Bodies Bodies Bodies - Movie Review

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY)

Bodies Bodies Bodies – Movie Review

Sometimes I go to a movie knowing very little about it. It’s risky, but I also think it’s necessary to remain objective and open to all genres. Right before I went to see Bodies Bodies Bodies (without any punctuation) I was at a local watering hole, chatting with a friendly barkeep. When he found out I was on the way to a movie, he asked me which one. When I repeated the title, he raised his eyebrows, thinking bodies meant sexy bodies. I told him, “I am not sure, but I am pretty sure it means dead bodies.” He was less interested in this idea.

The intended audience of Bodies Bodies Bodies seems to be under 30 years old. This is a disadvantage for me. I must watch carefully, observing the film as a film and observing the film as a film for its intended audience.

Set in the wealthy Long Island home of David’s (Pete Davidson) parents’ house, a group of friends has gathered for a Hurricane Party weekend. Jordan (Mylha’la Harroled), Bee (Maria Bakolav), Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) Alice (Rachel Sonnett) Emma (Chase Sui Wonders) and stranger Greg (Lee Pace) are there to party. But soon paranoia, double crossing and death are added to the cocktail of booze and drugs.

Trouble may have been avoided if they hadn’t decided to play the titular party game, which is a version of murder mystery. The game accelerates the fear and paranoia, and everyone suffers whiplash for looking over their soldiers. Of course, there is a ruse of “are they really dead or were they just killed metaphorically in the game.”

Bodies Bodies Bodies is not a true horror film, but either is it a true thriller, despite a few cliches’ that make you cringe. Of course, the electricity goes out as well as all the cell phone service, just when they are needed most. However, there are moments of dazzling originality as well. A heated dialogue scene about two thirds through the film between four of the female characters is a riot as they discuss feelings, being woke, body dysmorphia and other buzzy psychological ailments. Everyone is wounded and has triggers, and are a victim, even before they become the victim. It’s frenetic, tense and very well played.

The entire ensemble is very good, but my favorite performance is easily Rachel Sonnet, who plays hysterical and wounded like no one else. She’s a riot. Director Helena Reijn keeps tight control on the proceedings, never straying far from the claustrophobia of the house, and maximizing the dark—I love the running gag of characters using their cell phone flashlights, waving them around in the dark. Sarah De Lappe is credited with the cleverly written script.