So, it’s pretty much a guarantee that if a horror movie comes out of A24, it’s probably going to be if not weird than at least unique and kinda artsy. At least, that would be a good guess in the case of Bodies Bodies Bodies since it is both a horror movie and a social satire mocking Gen Z, the current crop of twentysomethings and teens that far too many people think are Millennials because some folks just assume “Millennial” is a catch-all term for anyone under 35 or so as near as I can make out even as the first Millennials are starting to get into their 40s. But what do I know? I’m Gen X, and we get ignored if people don’t assume we’re Boomers or something.
Was there a point to all that? Nah. I just couldn’t think of a better introduction.
Working class Bee (Maria Bakalova) is headed to the large, remote mansion with her wealthy girlfriend Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), the home of Sophie’s best friend David (Pete Davidson). David is throwing a hurricane party while his parents are out, and the remaining guests are David’s girlfriend Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), an aspiring actress; Alice (Rachel Sennott), the only one happy to see Sophie at first; Jordan (Myha’la Herrold), the only one who seems to be flying solo for the party; and Alice’s date Greg (Lee Pace), an older man nobody seems to know much about. Another friend, Max, left the day before for reasons that aren’t discussed right away.
The alcohol and drugs are flowing quite a bit, something Sophie would prefer not happen since she got out of rehab. However, as the storm drags on, the group decides to play a game of Bodies Bodies Bodies, a game where a “murderer” pretends to kill a member of the group and the survivors need to figure out who did it. The game, apparently, has a habit of leading to fights amongst the group, but they play anyway. But then one of the group dies a sudden, bloody death. Did someone take the game too far? Did Max come back? What do any of them, including Alice, know about the seemingly laid back Greg? Is Bee hiding anything? And how much do these longtime friends really like each other?
To be clear, the first thing to note is these are not likable characters for the most part, nor were they meant to be. Bee is something of an exception as the closest the movie has to a POV character dealing with these loud, often obnoxious Gen Z stereotypes, but she’s more quiet than anything else. If there’s a line the stereotypical Gen Z character will use, the others use it. Someone will be triggered, someone will be accused of being an ablest, and someone will push back at the perception she is being silenced. These are mostly shallow characters that aren’t intended to be the sort of people the audience might sympathize with. The big exception is Bee, and while she has her own secrets, she also is the only one to keep from snipping at the others with accusations, most likely because she’s just met most of them. And, again, she stays quiet and observes while the others start sniping at each other.
That said, this isn’t the sort of movie where you’re supposed to like the characters. These are shallow people dealing with things they aren’t equipped to deal with, and as the bodies stack up, their ability to stay calm and collected goes out the window, and they weren’t all that cool to begin with. They were just better at hiding all their minor resentments, and when people are dying, minor resentments start to become major ones. Bee, as the outsider, may be the audience stand-in as she spends many scenes saying very little, but in the end, it’s really hard to feel bad for the whiny, entitled victims here. There again, I don’t think I was supposed to. Am I allowed to enjoy a horror movie due to schadenfreude? I don’t know, but I mostly did.
Grade: B
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