Murder, Mystery, a Mansion, and Social Media

From left: Maria Bakalova, Amandla Stenberg, 
Myha'la Herrold, and Rachel Sennot in 
"Bodies Bodies Bodies"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

With modern releases like “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Death on the Nile,” “Knives Out,” “Scream 5,” as well as the upcoming releases of “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” “See How They Run,” and “Scream 6,” it’s clear that moviegoers can’t resist a collection of colorful characters converging to figure out the identity of a killer.  It’s one of those types of stories where there are many possibilities of how the narrative can be executed, which is what keeps audiences coming back.

The latest murder mystery to be unleashed is director Halina Reijn’s horror comedy, “Bodies Bodies Bodies.”  What starts out as an intriguing whodunit becomes clear that it isn’t as sharp as it should be.

Bee (Maria Bakalova) and her girlfriend, Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), decide to ride out an oncoming hurricane at the mansion of the latter’s childhood friend, David (Pete Davidson).  Also in attendance are Jordan (Myha’la Herrold), Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), Alice (Rachel Sennot), and a new friend, Greg (Lee Pace).  When one of them is killed during a murder mystery game, the rest of the group tries to survive the night as they seek out the culprit.

The cast does what they can to work against the lack of depth in their characters.  There’s a small boost because of the obvious chemistry and energy amongst the ensemble, while Bakalova is given just a little bit more to work with as she presents the unease at being the newest member of their group.

The screenplay by Sarah DeLappe brings together what should be an entertaining set of characters, but other than Bee having the slight intrigue in being the outsider of the group, most of the other characters are one-dimensional Gen-Z stereotypes.  There are a couple of clever details that speak to some of the characters’ inner issues and motives, but the characters themselves aren’t endearing enough to have those details leave an impact.  DeLappe uses these characters to construct a critique on Gen-Z, but she doesn’t do anything clever with the premise or say anything that’s new.  She creates an entertaining premise that’s fun for the first half of the film, but as the second half unfolds, you realize that the characters aren’t going to become much more than what you saw in the first half.

Reijn re-teams with cinematographer Jasper Wolf, who lensed Reijn’s feature directorial debut “Instinct” in 2019, and the pair works well within the darkness of the mansion.  Between the dark, cell phone flashlights, and neon crack-n-glow necklaces, there’s at least a visual distinctiveness that Wolf and Reijn are able to maintain.  This is particularly true in the first round of the murder mystery game as you’re placed in the dark with the storm lashing outside and the characters scurry and sneak around the house.  While the story flounders later on, the setting that Reijn and Wolf establish and maintain helps a little bit.

This film may have a good cast and neat visuals, but with an inability to go in-depth with its central theme, “Bodies Bodies Bodies” becomes rather lifeless.

Grade: C