Most people have played games at childhood or young adult parties, and sometimes, or better yet quite often, the players let the drive of competition get the best of them. This is the very basic premise of Bodies Bodies Bodies, a movie where young adults, after a day/night of drinking (and the consumption of other drugs) attempt to play a game where there is a mystery killer, a victim, and everyone else is a suspect. Based on a story by Kristen Roupenian, screenwriter Sarah DeLappe and director Halina Reijn present a cinematic “who-dunit” flick that also serves as a darkly comedic satire of the world’s modern young adults.
On the night on which a horrible storm is destined to strike a community, a group of young adults, who have been friends for a long time, decide to get together for a big blowout party, as they hunker down for the bad weather. The mix of people consists of longtime friends Sophie, her girlfriend Bee, and Sophie’s friends Jordan (Myha’la Herrold), Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), David (Pete Davidson), Alice (Rachel Sennott), and Alice’s much older lover Greg (Lee Pace). This assortment of strong personalities awkwardly dance around some past resentments and negative feelings toward one another initially, but things get very real and ugly when the events of the night devolve very badly.
Shortly after everyone begins a game of “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” an activity where there is a murderer and a victim, and the rest must determine the killer, the negative feelings surface. However, their game turns out to be a real disaster when one of the participant’s real dead body is discovered. As the survivors attempt to uncover the truth behind the tragedy, the one-time friends eventually turn on each other and the entire night turns into a revelation of true human nature.
The entire premise behind this movie, as well as how the events play out, is a brilliant examination of the ugly side of humanity. While this movie can be totally dark and grim, the exceptional writing, direction, and fantastic performances by the cast members make this film an impressive example of pitch-black satirical comedy. There is a bit of repetitive nature to the events and conversations which sometimes take away from the overall experience. However, this film works so well, otherwise, that its flaws do not have an overwhelming impact on the complete experience.
As I stated above, I must applaud the fantastic performances of the cast. Everyone plays their individual parts exceptionally, with a few a couple of standouts who often steal their scenes. Firstly, Pete Davidson utilizes his comic timing well, and also gets serious when necessary, in his portrayal of David, a self-entitled, snarky, spoiled man-child. As the odd guy in the group, Lee Pace is an absolute riot as the older man, who probably should not be hanging out with this younger crowd. And as the hilarious and occasionally annoying influencer wannabe Alice, Rachel Sennott is absolutely amazing. She beautifully captures the obliviousness and insipidity that her character demands.
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film as one of the headliners of SXSW 2022 so much that I had to watch it again, when it screened for Austin critics recently. It is a comedic and satirical thriller that is as sharp and funny as it is disturbing and absurd. I must highly recommend Bodies Bodies Bodies as the more telling and revelatory movies of this year and generation.