The internet's fingerprints are all over Bodies Bodies Bodies. Characters in the Gen Z whodunnit make TikToks, discuss hate-listening to each other's podcasts, and throw around buzzwords that have found a new life online — think "trigger," "gaslight," and more.
Even the casting choices are pointed nods to online life. Lee Pace is essentially a walking thirst trap throughout the film. Tabloid coverboy Peter Davidson drops a line that can't help but land as a reference to his "BDE," proclaiming, "I just look like I fuck." And Rachel Sennott's scene-stealing performance feels like a natural progression from characters in her earlier Twitter comedy videos. (Both Bodies Bodies Bodies and Sennott's iconic "Come on, it's LA" video feature Azealia Banks's "212," signaling what I can only hope is the start of the Sennott-verse.)
In a phone interview with Mashable, director Halina Reijn discussed why the internet plays such a big role in Bodies Bodies Bodies, and how she worked to make sure its references to the internet felt authentic.
"I've always been obsessed with youth culture," Reijn told Mashable, citing films like Kids, Don's Plum, and Heathers as effective examinations of young people in different stages of their lives. "Any film that deals with people who are in the beginning of their twenties — because that's when they have to grow up and become adults — is interesting because they're still being formed. They are great vehicles to talk about the time that we live in."
When it came to making Bodies Bodies Bodies reflect this time that we live in, Reijn turned to TikTok. She discussed it with members of Gen Z, including her nieces, and downloaded the app herself. "I felt it was very important to be on TikTok a lot and also listen to the music: the rhythm of it, the dynamic of it, the energy of it," explained Reijn. "I think I tried to take all of that and just implement it and bake it into the film in different layers."
It was very important to be on TikTok a lot and also listen to the music: the rhythm of it, the dynamic of it, the energy of it.
Reijn asked Bodies Bodies Bodies composer Disasterpeace to score the movie with his own distorted version of music that would feel right at home on TikTok, telling him to "bring your pop culture identity to this film." The movie's soundtrack is similarly referential, featuring songs like early 2020 TikTok hit "Bored in the House" by Tyga and Curtis Roach, as well as hyperpop tracks by artists like Charli XCX, Shygirl, and Slayyyter. In short, Bodies Bodies Bodies sounds like today's internet.
TikTok's influence even extended to the Bodies Bodies Bodies set, where Reijn said the cast would often make TikToks. One time, an actor even hid a phone on set while shooting a scene. (Side note: If you love the Bodies Bodies Bodies cast and want more shenanigans from their press tour, I highly recommend Amandla Stenberg and Rachel Sennott's TikTok accounts.)
Internet culture is so vital to Bodies Bodies Bodies that it's strange to think that the characters spend so much of the movie without access to it. A hurricane-caused power outage strikes early on in the film, leaving them stranded and unable to communicate with the outside world.
"I love that moment when the power cuts out," Reijn says. "It's not even about the lights, it's the WiFi! You know, when you or your friends lose your phone sometimes, you absolutely panic like you're losing your right hand?"
The power outage is the catalyst for much of the terror (and fun) of Bodies Bodies Bodies. We see just how much these friends (and frenemies) rely on technology. Even though they can't call anyone, everyone still uses their phones constantly — to light their way through the darkness. We are witness to what they become without access to the virtual world, devolving into what Reijn describes as "Lord of the Flies meets Mean Girls." Early in the film, characters can hide in their phones instead of dealing with each other head-on. Once the power goes out, they lose their shields. In-fighting, wild accusations, and murders ensue.
However, Reijn is quick to point out that Bodies Bodies Bodies isn't a movie meant to chastise or undermine Gen Z and their relationship to technology. "It was really important to make [Bodies Bodies Bodies] believable and authentic so that young people could watch it and recognize themselves in it and feel seen and not feel made fun of," Reijn said.
"We are not judging this generation because I feel, as much as they are much younger than I am and I'm much older," Reijn explained. "I still feel very much part of the phone addiction and the need to belong to a group. I think those are universal feelings that we all can recognize."
Bodies Bodies Bodies is now in theaters.
via Zero Tech Blog
