One, two, three, the murderer is you! – review of the movie “Bodies Bodies Bodies”

The main thing is having fun

Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) and Bee (Maria Bakalova) are girls who do not hide their feelings from the whole world. On the contrary! In the first scene, we witness the passionate kisses of girls who are in love with each other. And although at the beginning of the story you can feel the tension in the relationship between the protagonists, the real “fun” is yet to begin. The girls are going to a weekend party to Sophie’s friends, which will take place in an exclusive mansion in a complete rump … remote area. As it happens in this type of films, friends are quite unfavorable towards the new chosen one of their friend’s heart – hidden, mysterious and withdrawn in relation to the others. The party quickly moves from the backyard swimming pool to the huge estate due to the storm that is to pass through the area that fateful evening. That’s where the idea comes up to play the game “bodies bodies bodies”, which in our backyard can be translated as a game of zombies. Everything goes just as normal until the first real corpse appears. One could say – the history ofThere are many horror movies , but the key here is… perspective.

Unusual teen slasher

After the rather long exposure to the film, it can be assumed that we will be dealing with another modern slasher trying to get closer to the greatest classics of the genre – which could even turn out to be the whole production for good. With subsequent scenes, however, this perspective changes, the atmosphere thickens, and the secrets and old intimates of a group of friends come to light, which on the one hand become the axis of the film, and on the other, are an open social mirror covered with dense, pop-culture moss, in which they can see themselves. each representative of the “Z generation”. The director skillfully plays with the convention, changing the perspective according to the golden maxim “point of view depends on the point of sitting”. It all makes Bodies Bodies Bodiescan be considered quite unusual teen slasher : contrary to expectations, we will not see the clichés characteristic of the subspecies in it, although you can get the impression that Reijn could easily create a model horror movie in which the corpse is thickly littered, and the final girl emerges among exaggerated characters – the only person who is able to defeat the murderer lurking in the nooks and crannies. The production should rather be seen as a black comedy with elements of horror, because this, although tangible, is sewn with thick threads and does not evoke the expected tension in the audience, which is definitely lacking. Here (in part), however, the director can be absolved, as that was not her main goal.

Tailored cast

The central place in the Reijn film production are the heroes – exaggerated, infantile, cynical and envious, reflecting all that is worst in the stereotype of the American, constantly seeking social approval of the “generation Z”. They are the ones who play the first violin on a stage called social satire. The director, creating the characters’ individual creations, does not try to be unpretentious, moralizing and pathos, on the contrary – she contrasts them with herself in a fratricidal duel, sparked by the spark in the form of the first corpse. The conflict explodes like a spontaneous combustion, requiring virtually no intervention by anyone, and then escalates with successively revealed secrets and the scratching of not completely healed wounds. At some point it reaches its zenith, and the double morality of the heroes goes along with it. The whole comedy and absurdity of the situation is based on the protagonists making guesses, mutual accusations about who is the murderer, according to the rules of the title game, as well as creating their own ideology and interpretation of events. The climax of the performance turns out to be the ending showing that things are not always as we see them.

Reijn and screenwriter Sarah Delappe keep up with the times, weaving the youth slang used by today’s generation into the dialogues. Such a scenario can be carefully implemented by a carefully selected cast of actors. On the screen we will see, among others, Pete Davidson, the star of Saturday Nights Live , also known for his stand-up scenes. Maria Bakalova, who is not afraid to take on unusual acting roles (for example Another film about Borat ), also works great as Bee – a somewhat neurotic teenager. In addition to them, on the screen we will also see Rachel Sennott, less known than the others, who has had contact with horror movies so far in a short horror film. The cast is completed by Amandla Stenberg ( The Hunger Games ,The Hate You Give ), Chase Sui Wonders ( On Ice , Generation ), and Myha’la Herrold ( Industry , Too Soon ). Such a combination guarantees acting on a decent level.

All this makes Bodies Bodies Bodies , although practically devoid of tension, can interest, amuse and make you reflect. Instead of horror, we get a dose of black humor with social satire. Such horror films are rather in vain in modern productions.

We would like to thank Cinema City for the opportunity to watch the movie Bodies Bodies Bodies !