Movie Reviews
‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ Review: ‘Euphoria’ With Knives
Maybe finest recognized for releasing jaw-dropping unique movies like “Moonlight” and “Midsommar,” the movie distributor A24 can also be within the enterprise of glamorizing youthful nihilism. Its co-produced HBO sequence “Euphoria,” the place teenage intercourse bombs gown up their thousand-yard stares in glittery eye shadow, is a simple instance. Now so is “Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies,” a horror movie directed by Halina Reijn that’s bloated with pompous irony. It is a film completely tailor-made to one in every of A24’s key demographics: bougie 25-year-olds who worth branding over substance.
It’s not that “Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies” is dangerous. It’s visually interesting and properly acted. However this movie shouldn’t be particular, and like its shallow characters, it’s persistently unaware of its personal inanity. Stocked with recent expertise — Maria Bakalova (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”), Rachel Sennott (“Shiva Child”) and Chase Sui Wonders (“Era”) are among the many glitzy solid — this could possibly be a scathing satire. As an alternative, “Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies” is so intent on oozing cool-kid apathy that it serves up a complete lot of nothing.
When you’re a fan of slashers, you’ll acknowledge the plot: Younger, sizzling individuals get trapped in a distant locale and are picked off one after the other. The hotties in query are a bunch of twenty-somethings embittered by lifelong friendship (save a Tinder date performed by the tragically underutilized Lee Tempo); the locale is a faraway mansion. Contemporary out of rehab, the flighty Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) is keen to indicate off her new love, Bee (Bakalova), to her estranged besties.
Sadly for Bee, Sophie’s buddies — and doubtless Sophie herself — are heinous. Sophie’s sobriety will get a tepid “Yay!” earlier than her buds glug down champagne and snort up coke. Petty arguments and egoism underscore each interplay. David (Pete Davidson), whose mother and father personal the property, is especially bothered by Tempo’s character, Greg, who he insists is “not, like, that sizzling.” (Spoiler alert: He’s.) The movie will get its identify and premise from a sport the gang performs, a kind of manhunt-meets-mafia that kicks off with everybody taking a shot and hitting the particular person subsequent to them within the face. In case you didn’t get it, these are usually not good individuals.
The one factor that actually units “Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies” aside is its place within the A24 hype machine, the place it doubles as a 95-minute commercial for cleavage and Charli XCX’s newest single. Overused Twitterspeak just like the phrases “poisonous,” “narcissist” and “gaslighting” have been lampooned in loads of different initiatives, as has the fragility of well-heeled younger individuals. There are definitely different slashers on this vein. The style persists, partly, as a result of audiences love to observe fats cats go splat.
These privileged prats get their comeuppance, positive, however the ethical lands with a whimper fairly than a bang. That is little greater than a film about horrible wealthy those who was made so different wealthy individuals might snort at it and assume, “Thank God I’m not horrible.” Everybody else will simply need to abdomen the price of the film ticket.
Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies
Rated R for our bodies, our bodies, our bodies. Working time: 1 hour 35 minutes. In theaters.