A24 has been no stranger to the horror genre over the last few years. The growing entertainment company has relied on a lot of slow-burn creep factors in their recently released horror movies, like Midsommar and Saint Maud. Even just in 2022, A24 had already released two horror films in theaters to decent reception, the first being Ti West’s X, and the second being Alex Garland’s Men. Joining the ranks is Bodies Bodies Bodies, the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Halina Reijn.
The story was written by Sarah DeLappe and the screenplay was written by Kristen Roupenian. The movie stars Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Rachel Sennot (Shiva Baby), Chase Sui Wonders (Generation), Myha’la Herrold (Industry), Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live) and Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy).
Bodies Bodies Bodies follows Sophie (Stenberg) and her girlfriend, Bee (Bakalova), as they take their six-week relationship to the house of Sophie’s best childhood friend (Davidson) for a wild hurricane party with some other friends. After drinking and drugs ensue, the group decides to play Bodies Bodies Bodies, a whodunit-style party game where someone is the killer, and the others must figure out who it is, before they’re all killed. During the game, a real killer seems to be stalking the group, and the fun turns to fear rather quickly.
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Though the marketing of the film presented it as more of a slasher flick, Bodies Bodies Bodies is very much a modern take on the classic whodunit. Characters are established early and spend the majority of the film (along with the audience), trying to guess who the killer is. In most whodunits, the audience maintains a connection with one or two of the characters, gets a little bit of backstory as the tale is told, and finally, the major unveiling is done. Traditionally, whodunits were much more involved with the mystery genre, but several classic horror movies have an incredible whodunit feel to them, like Scream, John Carpenter’s The Thing, and Black Christmas.
While Bodies Bodies Bodies gets the general frame right, it was missing several essential elements needed for a strong whodunit; the first being the characters. Granted, I know this film is a satirical display of the Zoomer generation mindset, but the characters were still exhausting. They felt much more suited for slasher film fodder than a story where you actually had to care about who was going to live or die. Initially, I thought the use of a hurricane to keep our characters isolated was a great choice, giving them another hurdle to face, but other than the power going out, it didn’t seem to affect the characters in any other way.
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The amount of screen time that could have been spent on using deductive problem-solving skills and progressing the story was used on arguments and jokes aimed at Generation Z TikTok buzzwords like “toxic”, “gaslighting”, and “borderline”. The jokes were clearly pointing out how these very real and serious words are thrown around and used regularly, even when not applicable. Unfortunately, I don’t think the jokes landed as hard as they were expected to. Taking serious moments of murder that were built up in a movie and interrupting them with arguments about texting took me out of the film. I’m not necessarily saying the parodying was bad, I’m just saying it wasn’t for me.
I do think the acting was well done, and I loved the diverse cast. Maria Bakalova was a standout, brilliantly displaying the feeling that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Amandla Stenberg is a great actor, and her character had the most development out of anyone, though I wish it had been explored more. Lee Pace brought a hilarious veteran presence, and Pete Davidson had his shining moments.
Technically, the movie was extremely well done, especially since a large portion of it took place in the dark. Using phone flashlights, glowsticks, and headlamps was a great way to keep the audience engaged without making them wonder what was happening on screen. The soundtrack was fitting, and the score from Disasterpeace (It Follows, Under the Silver Lake) was fantastic. None of the issues I have with the film come from the technical aspects of it. There were some extremely intense camera shots and some even more intense moments that involved character deaths.
Obviously, with a whodunit, I must be extremely vague so as not to spoil the goods of the story. With that in mind, I will say that I thought the ending and final reveal were nicely done, though once it hits a certain point, it becomes a little predictable. The issue with this whodunit is that by the time the big reveal came, I was so annoyed and exhausted by every character, that I didn’t necessarily care what the reveal was. I also get that was kind of the point.
I think Bodies Bodies Bodies was the better side of ok; and while I can see how it could stand out to others, it just didn’t resonate with me. With most good whodunits, like Knives Out, for instance, I immediately find myself wanting to watch it again, to pick apart every scene and see how they add up. With Bodies Bodies Bodies, I don’t really have the urge to re-watch, regardless of how good some of the technical aspects were. I always recommend checking out films for yourself, but this one just wasn’t for me.
