Why Did I Not Watch Bodies Bodies Bodies When it Came Out?

I'm someone that absolutely loves movies and I do my best to support them in theaters whenever I can. You should too because in my opinion nothing quite compares to a movie theater viewing experience. Plus we should support the movies we want to see when they come out. However, sometimes I wait too long and the movies I want to see end up leaving theaters before I get a chance to view them. I know, I need to do better and I will. 

One movie that I wanted to see when it came out was Bodies Bodies Bodies. It's an A24 film directed by Halina Reijn. The film's story was developed by Kristen Roupenian and the screenplay was written by Sarah DeLappe. I don't want to give too much away about the movie in case some readers haven't seen it yet, so I'll try to leave out any spoilers. The story is a black comedy that falls into the slasher subgenre of horror. The movie follows a bunch of friends that decide to hunker down and party in a big house together, while they wait out a hurricane. During their hurricane party things get very dark, very quickly. When I saw the trailers it looked like something that would be right up my alley. I love horror and a set up of Gen Z twenty-somethings being locked up together inside a dark house, with no where to go, and a deranged psychopath taking them out one by one definitely peaked my interest. Unfortunately, I didn't support it in theaters. It came out during 2022 and I may have been hesitant about going to the movies at that time due to COVID, but I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that I missed out on viewing this in the theater with my horror peers.

I watched it on Netflix over a month ago and it hasn't left my mind. The movie is entertaining and funny, while maintaining it's overarching dark atmosphere and tone. Whether or not it's scary is debatable. The setup of people being taken out by a crazy killer is always a scary idea, but today's horror fans are very hard to shake up when it comes to getting scares. While I do think people who have seen a lot of horror movies won't be scared, I believe the dark plot and tension will keep most viewers on their toes, anticipating surprises. And to be honest I think that's a part of what helps this movie shine -- it delivers on its energy and its surprises. The actors also do a great job of making their characters believable. I could see myself knowing some of these people. Honestly, I feel like I have come across people who were kind of like this. Collectively, they're all kind of horrible people or at the very least they're all flawed in some way. I found myself thinking while watching these characters, "yeah you're kind of not that great of a person, but damn I don't want to see you die."

 The film dives into commentary on privilege, class, youth culture, technology, friendships, communication, and identity. A lot times when satirizing the current cultural and social climate it's very easy for writers to slip into very heavy handed messaging that makes it feel like you're watching an after school PSA. Luckily, I think the director and writers avoided falling into this trap. Even though there is a cautionary take away by then end, I never felt like message was being hammered into my brain.

There's so much more I want to breakdown about Bodies Bodies Bodies. Maybe I should do separate posts talking more in depth about certain themes and character traits that stuck out to me. I don't know yet... I think I will do that. I'm not making any promises yet though. If I do it, those posts are going to be heavy on the spoilers. So if you haven't seen the movie yet, I highly recommend that you do. If you love it great! If not that's fine too, hopefully we can still talk about it.

Overall, I think the film was a breath of fresh air for me when it comes to not only horror flicks, but for movies in general. I think we're currently living in a time when so many people are cynical about today's entertainment landscape. To a degree I understand why that is, when most of the mainstream films coming out in recent years have been soulless remakes, unnecessary reboots, or sequels coming out decades after the original movie. I hear a lot people saying things like everything sucks now and there haven't been any good or original movies in years. So yeah I get the cynicism, but I would argue that there are movies out right now with original stories that are raising the bar when it comes to good storytelling. We just have to be on the lookout for those stories and support them when they are released in theaters.

Til next time! Stay safe and be blessed!