Bodies Bodies Bodies movie review: A fun, but messy, whodunnit film
By Ricky Valero
We have another whodunnit style film hitting theaters on Friday from A24 in Bodies Bodies Bodies. Is the movie worth checking out in theaters? Let’s dive in.
Bodies Bodies Bodies follows a group of rich kids who plan a hurricane party. A party game turns deadly which leads to fighting, and backstabbing, and the party ultimately goes wrong. The film stars Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova and Rachel Sennott.
When the film begins, we meet these unlikable young kids who are rich, full of themselves and don’t care about anything. It sets the tone for how we are to feel about these characters throughout the movie. Once the games begin and bodies start to be counted, you are more excited to see them die than you are not.
Let me start with some of the things I liked about the film—first, the direction. I was a massive fan of how Halina Reijn shot the movie. The way she put us smack dab in the middle of everything that was going on was brilliant. Furthermore, she creatively used the camera to leave us in the dark (in more than one way) to give these reveals more meaning.
Bodies Bodies Bodies is a fun whodunnit adventure
Second, the strong ensemble makes the movie interesting. There isn’t a single bad performance in this entire film. Of course, we have a few standout performances from Amandla Stenberg and Rachel Sennott, but for me, Maria Bakalova stole the show in this one. Something about her character had this level of intrigue that you could never tell what was going on in her head. Bakalova’s star is only going to continue to rise.
Last, I did love basically everything about it, technically. I loved the colors within the film from cinematographer Jasper Wolf, the score from Diasasterpeace and the entire soundtrack was relatively solid.
However, with all that being said, I didn’t love the script. There are bits and pieces of it that are downright incredible, but the third act was a mess which took away from the overall product. So, when I walked out of the theater, my first thought was what might’ve been. I believe heading into that third act, we were heading into one of the best movies of the year, but now, I am like, this is a really good movie that could’ve been great.
Overall, Bodies Bodies Bodies is a fun whodunnit that I am sure will be somewhat divisive on who will or won’t like it. If you are looking for something different to watch in theaters this weekend, check it out.
Bodies Bodies Bodies hit theaters on Friday.