Walking into Bodies Bodies Bodies, the new film from A24, I did not know what to expect. On the surface it seemed like the typical slasher film, where some friends find themselves stalked in the dark by an unknown assailant, but what it turned out to be is much more interesting.
Bodies Bodies Bodies, from Dutch director Halina Reijn, is the story of old friends who all get together at a remote family mansion to have a hurricane party. Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) brings her new girlfriend Bee (Maria Bakalova), and they meet up with everyone else including David (Pete Davidson), Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), Alice (Rachel Sennott) and her new older lover Greg (Lee Pace).
It is a cast that you would expect to see in a slasher, with enough people to create a delicious level of stress for everyone involved. With a noticeable level of tension seen throughout the group as soon as Sophie walks into the party there is something unsaid that has made people apprehensive, but we as the audience will need to bide our time to find out these secrets. Even with secrets and animosity residing just below the surface, this does not stop the party devolving into the typical debauchery we all expect from a horror film of this nature.
“Dancing the line between social satire, slasher and horror, Bodies Bodies Bodies is an odd offering, but one that is worthy of a watch.”
It is not until Sophie suggests they all play the Bodies Bodies Bodies party game where things quickly devolve into chaos. Once someone is found dead outside the remote mansion, the murder mysteries and tensions hit a fever pitch, and the film proper can get underway. With a group of childhood friends all untrusting of each other, a simple situation turns from bad to worse, with the halls of this picturesque estate quickly covered in blood as the body count rises.
Dancing the line between social satire, slasher and horror, Bodies Bodies Bodies is an odd offering, but one that is worthy of a watch. While the film works best when it is embracing its horror elements with smart comedic timing to break up the suspense, it does dive headfirst into the comedy side with mixed results. From arguments about body image, fake friends, and even infidelity, the Bodies Bodies Bodies can’t get the balance right to make the film flow as it should.
When it works, the movie is a tense claustrophobic journey into madness as the rich 20-somethings (and Greg) quickly drop the social niceties that keep their fragile friendship intact. But with the characters constantly fearing of death, and the slasher film elements in full swing, Bodies Bodies Bodies manages to find its voice, blending sexual references, social strain and satire, all while keeping violence and blood prominent to show just how ugly these characters are to their very core.
There is little in the way of character development in the film; everyone walks in being fake, and a bit despicable, and even as they all start to be picked off one by one, that sense of distaste is ever present. While I did enjoy the performances of Amandla Stenberg as the manic and sometimes deranged Sophie the most, the full cast gives it their all to craft one of the most distasteful groups of upper class, TikTok-obsessed 20-somthings you will ever see on screen.
Bodies Bodies Bodies is an odd film offering, but one that almost manages the social commentary mixed horror that can elevate a typical slasher to something great. Sadly, this film does not meet the pinnacle of the original Scream, and the middle segment devolves a bit too far into comedy, and loses that fine balance. Bodies Bodies Bodies is a strangely compelling, brutal murder mystery, whodunit that is well worth your time, especially if you love watching friend groups slowly devolve into bloody murder.
