Year of Release: 2022
Director: Halina Reijn
Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Rachel Sennott, Myha'la, Chase Sui Wonders, Pete Davidson, Lee Pace, Conner O'Malley
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
"Bodies Bodies Bodies" is Halina Reijn's sophomore feature, following her directorial debut "Instinct", which features the always excellent Carice Van Houten in the lead role. "Bodies Bodies Bodies" follows the story of Sophie and Bee, a young couple who are traveling to meet a group of Sophie's friends at a posh residence, owned by the family of Sophie's best friend, David. Upon their arrival, they notice the group includes, beyond David, his girlfriend Emma, Alice and her older boyfriend Greg, and Jordan. Another guest by the name of Max, left due to a fight with David. They're having a hurricane party, as an actual hurricane is about to happen. They engage in drugs and drinking, at at some point decide to play the game "Bodies Bodies Bodies", a murder in the dark style of game. The men of the group soon opt out of the game, and the storm is soon lashing out against the residence. The power goes out and as the group scurries to find out an alternative power source, they discover David's body outside, with his throat slashed. They panic, try calling the police but have poor cell phone reception and try to leave the scene in Sophie's car, but the battery is dead. As the group tries to uncover who is the culprit behind David's death, accusations and suspicions start arising with them.
There's something about "Bodies Bodies Bodies" that has a slight nod to Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians", where a group of friends comes together, invited by a host, someone dies, and the rest of the group spends their time figuring out who did it. However "Bodies Bodies Bodies" and director Halina Reijn take the narrative in a different direction, by both emphasizing the body count/bloodshed, and also by making the context in which these characters live a very specific one (or at least one mildly representative of the times we live in and of a specific demographic), namely one of opulence and ennui. For the most part, the director manages to capture both the relationships between the characters, including some of their dissatisfaction towards each other, even resentment, and also the privilege in which they live. However where the film falters is the lack of illustration on who these characters actually are. All of these characters, with the possible exception of Maria Bakalova's Bee, are extreme interpretations of what a cliché of a person actually is (case in point, Alice's shrill behavior, associated with the character that always has to be the alarmist and prejudiced). Bee is the sole character that is given some additional dimension, motivation and reasoning for her actions. Much of what happens throughout this narrative is indeed an extreme representation of questionable decision making from a group of self entitled characters, but it almost equates the demographic being represented as amoral individuals, which in itself is somewhat of a judgmental stance to have on a group being confronted with such an extreme situation. The cast tries their best to bring these characters to life, with highlights going to Maria Bakalova, Lee Pace and Rachel Sennott. The production values are not particularly inspired. It is a watchable film and it does ask some pertinent questions, in the middle of all the insanity that occurs, but it could have benefited a bit more of both nuance and character development.
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