Bodies Bodies Bodies

There's not a single likable character to be found in Bodies Bodies Bodies, and for once it's not the result of bad writing or lack of character development.  This is a murder mystery with a devilish glee behind it as a group of shallow, entitled young people hold a "hurricane party", and what is supposed to be a party game turns into a bloodbath.  

The joke here is not that these people are getting killed.  No one, no matter how shallow or entitled, deserves to die.  The joke of the film is that these people are too stupid not to lead to the film's ultimate tragic outcome.  Watching the film, I was reminded of the infamous Darwin Awards.  Those are of course the internet awards that set to "honor" people whose deaths might wind up improving the human race.  Anyone who sets foot in this film is a likely candidate.  It's often customary in some thrillers to root for the monster.  People who watch the Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street series eventually see Jason or Freddy as some sort of antihero, and cheer them on as they slice and dice their way through stupid, horny teens.  This movie might create the same response in its audience, even though nobody is being menaced by a supernatural evil, just their own cluelessness.  

The film opens with a group of long-time friends descending upon the mansion home of the spoiled and standoffish David (Pete Davidson).  Said friends include our lead protagonists, lovers Bee (Maria Bakalova) and Sophie (Amanda Stenberg), but they are also joined by David's actress girlfriend, Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), podcaster Alice (Rachel Sennott) and her older (but not very mature) boyfriend Greg (Lee Pace), and Jordan (Myha'la Herrold), who in this group might as well be considered the "brains" of this gathering.  As so often happens when long-time friends get together after years of being apart, they immediately get on each other's nerves, and decide to ease the tension with a murder mystery party game known as Bodies Bodies Bodies.

In the game, someone draws from a hat the role of being the murderer, and everyone has to roam about in the dark, figuring out who is the killer.  An argument quickly ensues between the players, and not long after, an actual murder has happened. (I won't say who.) The survivors naturally turn on each other, and things escalate to such a degree that it's kind of amazing at first, but maybe not.  These are very shallow individuals who probably have been bred not to have to think, and that their inherent wealth and good looks could solve any problem.  Now they're faced with a real crisis, and none of them know how to react, other than to accuse and sling mud at each other.

Bodies Bodies Bodies is often wickedly satirical, and just a lot of fun.  Beyond the razor sharp screenplay that mercilessly skewers buzzwords and online culture war division, the movie is slickly shot, with brilliant use of lighting from glow sticks and cell phones creating a genuinely eerie vibe.  And while I did not exactly like any of these characters, the performances used to bring them to life are first rate, with former child actress Stenberg as Sophie and Sennott as the narcissistic Alice being the stand outs.  And while I wouldn't dream of spoiling the ending, it really does finish on the perfect note, and perhaps the only one it could have landed on.   

This is the kind of movie that sneaks up on you.  I expected a clever murder mystery, and got it, but it's clever in its writing, use of characters, and atmosphere.  It's confident, witty, and joyful in its meanness.  Sure, the characters within it are cruel, but I couldn't help but wonder if the real cruelty would be letting these dopes go on with their wealthy yet uneventful lives. 

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