Bodies Bodies Bodies arrives on Video on Demand with strong reviews and a reputation as “Scream for Gen Z”. Does A24’s satirical slasher live up the that lofty standard? In part, it does.
Reviews of recent movies will not contain spoilers.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Directed By Halina Reijn
Screenplay By Sarah Delappe
Starring Amanda Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders and Rachel Sennott
Bodies Bodies Bodies Review
In 1996 Scream hit theaters targeted squarely to, and at, the dying vestiges of Generation X. When discussing Scream, most people focus on that film’s meta commentary on the slasher genre, or its characters use of pop culture dialog. Those aspects, along with many others, shaped Scream into a memorable, influential, and important piece of horror history. But they weren’t the most biting aspect of the razor-sharp script. The painting of the last few years of Generation X as know-it-alls too drunk, lazy, or stupid, to apply their knowledge to save themselves was a target destroying commentary. Scream 4 would later assault Millennials the same way, painted as fame obsessed teens who worship celebrity culture. Bodies Bodies Bodies makes it its mission for Gen Z to get its turn.
A group of people gather at a mansion for a party during an oncoming hurricane. After setting up a few threads of mistrust and perceived jealousy, the group decides to play a game of Bodies Bodies Bodies. It’s a murder mystery game where someone is the killer and when they claim a victim the group tries to figure out whodunnit. When one of the people turns up dead for real…friendships and loyalties are tested as they try to survive the night.
Saying any more about the plot of the movie would defeat the purpose and ruin half the fun. At its core this is a slasher whodunnit, just as the Scream movies are. Also like that franchise, the mystery is only part of the point. The bodies may pile up throughout the night, but make no mistake, the target here is the Gen Z audience.
Drug addled, self-absorbed, backstabbing, social media obsessed, phonies. That’s how Bodies Bodies Bodies paints its picture of Gen Z. The speed with which friends turn on each other…or, worse, defend themselves with whatever popular buzzword for not taking responsibility is going around the internet is blinding. And in there may lie another shot across the generational bow. The film flies through act 2 and 3 in a way that tells you they have no faith in the young people watching the movie to pay attention long enough to enjoy the ride.
For the purposes of the story it’s telling, and the target its destroying, that pacing is a great choice. So too is casting of some of the most likable looking unlikable people you’ll ever meet. You can’t trust anyone…and after listening to them yell, deflect and normalize everything for two minutes…you don’t want to. There’s a sharp script that will keep you laughing as well as guessing. It goes too heavy on buzzwords (trigger/ableist/gaslight) late in the going but finds a rhythm in the deflection and accusing that is fun to watch play out. The argument against this would be that Gen Z is reduced to caricature and not given any kind of subtlety or nuance or third dimension. Bodies Bodies Bodies reply to that would be…yep.
There are, of course, third act twists and turns and revelations. The script makes a point to show that something as meaningless as whether someone likes their friend’s podcast is given the same weight as whether someone cheated on their girlfriend. It’s all played for the darkest of comedy and while nothing in the film intends to be scary the mystery aspect keeps the momentum from every stalling out.
As with all whodunnits, from Agatha Christie to Scream, finding out whodunnit is a key to the story’s success. Bodies Bodies Bodies passes that test with flying colors. It delivers a satisfying conclusion to its mystery game turned deadly mystery reality.
Scare Value
Director Halina Reijn makes great use of the locked down mansion setting. Sarah Delappe’s screen play ratchets up the absurdity in service of both social commentary and dark humor. The cast commits to the grounded ridiculousness of their characters and creates memorable turns that leave you unsure who to trust, or if you should bother rooting for anyone at all. Bodies Bodies Bodies delivers a fun 94 minutes of murder mystery while assassinating its true target, the Gen Z audience that it is marketed towards.
4/5
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