Movie review: ‘Bodies’ a messy, showy dim escape – LimaOhio.com

Lately, there was a sample amongst well-known syndicated critics – those that have established themselves nationwide or globally through the web. One melting pot of reviewers is on Rotten Tomatoes, the place contributors usually seem in lockstep with each other.

The most recent instance – for which 90% of critics are reiterating the identical constructive factors – is the darkish comedy “Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies.” Many blurbs and catch phrases proclaim the film as “daring and impressive” or “cool and refreshing,” the latter of which extra precisely describes iced tea.

Alas, my tackle the image is much less favorable: Filmmaker and Netherlands native Halina Reijn comes throughout as hell-bent on making a blood-stained splash. Extra particularly, “Our bodies” feels as gaudy and pretentious as a summertime slasher flick could be.

Its opening body alerts what lies forward, roughly, for the following 95 minutes. There’s a close-up of two younger women (Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova) embraced in a French kiss, earlier than they drive to a rich pal’s pool celebration at a New York mansion. The impolite host is portrayed by Pete Davidson, who seems to be channeling Johnny Knoxville if the “Jackass” star have been extra smarmy.

Stress rises immediately, as most of these readily available – Rachel Sennott, Chase Sui Wonders, Lee Tempo and Myha’la Herrold – give the chilly shoulder to the aforementioned lovebirds who arrived late.

After rain sends the group scurrying indoors, the clipped and awkward banter provides approach to a consuming sport from which the film’s title is derived. This sinister affair entails make-believe homicide, which inexpicably shifts into an onslaught of precise deaths.

The shady shenanigans are granted a lift when a storm knocks out their electrical energy. Immediately, the back-stabbers are engaged in murderous antics at midnight – too handy a coincidence if there ever was one.

What ensues quantities to little greater than an Agatha Christie whodunit, minus the unique locale, for a youthful era.

Because the physique rely escalates, wild accusations fill the air like hot-air balloons. Essentially the most-fingered suspect can also be the oldest; he’s a pink herring blamed mainly due to his survival package. Oh, the irony.

A lot of the repetitive dialogue and banter leaves rather a lot to be desired. Early on, whereas en path to the get-together, one woman assures her new lover, “They’re gonna be obsessive about you.”

Even sillier is that this dumbed-down reminder, after a personality is rendered lifeless: “Our pal is lifeless!” (Clearly, the script has a knack for the plain.)

Not not like the 2014 would-be thriller “As Above, So Beneath,” the makers of “Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies” depend on blinding flashlights – primarily from smartphones – piercing via the darkish and straight at our eyes; the result’s a continual supply of irritation.

I nearly felt sorry for actresses Stenberg and Bulgaria native Bakalova – each interesting as they’re gifted – as they tiptoed round in blood-stained garments, attempting to resolve the mysteries.

As for the so-called climactic “reveal” trending on social media? Don’t imagine the hype. The ending quantities to a head-shaking groaner – yet one more absurdity in a film dripping with them.