Movie Review Bodies Bodies Bodies is Clever But Unsatisfying

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a mixed bag. At once a horror whodunnit and a snappy send up of Gen-z, Bodies Bodies Bodies has a tricky tone to pull off and I don’t think it quite threaded the needle. The movie wants laughs and scares in equal measure and while it earns both, the whole is never as good as the parts. In the end Bodies Bodies Bodies is quite effective but not as effective as it needs to be.

Bodies Bodies Bodies stars Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova as a young couple traveling to a hurricane party. Stenberg is Sophie and Bakalova is Bee, and what Bee doesn’t know is that they have not actually been invited to this party. This is despite the fact that the party is being put on by Sophie’s oldest and closest friend, David (Pete Davidson). Sophie has dropped out of the lives of her closest friends while she was in rehab and while getting clean, she met Bee and fell in love.

We're Throwing a Hurricane Party

Sophie only learned of the party because her friends have kept her in a long term group text. If this weren’t awkward enough, Sophie’s ex-girlfriend Jordan (My’hala Herrold), is at the party, unaware that Sophie is coming and bringing her new girlfriend. Also at the party is Alice (Rachel Sennott) and her new, much older boyfriend, Greg (Lee Pace). FInally there is David’s deeply dramatic, actress girlfriend, Emma (Chase Sui Wonders),

Pay close attention to their character introductions, they are an important part of the story as things play out. One of the things I really like about Bodies Bodies Bodies is the clever and detailed scripting which gives each character importance in some way that plays into how this very odd plot devolves into chaos. It’s all rather logical in how the characters end up where they do and I really appreciated the detail employed in the storytelling.

Skillful Visual Filmmaking

I also enjoyed the skillful use of visual filmmaking. Director Halina Reijn makes smart use of visual setups and payoffs that don’t require explanations with dialogue. A small detail about a broken car window is employed later in the movie in a way that is not elaborate but necessary and I appreciated the setup and payoff of it. There are other good examples in the film as well but I will leave those for if you choose to see Bodies Bodies Bodies.

So why am I not completely sold on Bodies Bodies Bodies? It’s the attempts at comedy. There are some good solid laughs and clever asides in Bodies Bodies Bodies but the humorous stuff felt often at odds with how seriously the bloody horror is being played. I get that that is intentional, the comedy is supposed to come from a place of absurdity, from a place of how such a normal situation could become so violently out of control.

Who is Pete Davidson, really?

But it doesn’t weave as easily into the horror as it is intended. One character in particular seems a little too broad at times and undermines the supposed realism of what is occurring. I don’t think the actor is bad, I just think the performance became too much of a parody. And before you assume I am writing about Pete Davidson, I assure you that I am not. There is no need to specify which actor I am talking about, they aren’t bad in the movie, just a little off beat.

Speaking of Mr. Davidson, he’s good enough here. I think far too much of the movie rides on the persona we perceive of Mr. Davidson, but that’s not his fault really. Rather, I think that is the problem of the filmmakers who choose to put too much emphasis on how we perceive Davidson as a person. Davidson’s persona is goofy and many choose to believe he’s not very smart and Davidson’s casting and use in this movie relies heavily on you agreeing with that perception of him.

In the end, one character being just a little too broad and Davidson being used more for his real life persona than one organically developed in the movie left me feeling less than satisfied with Bodies Bodies Bodies. It’s certainly not a bad movie and I can definitely see good things in the future of director Helena Reijn, but Bodies Bodies Bodies just doesn’t quite work for me

Find my archive of more than 20 years worth movie reviews online at SeanattheMovies.blogspot.com. Follow me on Twitter at @SeanattheMovies for my archive work and @PodcastSean for my new reviews and opinions. You can also hear me talk about Bodies Bodies Bodies on the Everyone is a Critic Movie Review Podcast on your favorite podcast app.