off you need a cast that
has genuine chemistry, actors who fit together as this somewhat dysfunctional friend group.
The ensemble here absolutely nails the necessary group dynamic
as well as their individual character quirks.
For me, Rachel Sennott was the clear standout, and by the way,
if you still haven’t seen “Shiva Baby” - you really should, it’s great.
But I actually thought everyone in the movie was really well-cast,
and all of them played off each other really well.
I even liked what Pete Davidson was doing here, which was unexpected.
I still wouldn't say I am on board with him in general
but as this specific character - he makes sense.
As far as the humor goes - I thought a lot of it was pretty hilarious.
There were some jokes here and there that didn’t quite land for me,
but overall this definitely works as a dark comedy.
That being said, I can see this kind of humor not working at all for some people, and if that’s the
case for you - I’m afraid the whole movie is just not going to be your cup of tea because
“Bodies Bodies Bodies” is definitely a dark comedy and a satire first, and a murder mystery second.
And speaking of the murder mystery, I want to make it clear that this is a whodunit
rather than a slasher because the marketing and the early buzz
might have misled you into thinking this movie is a Gen Z slasher.
It’s not, and it’s important to have proper expectations here and
know what you’re getting yourself into.
So, dark comedy / murder mystery, not a slasher.
And, if you have concerns about all of the best moments and plot twists being
in the trailers - don’t worry, that’s definitely not the case.
Speaking of the plot, and don't worry, I’m still going to keep this spoiler-free, don’t panic,
I will say that I initially did not love the ending.
However, the more I thought about it the more I realized that ending it
any other way would have gone against everything this movie was trying to do.
See, here’s the thing about “Bodies Bodies Bodies”: on the surface it’s this kind of silly,
kind of dark, entertaining movie with some timely dialogue and a
memorable group of friends who really are just trying to survive the night.
However, once you start thinking about it
you realize that the writing is actually smarter than it may seem at first glance.
If you’re interested in digging deeper - you can absolutely see the point it’s trying to make about
what the current state of society and culture is doing to people, and where it’s going to take us.
Here’s what the director had to say about it: “We all live in a world where we're not actually
looking at each other or seeing what's going on. The characters in the film, they're not really
looking at what's taking place; they're just reacting, and that becomes almost a hysteria.
Under pressure, we’re much more driven by our primal urges than we would like to think.”
So yes, while it might be easy to dismiss this as a look
at Gen Z group dynamics, paranoia and anxiety,
Reijn puts a mirror to a much wider group of people and what it reflects is fear, insecurity,
anger, manipulation, hypocrisy, status, and some pretty interesting group dynamics as well.
Human nature at its primal, under pressure.
I mean, it’s A24, did you really expect this to be a simple thriller?
Then again, if you’re not into all of that - the movie is easily enjoyable,
as long as you’re into its sense of humor.
In the end “Bodies Bodies Bodies” may not re-invent the genre,
but it offers a fresh and clever spin on a murder mystery.
It’s timely, it’s well-written, it’s funny,
and the chemistry between the actors is as great as their comedic timing.
It’s 94 minutes of tense group dynamics, backstabbing, satire,
and also, of course, dead bodies.
If this sounds like your kind of movie - check it out in theatres and bring some friends.
It’s expanding from limited to wide release this weekend,
and the way I see it - it’s a pretty great time.
I’m going with an 8 out of 10 for “Bodies Bodies Bodies” and...
wait, is there someone behind you?