Review: Bodies Bodies Bodies

As a hurricane approaches, Pete Davidson holds a get together with his friend group. They eventually play the title game, the usual ‘guess the killer’ party game. And as usual with this sort of premise, someone dies for real. And then more people die. Lee Pace plays the new (yet very old) boyfriend of one of the party attendees.

 

Strangely popular 2022 film from director Halina Reijn (much more prolific as an actress) and screenwriter Sarah DeLapp (her first produced screenplay) isn’t the tongue-in-cheek slasher film I was expecting. It’s closer to a dark comedy like “Very Bad Things” or “Donkey Punch” where unlikeable characters get involved in death during a night of sleazy/drunk shenanigans I have zero interest in. It’s the kind of film I hate because there’s no one worth latching onto. You know you’re in trouble when Pete Davidson isn’t even the least likeable person around. These people suck so why should I care if they live or die?

 

It’s an empty film, and for something that I was under the impression was meant to be at least partly comedic, I detected no comedy. I’m not saying it isn’t funny at all – though with one exception it’s not – I’m saying I didn’t detect anything that was meant to be funny, either (again, with one exception). Meanwhile, for a film about a killer on the loose these jerks sure do spend an awful lot of time standing around and talking. I will say that the solution to the central mystery is funny, but it’s still not worth the slog of getting there. It’s also just appallingly made, playing less like a nicely flowing story and more like a montage, and even then it’s slow as hell. The title game doesn’t rear its head for at least 20 minutes let alone does anyone start dying for real. It’s agonising. There’s also something bizarre about the ages of these people. Lee Pace is older than me and I’m 45. Pete Davidson was 29 at the time but looks 35, and the rest are supposed to be in their 20s and their real life ages jive with that but none of them look younger than 29. It’s the damnedest thing and really distracting throughout.

 

Dreadfully dull, unlikeable film full of people I had zero interest in spending time with and time only seemed slower because of it. No fun at all. What on Earth did people see in this that it earned 85% from critics on RottenTomatoes? “Scream” it ain’t.

 

Rating: D

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