Bodies Bodies Bodies
Halina Reijn directed the recently released comedy horror movie Bodies Bodies Bodies. Reijn has directed movies before, but Bodies Bodies Bodies has the highest ranking with a 86% on Rotten Tomatoes with an additional score of 69% audience score. I would have rated it higher, but before I continue with this review, I’d like to warn you that this article will contain spoilers.
If you dislike horror, I would still recommend this movie because it was not gory, and the ending made it easy to sleep the same night. This movie feels like a present-day adaptation of a slasher film, which I am a huge supporter of. The movie is rated R, which allows the characters to act realistically and provides many laughs from the audience.
I was raised on horror movies and loved seeing the remakes. While the originals weren’t scary once I was old enough to see how harmless the ancient effects are, the remakes were disappointing because the characters were just mean to the point I was happy when they died, just so they couldn’t continue to be annoying. Bodies Bodies Bodies, however, was a refreshing slasher movie that was a new idea and even made fun of this generation. The deaths of all the characters helped progress the story, and the characters were well-written. While there were characters I didn’t like, the reason they acted the way they did was explained and worked well for the plot. I could semi-understand the director’s reasoning (even if they were still annoying after learning the villain arc).
The characters are all at David’s (played by Pete Davidson) dad's house for a hurricane party. As a local Louisianan, the storm was accurate to what you see within a hurricane, so no criticism there. But why would you ever have a party for that?
During the party, they all decide to play the game bodies, bodies, bodies. The game is a game of bluff where everyone is given a piece of paper, and the one with an “x” is the killer. You search in the dark, allowing for jump scares, of course, and try not to be “killed” by the killer. If you find a dead body, you scream, “bodies, bodies, bodies!” and then debate who did it. If you ever played mafia, you know it’s the same here, but there are no doctors. Right under UNO, this game has the ability to destroy friends, family, and society.
Spoilers are ahead, so you have been warned. Bee (played by Maria Bakalova) is a new addition to the group because she just started dating Sophie (Amandla Stenberg). David and Sophie have some tension, which I couldn’t tell if it was sexual or not. David is with Jordan, Emma (who is David’s girlfriend), Alice, and her tinder date, Greg. They were all driven there by a friend Max, who was not at the party for some reason. Greg and David have a weird “who’s the hotter guy” fight, and when David is found dead, Greg is immediately killed within minutes of the girls banding together against him. This sounds stupid on paper, but while watching the movie, this is a solid, logical action being taken.
The next to die is Emma, who had just gotten into a fight with Sophie by falling down the stairs after taking some pills. After a good long bit, Jordan is now fighting with Bee. A gun gets involved, and while the four of our last remaining characters are fighting over it, Alice gets shot twice. Her podcast fans are going to be mad about that. Jordan, the one who still has the gun, is pushed off the stairs and dies on a glass table. It is now down to the couple, where it is believed that Sophie was cheating with Jordan. Bee is fighting for Jordan’s phone… but finds David’s instead. After opening the phone with the dead man’s face, it reveals that he accidentally killed himself with a sword… and then Max shows up, and the movie ends.
End of spoilers. It is now safe to read. All in all, I would rank the movie an 8/10. The movie had good scares, wasn’t too bloody, and made me care about the characters. I believe the ending was hilariously funny and fit perfectly for a movie that did not take itself seriously. If you think this movie is for you, take your Centenary ID down to the Robinson and catch it while it’s still there! And make sure to check out the bulletin board on the third floor of Jackson Hall to see what’s playing next!