Bodies Bodies Bodies | SXSW 2022 Film Review

Every so often, horror needs a jolt to its system to remind all cinephiles that it is a genre to be taken seriously. Whether it be the societal undercurrent of Night of the Living Dead, the creation of an entire sub-genre with Halloween, the off-handed mocking of that same sub-genre with Scream, or carefully dissecting race relations with Get Out. Horror has the potential to tackle a multitude of controversial topics under the guise of blood and, occasionally, laughter. I’m not proclaiming Bodies Bodies Bodies as a modern classic, but it does shake the pillars of horror up enough to demand a theatrical screening with a group of rowdy stans.

Bodies Bodies Bodies opens with the camera focusing on the blossoming relationship of Sophie and Bee (Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova). Their love is obviously fresh and about to be tested as Sophie whisks Bee away to her best friend David’s house. It is there that a group of friends have gathered together at David’s family mansion to party while a hurricane passes over outside. What’s more, every one of Sophie’s friends is shocked to see her, as she has ghosted them for months.

After a period of friendly barbs and snarky jabs, the friends decide to play Bodies Bodies Bodies, a take on Body-Body, the game where a murderer is secretly chosen, the lights go out, and one-by-one a “murder” occurs and each of the friends have to Sherlock Holmes the clues to find the culprit. The only thing is, at this party, people are actually turning up dead.

The screenplay by Kristen Roupenian, Sarah DeLappe, and Chloe Okuno is an inventive riff on Millennial and Generation Z foundational tropes. Gender identity, sexuality, addiction, and class struggles are the often hilarious topical fodder for the inherent mistrust that leads to much of the calamity within Bodies. This group knows there is a killer in their midst, and their individual personal conflicts slowly begin to break down their circle of trust, leading each to accuse the other.

Bee is the only outcast, so an easy suspect, and Bakalova plays Bee as a fiercely independent woman who is in perpetual deer-in-headlights mode with this incessant drama. She is also our in to this group, as she is as uninformed of the politics at play as the rest of us, learning each character’s role as the story goes. Sophie is a recovering addict, and though seemingly saintly at first, Stenberg revels in the opportunity to expand Sophie’s dynamic as her darker inhibitions come to light.

Though Bakalova and Stenberg are the obvious leads, this is a stacked supporting cast. Let me first give props to Pete Davidson, because as sick as everyone is of hearing his name tied to every starlet in Hollywood, he is an absolute riot as David. Initially David comes across as Pete’s feature-film version of his SNL “OK” guy, but he builds a toxic depth while also dropping some of the sharpest lines in the film. Ok, Pete, you can stay.

David’s girlfriend, Emma (Chase Sui Wonders) loves to remind everyone that she is an empath…well, an actress. She also seems to enjoy a bit of interpersonal manipulation and attention seeking. Jordan (Myha’la Herrold) is always staring at Sophie with both longing and the gaze of a thousand daggers, and her aggressive personality keep her firmly on the suspect list. The seemingly meek Alice (Rachel Sennott) runs a podcast, as does everyone her age these days. Hell, as does everyone everywhere these days, so let’s not judge her too harshly. She has also brought along her much older boyfriend, Greg (Lee Pace), the wannabe Matthew McConaughey of this fam that is just there to be chill AF and wear a shirt as little as humanly possible. Pace is also having the most fun of any performance throughout his established career.

Any of these zoomers could be the murderer, and as their trust issues break down, the potential for rash violence amps up. The storm thrashes outside, killing the power, while the turmoil and accusations permeate the hallways inside the mansion. Smart phone lighting has become a tad overused in horror as of late, but director Halina Reijn employs its use effectively, discreetly building tension as our own loyalties to characters are tested. Reijn also allows scenes to breathe and her actors to establish complete character arcs until we build to the insanely wild, TikTok worthy climax that could culminate in multiple audience member iterations of “fuuuuuuuck”.

Halina Reijn has delivered a tense and audaciously hilarious horror flick that slaps – I can be hip too – and could be a breakout film for all involved. It might not revolutionize the genre, but Bodies Bodies Bodies deliciously leaves us with a taste of fresh blood in our mouths.

Follow our further discussion on this and over 25 other film and episodic premieres screened at SXSW 2022 via this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast: