Alice Cooper, the legendary musician, once said that horror is supposed to be funny. Well, for the better part of the past 100 years of cinema, that was not usually the case. Seemingly, however, in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, a trend began that is still with us today. Yes, dark/black comedies have been around for longer than that, but moviemakers began to make horror films that were also quite funny. Think about “An American Werewolf in London” or “Creepshow.” The fans know these classics not just for being scary, but for also being funny. So…
“Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” is something of an accidental horror movie, which is fundamentally a part of what makes it funny. You will need to watch the film all the way to the end to truly understand why, but you will likely treat the movie as though it were a horror flick because that is how it is presented. The direction and screenwriting were undertaken by a pair of ladies: Halina Reijn (“Instinct”), who is also an actress, over in The Netherlands, and Sarah DeLappe. This might explain why the focus of the story is mostly on the women involved, though there are a couple of men in the mix, too.
Almost everybody on screen is in their mid to late 20s, aside from one, Lee Pace (“Captain Marvel”), as Greg. Whatever the male equivalent is for a cougar, that is what he is. The other guy is Pete Davidson (“The Suicide Squad”) as David. 
The two of them show a little bit of tension while they are in the same venue and, eventually, disappear from the story, but not mysteriously, mind you. The rest of the cast consists of: Amandla Stenberg (“Dear Evan Hansen”) as Sophie, Maria Bakalova (“Women Do Cry”) as Bee, Myha’la Herrold (“Plan B”) as Jordan, Chase Sui Wonders (“On the Rocks”) as Emma and Rachel Sennott (“Shiva Baby”) as Alice. Everyone came with somebody, romantically, and is there to have a hurricane party. However, it is when a game, played in the dark, commences, in which things take a weird turn…
One by one, each player, if you will, dies in a bizarre manner. At first, it seems like someone is watching from the outside and is offing everyone in the order by which they have been eliminated from the game, but sooner than later, the remaining players begin to point the finger at one another, for various reasons. 
The paranoia ensues. The humor unfolds within the supposedly dramatic dialogue between the ladies. They represent common themes and mindsets of the day, particularly for those belonging to Gen Z. It would be interesting to see how this is all viewed by people born later on. Will people who are now in their 20s look back on these times, once they are approaching their 40s with markedly different eyes? I wonder…
A couple of the murders take place out in the open and tend to serve the audience, as well as the characters in the cast, with independent thoughts about the capabilities of each person. Hypothetically, if someone has been in the military, could that same person have an easier time killing another jut because of his or her training? If someone, also hypothetically, has killed another person out of self-defense, could that, potentially, open the door for future, violent actions with greater ease, somehow? While these are serious topics to consider, they are both treated with a darkly comedic spin and it works very well. If one’s expectations are to laugh as you watch this film, you should not have any trouble finding reason to laugh, even if they are not huge laughs, typical of slapstick or potty humor. Everything is pretty subtle, in other words, but it IS a dark comedy, after all.
As time unfolds and the numbers continue to dwindle, we are left with the same, two people at the end that we saw at the very beginning. 
Has their relationship progressed in a positive way or has it disintegrated? Have our personal opinions of them been altered? You will have to find out for yourself. At least they DO uncover what was going on all along. I think the payoff was worth the fun overnighted, personally.
I found, early on, that one particular actress was easy to sympathize with. I noticed this when she was simply brushing her eyebrow and I quickly realized that I was doing the same thing, without even thinking about it. Connecting to the characters is vital. The moviemakers have succeeded in a big way, in my estimation, when that sort of thing occurs. She also reminded me of another actress, whom I have liked for years; Sarah Paulson. Let us find out if anyone else agrees with me. Oh, would anyone else agree that Lee Pace has a bit of a Hugh Jackman sort of vibe to him, as well?
While it is no secret to those who know me that I very much enjoy a great, black comedy, I believe that the sub-genre has suffered in more recent years. It comes down to execution, no pun intended. The audience has to know what the intent of the film is or else it will not work. I think that “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” did it the right way and I am happy to report that I liked this movie very much. It is too early, still, to award the best of the best for 2022. In fact, August is usually deemed as a garbage month and I do not just mean for film. No offense to my Leo friends or family, of course. However, if you do not mind sexuality, across the spectrum, and a few unsightly images, which are expected in nearly any horror project to begin with, then you ought to make time for “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” and enjoy it, as well.
Director: Halina Reijn
Screenwriter: Sarah DeLappe
Story by: Kristen Roupenian (“Cat Person”)
Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Pete Davidson and Conner O’Malley as Max
Distributor: A24 (North America and China), Stage 6 Films and Sony Pictures Releasing (International)
Release date: March 14th, 2022 (SXSW) and August 12th, 2022 (United States)
