Few genres are as timeless as the classic whodunnit: from Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None to the iconic comedy Clue to the witty Knives Out, there’s an irresistible allure to a murder, a mansion, and gallery of idiosyncratic suspects. Director Halina Reijn (Instinct) modernizes the murder mystery by focusing on a group of over-privileged Gen Z friends who gather for a hurricane party at aggro party boy David’s (Pete Davidson) parents’ mansion upstate.
Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), newly sober, brings her girlfriend Bee (Maria Bakalova) to meet her friends for their party weekend. Bee, a kind, working-class GameStop worker, is immediately met with faux kindness and condescension from the toxic circle. There’s David’s actress girlfriend Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), vapid podcast host Alice (Rachel Sennott), her older boyfriend Greg (Lee Pace), and the combative Jordan (Myha’la Herrold) who has history with Sophie. These long-time frenemies have plenty of history together, with disdain and long-simmering resentment hiding just below the surface.
Their sniping and passive aggression is in full effect as the gang drinks, takes drugs, and TikToks their way through the weekend as the hurricane rages on. They decide to play a party game (the titular Bodies Bodies Bodies), a version of Assassin or Among Us, where someone is designated the killer and starts murdering people by tapping them on the shoulder. But when the bodies start dropping for real, the house descends into panic, paranoia, and black humor over the course of a single night.
Reijn brings a stylish, in-your-face energy to the film, with claustrophobic close-ups and dizzying party scenes. She’s aided by a talented cast, who perfectly skewer every aspect of privileged Gen Z existence. Everything from social media to safe spaces to fake activism gets name-checked in the movie, as the gang bickers and accuses one another of being the killer. Secrets come spilling out, lies are revealed, and long-time grudges are brought to the forefront.
Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) is a standout as the sincere and kindhearted Bee, who struggles to keep her head as the situation spins out of control. Sennott (Shiva Baby) also shines as an easily manipulated party girl who is upset by her friends’ murders and the fact that they don’t listen to her podcast equally. It speaks to the strength of the ensemble that you genuinely believe that every single one of them could be the killer at any given moment.
The film is whip-smart and bitingly funny, while maintaining the tension and mystery until the very end. While Bodies Bodies Bodies doesn’t re-invent the wheel, it’s a timely skewering of youth, wealth, and the perils that come when the wifi connection dies.
(featured image: Erik Chakeen/A24)
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
