STACK #218 December 2022

MOVIE FEATURE

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SPOOK HOUSE The young cast describes location filming as being every bit as creepy as the events in the movie. “The house was very much alive with insects and rodents, with actual weather conditions outside of the ones we were creating. And it was freezing,” recalls Myha’la Herrold. “It was good though – perfect for the movie.” “There was also a miniature train set in the basement, which was weird,” adds Maria Bakalova. “And none of the bathrooms worked!”

KILLER PARTY

present yourself online in this specific way. And the result is that we don't have relationships that are as deep or as meaningful, or maybe are based upon a sort of judgement,” she adds. “So this story is really about a group of people whose relationships function that way and, when sh–t hits the fan, they don't have much to lean back on because they haven't learned the skill of actually cultivating meaningful relationships.” At the centre of the story is Pete Davidson’s David, the cocky host whose absent parents own the McMansion where the bacchanalian gathering plays out. "David has the use of this big house, and his friends don’t really like him – they just use him for the party pad,” says Davidson. “As the night goes on, his relationship with his sweet but very confused girlfriend becomes increasingly volatile.” As the lone 40-something in this youthful group, Lee Pace is sanguine. "Well, I don't think a movie is gonna get people to put down their cell phones, but it maybe will give them a little bit of perspective with how much they look at their phones,” he argues. “I really hope people have a good time. The satire elements of this movie when it comes to Gen Z are, I think, really intended to say, let's all have laugh at ourselves a little bit. I think a really good way to land a message is to laugh together.” “I was interested in the dynamic

Gen Z is under attack in the quirky horror comedy Bodies Bodies Bodies . STACK caught up with director Halina Reijn and the cast. Words Gill Pringle

W hen a group of rich 20-somethings plan a boozy hurricane party at a remote family mansion, what could possibly go wrong? Set over a 24-hour period, on a dark and stormy night these bored, privileged and totally incompatible friends play a party game called ‘Bodies, Bodies, Bodies’ – a twisty take on Murder in the Dark – resulting in bloody consequences. A fresh and funny look at backstabbing and fake friends, Dutch director Halina Reijn brings new blood to the Gen Z market with her horror-comedy Bodies Bodies Bodies , starring Pete Davidson, Amandla Stenberg, Lee Pace, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, and Rachel Sennott. “I wanted to create something about human behaviour and toxic love,” Reijn says of her darkly comedic take on a social media obsessed youth. “Because of all those screens we live with now, we’re afraid of intimacy, too, and we’re not really in the moment and we’re not looking at what’s going on. So, this film might be seen as a cautionary tale of what will happen if you don’t stop to reflect,” adds the director whose slasher flick marks her English-language film debut.

Already a spokesperson for her generation, actor-activist Amandla Stenberg immediately responded to the film's satirical stance. “I think the movie is relevant because it speaks to these issues in a very authentic way,” she says. “The specific culture that we're living in now, which is a new culture; a new culture of internalising an immense amount of information very quickly, of constructing our relationships through the lens of social media, of having our entire lives dictated by this new kind of social order that no rules exist for yet. “And so this leads to elements of our culture that are run rampant. You know, the culture of accountability, which has turned into cancel culture; the culture of feeling like you have to

of this friend group because it examines the way people stay in toxic friendships,” says Rachel Sennott. “They hold stuff down until everything surfaces with a vengeance. The writing felt very true to my generation.”

False and fickle, viewers will have no problem relishing this

crowd’s comeuppance as the party descends into paranoia, hysteria and bloodshed, and the bodies, bodies, bodies pile up.

• Bodies Bodies Bodies is out on Dec 7

20 DECEMBER 2022

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