Bodies Bodies Bodies: Movie Review

Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha'la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Pete Davidson, Conner O'Malley
Director: Halina Reijn

An American horror-comedy that's more about dealing with issues of the Gen Z, Bodies Bodies Bodies is not perhaps the home run you'd expect it to be.

Mixing in a Clue style mystery with the hedonism of a house party set during hurricane season, director Halina Reijn knows how to mainpulate the crowd with a limited cast and a relatively taut run-time.

When Amandla Stenberg's Sophie and her new beau Bee (Borat's Maria Bakalova) show up at a party put on by her oldest friend David (Davidson), not everyone's pleased to see her. But when one of their number shows up dead later on, everyone's suddenly a suspect - and newcomer Bee is the prime suspect....

Bathed in darkness when the power goes out, Bodies Bodies Bodies's murky vistas extend to the feeling of those watching, leaving a somewhat flat whodunnit that doesn't have quite enough tautness as perhaps it needed.

In among the bitchy banter and the Kids-style opening, Bodies Bodies Bodies has a good deal of style and swagger within, but it fizzles out as deadly disaster strikes. More fitfully funny than perhaps it would have you believe, the knives really come out when the suspicions rise up.

But as the squabbling plays out, there's a nagging feeling that really none of the characters are particularly likeable nor their concerns particularly appealing to their survival. Trying to hit cultural cornerstones and meta dialogue doesn't really help proceedings either - neither do the large swathes of darkness that envelop suspects.

Perhaps as a commentary on the nihilism of the youth involved there's something to be said, but Bodies Bodies Bodies doesn't do it smartly or originally.

It may be more of a comedy than a comedy-horror and have parts that are amusing in passing, but Bodies Bodies Bodies is less of a killer and sadly, more of a case of filler.