A24
There is something so inherently embarrassing about the way Gen Z is represented in media. And not because of who we are, as a generation, but rather the way other generations lazily choose to represent us: the younger, hyper-online, mouthy sibling with a vocabulary full of self righteous slang. So it’s kinda nice when they get it right. Bodies Bodies Bodies, directed by Halina Reijn, takes a knife to the sexy slasher genre and gives it a dark comedy face lift. Starring a stellar range of “it” people like Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby), Myha’la Herrold (Industry) and Pete Davidson (Kim Kardashian’s ex), A24’s latest horror has received a media flurry only rivalled by the passing of the Queen. The premise? Perhaps the easiest way to explain it is as the love child of Euphoria (the cult drama about teenagers who love drugs and bisexual lighting) and Cluedo (that game that exclusively exists in holiday homes). Bee (Maria Bakalova) is invited by her new girlfriend Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), to a “Hurricane Party'', held at the family mansion of her childhood friend David (Pete Davidson). All seven attendees exist in that very stereotypical LA way: being a career hottie first and some degree of influencer or notable person second, but all floating in the valiumed gauze of intergenerational wealth. It’s named a hurricane party because, unsurprisingly, there’s a hurricane about to hit. Vintage champagne bottles are uncorked with Samurai swords and fluffy slugs of rack are railed with a corporal lust. Then, the power goes out. A perfect time to play “Bodies Bodies Bodies”, naturally: a game of murder in the dark that soon becomes less game and more murder. The writing is excellent. It has an undoubtedly Gen Z hold across the language, in a way that many have tried (and failed) to replicate. The use of TikTok psychotherapy language (trigger, trauma, gaslight etc), is not written with a snarky piousness, but rather with a self aware wink. In on the joke, not the butt of the joke. With a synthy saccharine soundtrack starring Slayyyter’s Daddy AF, Azealia Banks’ 212 and Gen Z’s patron saint Charli XCX writing a lusty hyperpop track for the film, you’ll be leant the smirking ego of any one of the party goers. Bodies Bodies Bodies is mostly lit by an iPhone torch, swinging between each character, blinding them like accusations. Like moths to a flame, they throw themselves in front of it, the blue light of the phone illuminating as much as it obscures. There is a certain carnality and humour in the way that their phones are rendered useless by the black out, but each character’s grip upon them remains vice-like, their phones lifeboats to humanity. The film explores the performativity of being alive in 2022 without pointing a finger at it. Like, obviously we’re all playing a role, acting the part. Duh! It’s all part of our brand.The film is whip smart, darkly funny and biting. I guess now all that’s left to know is whodunit.
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