Take a group of people, lock them away in a remote location, and start killing them off one by one.
No, that’s not my plan for the weekend — it’s a time-honored formula for a thriller. Agatha Christie used it as a jumping-off point for some of her most famous and innovative mysteries. Horror films like The Haunting adopted the device, and how could you even make a decent slasher movie without gathering your potential victims at Camp Crystal Lake?
Bodies Bodies Bodies is the latest story to dust off the cozy trope and twist it to satirical ends. It comes in hot, with a close-up of Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) and Bee (Maria Bakalova) kissing passionately. After a tryst in the woods, they drive in Sophie’s aging Land Rover to a secluded mansion. It’s the family home (or at least one of them) of David (Pete Davidson), Sophie’s best friend from childhood.
We meet the rest of the cast in the pool, competing to see who can hold their breath the longest — the first of many edgy games this toxic friend group plays. There’s Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), David’s attractive actress girlfriend; Alice (Rachel Sennott), the cocaine-crazed party girl; Greg (Lee Pace), Alice’s hunky beau; and Jordan (Myha’la Herrold), the no-nonsense overachiever who is the only person in this post-college clique not to come from money.
There’s a hurricane approaching, and the friends have gathered to wait out the storm with copious amounts of booze and drugs to pass the time. They’re surprised to see Sophie, who has lost touch with the group ever since they staged an intervention and sent her to rehab. But she claims to have responded to the group text — the main arena of friendship these days — and has such a deep history with David that he welcomes her. For Bee, it’s the first time she’s seen her new girlfriend in her natural element. She’s surprised to learn that Sophie’s family home is even bigger than this sprawling mansion. But the streak of destruction Sophie’s wild years left behind has alienated her family, and it’s obvious that the point of this trip is her return to the affluent world which exiled her.
As the dynamic between the friends reveals itself, we start to wonder why she would bother. These folks’ idea of a fun drinking game is taking a shot of tequila and then slapping the person next to you — and you’d better do it hard, or you have to go again. David is the passive-aggressive ruler of the roost, and he’s threatened by Greg’s presence. No one quite knows what to make of Bee’s Eastern European accent and proletariat mannerism. Finally, as the storm drives them from poolside, Emma suggests they play a new game: Bodies Bodies Bodies. They draw lots to determine who is the secret murderer and then turn out the lights and scatter. The “murderer” taps a victim on the shoulder, then the rest of the group tries to figure out who is the wolf in sheep’s clothing. At first, David objects to the game because every time they play it, a fight breaks out. “But that’s what makes it fun!” says Emma.
Sure enough, the game quickly goes sour. Greg and David storm off in a huff. As the storm intensifies, Bee sees David clawing at the window. His throat cut, he bleeds out before the groups’ horrified eyes. Paranoia (aided by the cocaine) ensues. Is there a killer in the woods or are they trapped in the house with the murderer?
Based on a story by Kristen Roupenian (who wrote the now-infamous “Cat Person”) and directed by Halina Reijn, Bodies Bodies Bodies shares a premise with Memphis director A.D. Smith’s Covid lockdown thriller Killer. But where Smith played it straight, Reijn twists it into dark comedy. In true slasher fashion, all of these people are horrifying jerks who deserve their bloody comeuppance. Stenberg and Bakalova have excellent chemistry as a new couple who slowly turn on each other, and Sennott (who was great in Shiva Baby) stands out. Davidson’s controlled, nuanced performance hints at talent beyond his smirking SNL presence. The digital noir cinematography by Jasper Wolf is often outstanding. At a crisply paced 95 minutes, Bodies Bodies Bodies is a satisfying cinematic snack.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
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