Bodies Bodies Bodies: A New Reason to Fear House Parties in the Woods

 Those that know me know that I can be very vocal about my hatred toward the term "elevated genre". To me this the coward's way of saying "I like horror films". It is the "elevated genre" fan and their cowardice that has led me to a healthy distrust of all things A24, since this brand above all others seems to be the church of the "elevated genre" lover. With that being said I was obviously skeptical about A24 releasing what appeared to be a fun "teen slasher" type film complete with attractive young people somehow trapped in a house as one by one they are taken out by a mysterious villain. 

This film is Halina Reijn's "Bodies, Bodies, Bodies". At first glance this feels like a 90's nostalgia cash grab. From the storyline to its "floating head" style poster (think first Scream poster or new Scream poster as reference) it would be easy to dismiss this title with a "been there done that attitude". It was that exact feeling that sparked my interest. Why would a respectable brand like A24 put out such a film? A "horror" film if you will. Well I had to see for myself and I'm glad I did. 

The setting is familiar, the characters are familiar, the setup is familiar, and yet it feels new and refreshing, kind of like listening to a favorite record to remind yourself why you first fell in love with it in the first place and falling in love with it all over again. We know people will die, and they do in ways that keep you guessing so that's fun. We know there will be "funny" people thrown into the situation to help ease the tension, and there are but with a strong social commentary that has us all laughing at ourselves and our friends. We know the phones won't work and the car can't start but has this ever stopped us from jumping headfirst into a good time at the movies?!? The atmosphere created by the lighting of glow sticks or a single cell phone flashlight was extremely effective. I had way too much fun playing along with the "Clue" like game of Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and hearing theatre goers around me gasping at the shocks, jumping at the scares, laughing out loud, and bobbing their heads to the music. What I am trying to say is this is a good movie that deserves to be seen and worked well with an audience who was ready for a horror film. Get your friends together, buy some popcorn and hit the theatre for a film I'm sure will be more entertaining than the next Scream. Nostalgia isn't bad but the future is bright and full of talented individuals ready to bring you new stories and new reasons to fear house parties in the woods.

-KillDozer 

(The following are some of the negative comments that sparked interest in Bodies Bodies Bodies) 

No Escape (2020) with Listener Sam

Written and Directed by Will Wernick

Starring Keegan Allen, Holland Roden, Denzel Whitaker

When I started researching Will Wernick’s No Escape (aka Follow Me), I was disappointed that this wasn’t from the director of Escape Room (2017), rather than Escape Room (2019). Despite not having seen the former, I really enjoyed the latter, and the bait-and-switch had me coming into No Escape guarded, unsure of what to expect. By the end of the film, I was happily surprised. Despite some flaws, Wernick does an excellent job at crafting tension as the protagonists navigate the film’s menagerie of traps, and beyond.

No Escape simultaneously feels like a lost Hostel film, a holdover from the recent escape room craze while also being rooted in a world of obnoxious streamers which I’m a little too old to feel familiar with. The combination makes it feel weirdly anachronistic, though no less fun. Structurally, the film plays more like three separate films, with harsh tonal shifts between its segments. Because of that, it suffers from the same issues as many anthologies, particularly, the segments are uneven, and its best segments suffer from its worst. 

Frustratingly, the weakest segment is the first, giving the film a fairly significant barrier to entry, but it’s worth sticking around. No Escape makes no effort to hide what kind of film it’s going to be, and spending a third of its runtime building up characters we know are going to be fodder is downright frustrating. Once we get through this however, we get a tense, component, and refreshing throwback to Saw and Hostel, told through the lens of vapid, insufferable influencers. 

Once you’re past that barrier, you’re in for a ton of campy fun, with enough tension to keep things interesting. A pick-em-off, there's a fun guessing game in who’ll die next, and the characters, while vapid and insufferable, are perfect targets.

Keegan Allen (Pretty Little Liars) steals the show as Cole, the film's Logan Paul-esque protagonist. He’s a shallow, narcissistic douche, but compelling enough that watching him go through varying degrees of torture is surprisingly amusing. His payoff, which I won’t spoil, is the film’s high point, and left me leaving the film far more satisfied than the first act led me to believe I would be.

It’s hard to talk about this movie without ostensibly spoiling things, if only because what are ostensibly twists are highly telegraphed, but I don’t think that hurt things too much. Basically, this movie goes Annoying Influencer Drama → Escape Room (2017, 2018, or 2019, pick one) → Hostel, and anyone with relatively seasoned horror sensibilities can guess how those end... Quality-wise, the first segment is overlong and obnoxious, the second is tense and extremely well done, and the third is somewhere in between, but lands exactly where you want it in a way that’s totally delightful. 

~💀~

Available for rental on Amazon Prime

-Listener Sam