BODIES BODIES BODIES (REVIEW)

Dir. Halina Reijn

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

Who wants to play BODIES BODIES BODIES?

When the titular game is played amongst some university students at a wealthy house party, events escalate as paranoia, fear and revenge play out after one of the classmates is found dead.

Unlike most teen slashers, BODIES BODIES BODIES elevates itself above senseless gore and becomes a youthful revolt to the standards that have been set, and remained, for the genre and reinvents itself to be elevated above that.

To many that will be disappointing but Halina Reijn's film is one of this moment, one for an audience wanting more than just brainless fodder and actually blending modern political ideologies with drama.

If X is the anti-A24 film of the year, this is firmly the film you would expect from the audio. At times funny, others down to earth, the ensemble cast are a fresh faced revelation of young talent who appear to be having a great time breaking out of their respective genre films into something a little more chaotic, with a huge shout-out to Maria Bakalova (BORAT 2) and Amanda Stenberg (THE HATE U GIVE) who really gravitise the unfolding madness. Not to mention Pete Davison being, well, Pete Davison in a fitting role for the comedian. And while the cast play cat and mouse to uncover the murderer in their midst, the real star of the film comes to play... Disasterpeace's mesmeric pulse pounding soundtrack.

Like IT FOLLOW's, the soundtrack goes from nuanced and cranks up the tension in a way that carries the film allowing the cast to move from set piece ot set piece. Much like IT FOLLOWS, BODIES BODIES BODIES plays on the unseen, as much to play on what could be rather than what is.

While not the strongest genre film this year, there's enough tension and fun to be had that means BODIES BODIES BODIES is a great watch this Halloween, as to whether it will be future seasons is yet to be seen.