
In Bodies Bodies Bodies a group of young friends have a hurricane party at their wealthy friend’s parent’s house out in the middle of nowhere. They’re equipped with flashlights, extra batteries, booze and an array of drugs. As the storm sets in and the night heats up, they decide to play a game: Bodies Bodies Bodies. It’s a typical murder mystery party game: one person is the murderer, they pick off victims one by one when alone. But after the power goes out, they find a friend with his throat slit. And soon a murder mystery game becomes a night of survival.
From the moment Sophie (Amanda Stenberg) and her new girlfriend, Bee (Maria Bakalova) arrive you can feel the tension suddenly set in. Is it because Sophie didn’t tell them she was coming? Or do they not like Bee? Whatever it is, playing Bodies Bodies Bodies doesn’t help. And of course, finding a dead friend means all the shit hits the fan. We see how fake these friendships are, how much hostility they hold against one another. Eventually anyone left alive is pitted against everyone else to defend themselves against murder accusations.
At times I found the young women in this movie to be hilariously annoying and tone deaf. But the thing is, I wasn’t sure if that is the joke. Granted, there were maybe 4 other people in the theater at 12:30 on a Tuesday, so I didn’t hear much laughing with me. But much of the time I couldn’t tell if the tone of certain scenes were supposed to be serious or laughable. Anything with Alice (Rachel Snennott) was obviously funny. Alice is a mess. She’s hilarious, matching the bright and loud vibe of her neon glow necklaces and bracelets. The fact that she invites a man that she met on Tinder who is twice her age to this hurricane party is worrying, but how she tells us about him after 2 weeks is “He’s a Libra moon” is hilarious! It tells us all about her priorities.
At some points, the drama feels like the comradery and betrayals of a teenage sleepover. It’s all fun and games while drinks are flowing, but then the lights go out. The dark gets to you. The lack of communication and cliques that form can be isolating. They turn on each other, bring up shitty moments from their past and poke at small holes in their friendships until they rip apart. It’s an intriguing look at the dark drama of petty young friendships.
While I enjoyed Bodies Bodies Bodies, I don’t see this film going down in horror movie history in the kindest light. While I think the way it portrays these rich, young people is hilarious, it’s kinda sad and embarrassing. There is so much unnecessary blood and drama over TikToks, pranks, drugs, friendships and relationships that should’ve ended years ago. When the morning light comes and the movie ends, it leaves us laughing at the characters, not with them.
“Alice I’m literally just protecting myself ok. Let me remind you, our friend is dead. So if you could just like, not escalate the situation”