Bodies Bodies Bodies

I went into Bodies Bodies Bodies expecting a horror film. But horror isn’t particularly high on the film’s priority list. That’s okay, though. The priorities the film does have are all executed well. Bodies Bodies Bodies would make a great double feature with Shiva Baby. Both films star Rachel Sennott. Shiva Baby was listed as a comedy and yet terrified me. And Bodies Bodies Bodies is listed as a horror movie but had more laugh out loud moments than Shiva Baby did. Rachel Sennott’s great acting and good choice of film roles ensure that the universe stays in balance.

The film focuses on a party a rich, 20-something friend group throws. The party takes place at an enormous house owned by Pete Davidson David’s father. David’s oldest friend, Sophie brings her new girlfriend, Bee along with her. Also in attendance is are Jordan; Alice; Alice’s new, older boyfriend, Greg and David’s girlfriend, Emma. The group engage in substance use and decide to play a murder game called Bodies Bodies Bodies. But of course, it turns into more than just a game. When one member of the party turns up dead, the others turn on each other and consistently escalate the situation at hand.

I didn’t know Bodies Bodies Bodies was queer before I went in. But it straight up opens on Bee and Sophie kissing. They kiss a lot in the first act. Even once the film gets murder-y, there’s still queerness to be found. I don’t know why I’m so surprised. The film’s marketing plays heavily onto how Gen Z the movie is. And sexual fluidity is part of Gen Z. For this movie, it just means that Sophie can bring her girlfriend and it’s treated the same as Alice bringing her boyfriend. The bold statement coming from so many Gen Z queer films is that relationships are the same. Date a boy, a girl, someone who’s neither. Who cares? There’s a hurricane, multiple dead people and many unsupervised lines of cocaine. These are all much more pressing problems in Bodies Bodies Bodies.

It takes a lot of elements to make a movie good. But the main three are writing, acting and directing. Bodies Bodies Bodies largely succeeds at all three. The film has a very tight screenplay. The character work is really good. These characters are similar to each other but still have individual characteristics. The comedy works too. Much of the film is a lambasting of Gen Z. Specifically, 20-somethings and especially rich 20-somethings. While sometimes some of the shots the film takes feel a little mean, mostly they land and feel justified.

Preformative awareness and buzzwords are peppered through the dialogue of these young characters. Terms like gaslighting, toxic and ableism all find a place in the film. The film largely makes fun of characters using such terms. Not because these are necessarily terrible words, but because the situation doesn’t call for them. Seeing characters accuse one another of being toxic or ableist following multiple of their friends’ deaths is pretty funny. And the film overall points out how just because you know the terminology, doesn’t make you a good person. Everyone in Bodies Bodies Bodies is a horrible person. But now they can use these buzzwords to criticize the behaviour of others while never taking a look at oneself.

The actors really bring this script to life. This is an exceptionally well-cast movie. These actors have charisma to spare. The standout for me is Rachel Sennott. Her character was frequently the most emotional and got a lot of the funnier lines. Sennott continues to really impress me. The rest of the cast is great too. Even Pete Davidson. He’s not exactly my favourite guy. But Bodies Bodies Bodies makes great use of him. His character is a rich douchebag with a drug problem. Pete Davidson can play that character extremely well. He’s also not in it as much as the others, which is probably smart. Davidson’s character ends up having one of the funniest moments in the film.

Of course, all decisions in a film circle back to the directing. And the directing of Bodies Bodies Bodies is pretty strong. There’s a distinct style to the film. There’s also great use of editing and pacing to keep tensions high. I have some reservations on how the film will look on a small screen. It was a great experience seeing it in theatres. But the film’s use of darkness, disorientation and frequent use of cellphones as flashlights probably won’t read as well on a laptop screen. The film also really enjoys an off-kilter close up. Even in theatres, the love of close-ups didn’t always work for the moment.

Bodies Bodies Bodies scared me less than I expected, but made me laugh more. The film takes 20-something messiness and ramps it up so high that it has a body count. Though obviously an exaggeration, it’s one with some truth to it. I recognized these characters. Sometimes, I even saw myself in them. That can definitely be an uncomfortable experience. But Bodies Bodies Bodies exists more to entertain than make you have a good, hard think about your life. And my god, I was entertained.

Overall rating: 7.7/10

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