Bodies Bodies Bodies

Bodies Bodies Bodies review written by Dominic Ricci

Written by: Kristen Roupinian & Sarah DeLappe

Directed by: Halina Reijn

Rating: 🏆  most excellent

In an isolated family mansion, a group of rich 20-somethings decides to play Bodies Bodies Bodies, a game where one of them is secretly a “killer” while the rest tries to “escape”. Things take a turn for the worse when real bodies start turning up, setting off a paranoid and dangerous chain of events.

I really, really enjoyed this one. A solid genre-fueled romp that utilizes its character's inherent unlikeability to a T in a way that would otherwise be pretty generic, but here turns it into a work of gold. I won't go as far as to say this is the new Scream, but I understand why people are making that comparison because they both have to do with the ending and how the overall general sense of self-indulgence felt by the characters is used as a means of reflection on an entire generation through a meta-lense. It’s not quite as obvious as Scream, which was always 100% aware of its tropes, but this movie makes some pretty great use of an otherwise familiar structure. Sporting a fantastic cast, particularly from the likes of Amandla Stenberg & Rachel Sennott. I enjoyed seeing how all these girls worked together, and it was a very smart call getting a cast that's all pretty much on the verge of breaking out. Not to mention Lee Pace, who’s often known for his abnormally regal, rather off-putting characters, turns in a performance that’s laid back yet off-kilter in a way that nobody would expect. The one thing I can say is that this movie is not nearly as funny as the trailers make it out to be. The dialogue is utilized in a much more dramatic sense, in a way that the trailer just plays up as an utter farce. But that's a really small nitpick because it works in the movie's favor. All I can say is do not spoil anything for yourself, because it truly is one of those movies that is better off not knowing anything going in.