From the sticky, slippery opening frames of “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” director Halina Reijn lets the audience know that we’re in for one silly-smart and deeply self-aware roller-coaster ride. This blackly comic horror riff is heavy on the social satire and sprinkled with scares, as Reijn, along with writers Sarah DaLappe and Kristen Roupenian (who contributed the screenplay and story, respectively), have intelligently pulled together and reinterpreted traditional horror tropes in order to send up the youth of today. The result is a horror film that’s a true triple threat: stunning, smart and wildly entertaining.
“They’re not as nihilistic as they seem on the internet,” Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) reassures her new girlfriend Bee (Maria Bakalova), en route to a “hurricane party” at the mansion of her childhood best friend David (Pete Davidson). Bee, with her quiet demeanor, accented English and humble, tomboyish clothing, is very different from Sophie and her longtime posse of outrageous rich kids. Sophie has her own sordid history with the group, and the tension among them bubbles, roiling to a boil throughout the long, bloody night that ensues.
Set within this coterie of chatty, privileged, quasi-sociopathic 20-somethings, “Bodies Bodies Bodies” is the Zoomer offspring of its Gen X parents “Scream” and “Shallow Grave.” It also follows certain folk horror tropes that have been mainstreamed in films like “Get Out.” Bee, a stranger in a strange land, makes her way into the inner sanctum of a closed, cult-like group, becoming intoxicated and inculcated to their rituals and mischief-making, in this case, a game called Bodies Bodies Bodies. The game draws out jealousy and long-simmering conflict, and escalates the toxic atmosphere, which is aided and abetted by the hurricane-induced power outage.
DaLappe’s screenplay is biting, sharp and dense with pop cultural references and lore, targeting everything from self-important podcasters, to TikTok dances, to “Hedda Gabler.” Most importantly, she nails the precise language of socially aware and terminally online Zoomers, littered with virtue signaling, performative allyship and advanced psychological analysis. Still, the characters are far more than just parody, as they actually feel like real people with real stakes.
The young cast tackle the script and their performances energetically. “Shiva Baby” star Rachel Sennott is a standout as the vapid, but often insightful Alice, while the always reliable Sternberg is fantastic playing against type, and “Borat” star Bakalova proves she’s no flash in the pan. The male leads, Davidson and Lee Pace, have their own extra-textual baggage outside of the film — Davidson’s character references the specific kind of energy that has marked speculation about the “SNL” star’s dating life, while the strapping Pace has happily embraced his role as the internet’s thirst object, and his character Greg seems to do the same as the older oddball in the group.
But what makes “Bodies Bodies Bodies” so electric is Reijn’s excellent direction. Smartphones are integral to the plot, as phones often are in horror movies, but they are also extensions of the character’s bodies and brains. They complain about the group chat, ask for the Wi-Fi, Google the new girl, listen to meditation apps and hurl directives at each other like “check her texts!” The chaos begins and ends with the phone, but beyond their storytelling function, Reijn brilliantly utilizes the phones in the cinematic visual design and as an element of suspense.
Reijn and cinematographer Jasper Wolf use phone flashlights as the primary light source in the darkened estate, which is a plausible choice for the characters, plus it makes for delightfully rich images, the shadows concealing dark secrets, bodies caught in the glare of a spotlight like wild animals caught on camera. It’s an evolution of the chiaroscuro lighting of film noir and German Expressionism of the early 20th century that set the template for the horror aesthetic we know today, but “Bodies Bodies Bodies” doesn’t look like any other horror movie out there, and that’s a good thing. Reijn’s use of space, light, shadow and the bodies within the space is wholly unique, beautiful and spooky. The use of glow necklaces as a lighting source is transcendent.
As the bodies hit the floor, we come to realize that what’s truly scary about “Bodies Bodies Bodies” are the absolutely chilling insights about the world we live in. It’s the collective hysteria, narcissistic myopia and casting of blame that fuels the bloodshed in the film, reminding us that the only thing to fear is fear itself. It’s a worldview that is as bleak, absurd and yes, nihilist, as the whole world feels right now, perfectly capturing this moment.
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‘BODIES BODIES BODIES’
4 stars (out of 4)
MPAA rating: R (for violence, bloody images, drug use, sexual references and pervasive language)
Running time: 1:35
How to watch: In theaters Friday
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