Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Score: 4 / 5

It may not be the most dangerous game, literarily speaking, but it certainly is one! Bodies Bodies Bodies is the latest A24 film to grace us with its existence, and thank heaven it's here to usher us from summer blockbuster season to spooky season. What do we even call this genre mashup? It was billed as a slasher, and in some ways it is very much that. But it's also, formally, a murder mystery and -- most surprising to me -- a sort of bildungsroman of Gen Z mentality. It opens, as comparatively no wide releases do, with a sensual kiss between two young women of different skin tones; we're fully absorbed into a world of naturalized queerness from the outset, and it's not even particularly sexual or creepy. There's a lovely warm glow to their passionate lip-locking, and though it's definitely not the vibe of the film to follow, it effectively sets up that this is a progressive film that doesn't even need to verbally address the typical baloney that often accompanies queer characters. Brava, and now on to the film!

It doesn't take long for us to realize, despite the racially diverse and mostly queer cast, none of the characters are particularly likable. The two girls are Sophie (Amandla Stenberg of The Hate U Give, Dear Evan Hansen) and Bee (Maria Bakalova, a newcomer after that Borat movie), a somewhat recently established young couple on their way to a "hurricane party." That's right, the kind of fabulous and stupid idea rich people come up with to ignore problems; it went well for Prince Prospero in Poe's short story about the Red Death. Sophie comes from a wealthy family, and the party will be hosted by an old friend of hers who is also sickeningly rich, the goofy delinquent David (Pete Davidson, of course). Shortly after they arrive -- unannounced and somewhat unwanted after no RSVP and some teenage drama -- the rain begins to fall and lightning cracks across the sky. Time to get indoors, right?

Maybe, but it's not so comfortable in the stately mansion with so many large personalities. David's girlfriend Emma is there (Chase Sui Wonders), as are a clueless podcaster named Alice (a magnificent Rachel Sennott of Shiva Baby) and her shockingly older ex-vet boy toy Greg (a perversely jubilant Lee Pace), and the mysterious but aggressive Jordan (Myha'la Herrold). They may all be used to wealth, but they're also extremely petty, bitter, and jaded; passive-aggressive arguments begin immediately about group chats and etiquette for attending parties. Jordan seems to have romantic feelings for Sophie -- their past is confirmed soon enough -- and the kids are all a little too attached to their precious phones. They are very much meant to stand in for voices of their generation, and the first third of the film is mostly played as comedic, showcasing the ridiculous preoccupations of supposedly woke young adults when they are left to their own amusement.

Booze and pills and cocaine flow freely until night falls, when it's time to play an infamous murder-mystery party game "Bodies Bodies Bodies." It sounds a bit like a secret killer game mixed with something like hide-and-seek, but there is no stopping the suspicions and revelations with so many substances in their systems. This is the kind of self-conscious horror movie that made Scream work, but writers Sarah DeLappe and Kristen Roupenian don't want to fit the mold entirely. Borrowing heavily from the 2005 cult hit Cry Wolf, they play off our expectations of the genre, melding self-aware comedy and cultural critiques with slasher aesthetic and a whodunnit plot. Because, in case you wondered where all this was going, bodies do indeed start to fall.

I won't summarize any more of the plot because a primary joy here is in trying to figure things out along with the characters. Are they being pranked by one of their own, as in Knives Out -- perhaps by that older creep Greg, or the playboy addict David -- or could a killer be among them, like the mysterious stranger (and arguable protagonist) Bee, about whom we know as little as anyone else? Are they being stalked from without, a la You're Next, or is this some weird dynastic thing among the young and rich, as in Ready or Not? As the hurricane rages on, more bodies drop; more fascinating, if less engaging, are the screenplay and acting, which highlight the vapid love-hate relationship we all share with social media and, by extension, with each other.

Director Halina Reijn (in her English-language directorial debut) could be accused here of hating Gen Z, but I think her work is much more nuanced and sensitive than that. In fact, I might be inclined to argue that, while she is lampooning certain aspects of culture, she is in fact doing crucial work of bridging a generational gap: encouraging artistic dialogue between high-brow art (A24 may produce many things, but nobody can dispute its prolific titles' place in cinematic excellence) and younger generations. It's almost gleefully nihilistic in its dialogue, yes, and also in its attitude toward the characters, an intentional choice to ironically embrace accusations hurled at horror films for the past few decades. There are plenty of effective scares and lots of moody broody angst -- major thanks to cinematographer Jasper Wolf and music by Disasterpeace -- but the ultimate pleasure of this film is in its twist climax and denouement. I can hardly wait to rewatch with subtitles to capture and appreciate the nasty dialogue, its fabulous turns and dares, and of course to better appreciate the masterful performances even more by knowing what we finally know. This is, indeed, not a safe space.