BODIES BODIES BODIES:
A24 PLAYS WITH THE WHODUNIT GENRE WITH VERY ENTERTAINING RESULTS!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
A24
Let the bodies hit the floor in Bodies Bodies Bodies, the new horror film from A24 and Dutch actress turned filmmaker, Halina Reijn (Instinct) in her English-language directorial debut. Granted, describing this film as “horror” is a bit of a stretch as it’s more of a murder-mystery rather than a traditional spook-fest or slasher film (Despite the film being marketed as the latter!).
On the surface it sounds like your typical slasher movie, a group of friends gather at a house or cabin, bad things start to happen, and they start getting killed. But much like The Cabin in the Woods and Ready or Not, there comes a film that is able to take these familiar tropes, twist them around, and make something truly one of a kind, and much deeper and intelligent than one would expect.
This is one of those films and while I may prefer The Cabin in the Woods and Ready or Not more, I really enjoyed this movie. It’s kind of like if Knives Out revolved around a group of Gen Z’s and had splashes of gory deaths with a darkly comical edge, but even that doesn’t fully describe the chaos this film has in store for the audience.
The film follows a group of wealthy 20-somethings who meet up at a remote family mansion for a hurricane party with lots of drinking, drugs, dancing, and of course, party games. One of the games they play is called Bodies Bodies Bodies, but what starts off as a silly game soon turns into a nightmare when each of them start getting picked off one by one and the group begins to squabble over who the killer might be and hopefully escape with their lives.
The film stars Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games, Sleepy Hollow (TV series), The Hate U Give) as Sophie, Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, The Bubble, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3) as Bee, Myha’la Herrold (The Book of Mormon, Industry, Plan B) as Jordan, Chase Sui Wonders (Daniel Isn’t Real, On the Rocks, Generation) as Emma, Rachel Sennott (Tahara, Shiva Baby, The Idols) as Alice, Lee Pace (The Hobbit trilogy, Halt and Catch Fire, Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Greg, Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live, The King of Staten Island, The Suicide Squad) as David, and Conner O’Malley (The Chris Gethard Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Palm Springs) as Max.
Overall, Bodies Bodies Bodies continues A24’s successful streak of genre-defying films released this year with a very well-crafted and remarkably clever take on the murder-mystery and whodunit formula. As I was watching it, I had no idea where it was going and by the end I was just like “Oh, we’re doing this? Okay!”.
The film does an excellent job at keeping you guessing and building up the mystery surrounding these murders and who the culprit(s) may or may not be. It also helps that most of the characters are annoying as balls to the point where you wish for them all to die brutally, which would normally backfire in a more mainstream horror film, but A24finds a way to make it work and it makes the payoff in the end a lot more effective.
The movie is essentially a satire on Gen Z culture and how people of that particular age group interact with each other. The film pokes fun at its own audience as well as its characters (sometimes brutally) while simultaneously being a film targeted towards Gen Z audiences, and even with the heavy jabs at the Gen Z culture, it never feels like an attack on the generation.
It’s like the writers and director had this really fun idea for a horror movie and decided to use it to get their social commentary across in a very entertaining way. Similar to what Jordan Peele has been doing with his films and much like his work, it will likely lead to various discussions and interpretations among moviegoers after seeing this movie.
All the acting is great, especially from Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova who are easily the standouts in the film. Stenberg really shines in the film as Bee’s girlfriend, who would have thought Rue from The Hunger Games would be a damn amazing actress? Bakalova in yet another scene-stealing performance after Borat 2 as Bee, I’m very happy she’s getting more work because I loved her as Tutar in Borat 2, and I love her here as Bee also.
Everyone in this movie is perfectly cast in their roles which range from characters you can laugh along with and others you just want to punch in the face whenever they show up because of how obnoxious they are. Sure, they’re stock horror movie characters at the end of the day, but their annoying and raunchy nature is intentional and when you see what the film is building up to, it all makes sense.
The characters will be divisive among audiences, and I can easily see someone getting so irritated by them that they either walk out or turn the movie off. I strongly encourage you (The reader/viewer) to stick with it because as previously mentioned, there will be characters that will get on your nerves, but it’ll make the payoff completely worth it in the end.
Bodies Bodies Bodies may not be A24’s best film released this year, but it’s still a brilliantly executed (No pun intended!) and fun take on the murder-mystery genre that’s filled with suspense, laughs, and the just the right amount of carnage.
From the blog www.moviewatchinpsychopath.blogspot.com
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