Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers!
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) will be simply referred to as Bodies for the remainder of this post. The film was directed by Halina Reijn, written by Sarah DeLappe based on a story by Kristen Roupenian. Bodies stars Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova and Rachell Sennott, with Pete Davidson.
Within my social circles, Bodies has received mixed reviews. Some major fans, along with some major eye rolls. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed it as a whole. On a micro level, my only negative thoughts were that it was very loud (which might have been the speakers in the theater) and made me a little panicky (which is what I expect is exactly what the filmmakers wanted to happen.)
Again…this post contains spoilers! I say that again because the ending was incredible. And I think it changes the movie entirely. I was trying to figure out where it was going, who was the murderer? And my focus and suspicion switched to each of the characters along with the suspicion of the characters themselves. When you come to find out that it was, in fact, no one, it changes the entire film. We already knew that the film was hilarious commentary on a young and rich group of people. But the ending takes it to eleven. The panic and lack of empathy the characters demonstrate (not judging) becomes so much more powerful.
The panic that I was feeling as I was watching the movie, was the panic that the characters were experiencing while they were living out this hellish, perfect storm evening. Halina Reijn takes us on a journey along with her. Something I very much enjoyed.
I also thought the film was brilliant at creating a very scary, while still very funny, atmosphere. The story itself isn’t new. It calls to mine And Then There Were None and Clue, and all of the many remakes of that storyline since then. But Bodies does it in a fresh way. And it’s not just the young cast or energetic music. It’s the pacing and rhythm and acting and sound design and cinematography. The colors are bright, the drama is high and it all feeds into the absurdist and unrelatable life the characters lead. Though, there is still something human about all of them. A feat by all involved. The tension is palpable throughout.
If you happen to be reading this while the movie is still in the theaters, I’d suggest going to see it. Unless you’re especially prone to panic attacks. Then maybe wait until it’s on streaming.
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