In an isolated family mansion, a group of rich 20-somethings decides to play Bodies Bodies Bodies, a game where one of them is secretly a “killer” while the rest tries to “escape”. Things t...
Some people call Bodies Bodies Bodies a slick yet annoying version of Scream; I consider this a live-action version of Among Us and Citadels crossbred with Euphoria and Survive: Escape From Atlantis….and I mean that in the best way possible.
A lot has to be taken into consideration when a director tackles a particular genre because it’ll often challenge their leadership and communication skills simultaneously on top of transitioning through scene to scene; Halina Rejin passes both of those with flying colors. By focusing on the friends dynamic in a frisky manner as opposed to an angry one, she channels her inner Agatha Christie by playing both into the chaos of fragile alliances and the scripts’ social interrogation of modern America as a whole.
Jasper Wolfs cinematography is a nifty box of intrigue, dread and ingenuity further elevated by great mileage within the tightly crowded production design, the pacing doesn’t run its course under any circumstances, the visual aesthetic goes hand in hand with the nihilistic but gaudy tone and vibe of the presentation, lighting was creative in many instances, the execution of its horror tropes is used as a genius facade for bluntness and narcissism and the dry comedy works best when the movie warps the dialogue about how ludicrous such philanthropies are regarding our modern trends…..and when it’s being pretty blunt about it. I love how seamlessly the music and audio design bleed into one another; diegetically restrained in expressive amplification but bombastic enough to be impactful and a lot of the characters are so over-exuberant, passionate or a combination of the two (which is a testament to the stellar acting on display) but it also makes sure to not border on parody.
We’re clearly not supposed to like them; they’re bloody expendable in the grand scheme of things but they’re all so damn charismatic.
Something about the overarching messages of this story hit me a lot more than I thought it would. That always seems to be one of many themes that cripple me a lot: the destruction of goodwill itself.
Normally, films like this are afraid to offend a particular side even in the tiniest manner and double down on suffocating it’s audience with all the positives. They hardly pull any punches here: Class, status and how we have a tendency to overreact to even the simplest of stuff online and offline while satirically poking fun at the entire Gen Z culture…..and, in an odd way, welcoming them too. The characters are meant to be absurdist representations of not just the current youth but humanity as a whole; quick to react impulsively, jump to conclusions and create destruction to others or ourselves when we misunderstand a situation or things just don’t go your way.
Amongst any annoyances one might come across, you’re gonna find yourself either facepalming or laughing to the way they act or, to a lesser extent, you catch yourself acting when you put yourself in their shoes. Yet if you dig out those layers, this comes off more as a morality tale that not only eviscerates modern culture but might as well be an essay on unaccountability and excess in today’s lens.
If we keep this stuff up, we’re going to destroy ourselves.
Some of the plot turns aren’t as welcomed as others, heavily inspired use of Internet online culture in the dialogue occasionally shows its age eventually and just as a nitpick, the kills themselves aren’t exactly interesting beyond how they’re presented. You think in a house with all these expensive and lucrative props used to kill, they would’ve been taken advantage of. But again, picking nits as far as I’m concerned.
There may not be anything remotely clever about this movie but considering how vicious, blunt and unapologetic it is on not holding anything back amongst all the dry humor, I’m convinced this is what Hajina wanted us to see.
