Directed By Halina Reijn

Starring – Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Rachel Sennott

The Plot – When a group of rich 20-somethings plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion, a party game turns deadly in this fresh and funny look at backstabbing, fake friends, and one party gone very, very wrong.

Rated R for violence, bloody images, drug use, sexual references and pervasive language

Bodies Bodies Bodies | Official Trailer 2 HD | A24 – YouTube

POSITIVES

To me, the best kind of horror is always conceived from an air of reality that makes it all the more terrifying for how it can equally materialize in real life. Because of such, “Bodies Bodies Bodies”, the second film in Reijn’s brief-but-impactful filmography, and easily A24’s most accessible project to date, wears many creative faces, but among them is a satirical spin for generation Z that comes at the hands of a whodunnit? slasher with no shortage of intriguing angles to make this one of the most fun experiences you’re bound to have at a theater this summer. Where it succeeds mostly is in the air of its vital characterization, fleshing out a group of young adults who you don’t necessarily relish spending time with, but the kind that make for compelling forces in driving a 90-minute narrative with near perfect pacing constantly driving the mystery forward at all times. That is because the story values their intersecting relationships, which in turn fleshes out a rich psychology among them that not only feels lived-in for how effortlessly they’re simultaneously established, but also in the way their connective tissues easily immerse us into their many dynamics, even at times feeling like they’re talking directly at us the audience, in order to sway our opinions one way or the other. For that dialogue, it’s honestly hit or miss periodically, but where it effectively registers is in harvesting a rich chemistry between its many colorful characters, in turn cementing scene-stealing instances for every single one of them, but a few maintaining that luminous glow. Those are of course Stenberg and Bakalova, who each elicit respective arcs that take the characters in unpredictable directions mirroring the versatility of the movie’s mystery, but also Pete Davidson, whom initially I’m not a fan of, but here feels right at home emoting a character who is constantly annoyed by those he’s closest to, all the while conveying his signature blunt deliveries for humor with the kind of honesty and humility that we’ve all experienced in at least one of our friends from time to time. As for that mystery, the film’s unraveling narrative is intriguing enough to keep you faithfully gripped throughout, but in ways that take the story in uniquely contrasting directions that equally value the who or how of the situation. Because of such, it leads to a genius twist that I can not only say is impossible to accurately predict, but one that vibrantly echoes the air of its contemporary commentary with a last-minute reveal that solidifies the lunacy of the entire engagement, with stakes that feel more impactful at the finish line than any other time throughout. Finally, while the storytelling is mostly great throughout, the technical elements simply can’t be undersold, giving way to an atmospheric blanketing in dread that worked surprisingly well with the frequent moments of awkward humor executed throughout. The musical score here from the great Disasterpiece feels plucked from a Steven Soderbergh film, with unnerving repetition in electronic synth stimulating an internal unrest, all the while the stripped-down cinematography conveys vulnerability with natural lighting in the form of smart phones that our characters use to luminate their various paths through this eerie aesthetic. Sprinkle in the audible influence of a hurricane persisting in the exterior of the setting, with articulate sound designs, and you have an isolation factor that actually earns the air of its inescapable predicaments, illustrating the tension in the atmosphere with claustrophobic confinement that serves as the pressure that molds the diamond in the many aforementioned interjecting dynamics that our characters are forced to confront for the first time in their privileged lives.

NEGATIVES

The compromising imbalance to that inconsistent dialogue springs free in the form of heavy-handed social commentary that often feels too on-the-nose to attain an organic quality to the ways these conversations casually evolve. I can wholeheartedly understand that I’m not the target demographic for this film’s subconscious subject matter in social commentary, but there were times in the heat of a climax when key words found their way into the deliveries of various characters, where they should be screaming for their lives, but instead have enough time to push an agenda that instead emitted a chorus of groans from my experience. In addition to this inconsistency, the film’s comic muscle is another one, with deliveries and punchlines feeling humiliatingly forced in the way they plague key scenes that should otherwise feel dramatically investing. This often took me out of moments when impacts and stakes aren’t given a single solitary scene to breathe or resonate before they reach for a device to capably break the tension on the ice, in turn underselling the elements of horror that it built and earned so wonderfully with chaotic unpredictability. This is especially the case with a character called Alice (Played by Rachel Sennott), who is purely and intentionally used as the film’s comic muscle, but in turn feels annoying with the intention of her echoing affirmations being defined so early, then hit upon time after time in the most arduously repetitive way imaginable. Last but not least, while the claustrophobic cinematography during isolated sequences invaded the privacy of our protagonists in ways that capably immersed us in their perils, I felt the shaking camera captivity during scenes of action left slightly more to be desired. This is mainly because the abruptness of the camera’s movements obscures the clarity of the coherence in ways that directly took me out of investment, leaving me little to focus on among a barrage of disjointed visuals that are every bit painful as they are tasking to capably piece together.

OVERALL
“Bodies Bodies Bodies” is A24 at its most mainstream, and while it fails to reach the heights of the studio’s contemporary classics like “The Witch” or “Hereditary” based on occasionally improper tones or heavy-handed dialogue, it stakes its claim with an infectiously romping good time through one of the more unpredictable murder mysteries in cinematic history. What starts as an intriguing group study into an abundance of privileged personalities and their jaded friendships, blossoms into a high-stakes raucous romper serving up enough suspense and social satire to prescribe insight into the vapidity of generation Z.

My Grade: 7/10 or B