With 2022’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, we get a murder mystery with a twist. Though that genre usually focuses on older characters, this film brings the format to Gen Z.

With a massive hurricane on the horizon, wealthy David (Pete Davidson) invites a group of friends to ride out the storm at his mansion. There they intend a wild debauched party.

Matters take a dark turn when David ends up dead. As the friends attempt to deal with this, tensions rise and accusations fly.

As implied, the age of the movie’s characters becomes its biggest twist. With a concentration on 20-somethings, the story takes a different vibe than it would if it dealt with older folks.

This definitely allows Bodies an unusual impression. Whereas people in their 30s or older clearly live with social media and the ramifications of the online world, those elements didn’t shape their entire existences.

On the other hand, 20-somethings grew up in a world of social media, smartphones and the “need” to live online. That inevitably shapes them in ways we older people can’t imagine.

Bodies touches on these domains in the way the characters relate to each other. It paints relationships as superficial because no one really knows anyone else.

All communication exists through the prism of the phone screen. When deprived of that illusion, the characters struggle to deal with each other in a meaningful manner.

Does Bodies exaggerate the impact of social media on actual personal interactions? Sure, as it presents a satire.

Nonetheless, the film makes pointa and does so in a deft manner. It acts as if Agatha Christie wrote a Gen Z version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at times.

Though this may overstate the “thriller”/mystery side of Bodies. The movie often seems more about backstabbing and hidden agendas than the actual “whodunnit” side of the tale.

Which works fine – especially when we reach the ending. No spoilers here, of course, but expect a cynical last twist of the knife.

Some of the material can feel contrived, especially in how Bodies forces all the simmering interpersonal issues to the surface. The film can also push its “boy, those Gen Z kids sure are superficial” theme too hard and sells that generation too short.

Nonetheless, Bodies largely becomes a clever and involving pseudo-thriller. It doesn’t consistently hit the mark but it does enough to deliver a worthy enterprise.

Bodies Bodies Bodies appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a good representation of the source.

Overall sharpness came across fine. A couple of shots looked a bit soft, but those didn’t create a notable concern. Instead, the flick delivered positive clarity and accuracy.

No jaggies or shimmering occurred, and edge haloes remained absent. I also saw no print flaws.

Bodies came with a stylized palette that emphasized a mix of blue, red, pink, purple and amber. These choices worked fine given the movie’s narrative, and the Blu-ray reproduced them well.

Blacks seemed strong. Shadows also appeared smooth and concise. I felt pleased with this solid image.

Given the movie’s nature, I expected a low-key DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, and that was what I got for the most part. The audio concentrated on moody ambience much of the time.

Via a persistent thunderstorm and a few violent moments, effects occasionally cropped up around the spectrum, and the film’s score also utilized the various channels well. Nonetheless, this was usually a restrained soundscape that went with an oppressive feel but lacked a lot of concrete sizzle.

Audio quality appeared positive. Music was full and rich, while effects seemed accurate and clear.

Dialogue worked fine, as lines seemed natural. This became a suitable soundtrack for the story on display.

A smattering of extras appear here, and we open with an audio commentary from director Halina Reijn. She offers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, music, sets and locations, and related domains.

Expect an erratic commentary, mainly because Reijn too often tends to simply narrate the movie. While she offers a decent array of filmmaking insights, the track’s overall impact feels inconsistent.

Two Deleted Scenes fill a total of two minutes, 39 seconds. In the first (1:41), Bee wanders the grounds and has a brief chat with Greg.

The second scene (0:51) follows the prior deleted clip pretty closely in the movie’s chronology and shows a litlte more of the friends as they party. Neither adds much, though the first one adds a smidgen of character information.

Finally, Who Wants to Play? goes for 13 minutes, 55 seconds and brings notes from Reijn and actors Myha'la Herrold, Rachel Sennott, Pete Davidson, Chase Sui Wonders, and Maria Bakalova.

“Play” covers how Reijn came to the film, story, characters and themes, genre domains, cast and performances, photography, and Reijn’s impact on the film. A smattering of insights result, but most of the program revolves around praise.

Under Also from A24, we see ads for X, Everything Everywhere All At Once and Men. No trailer for Bodies appears here.

A horror-thriller-comedy for the Gen Z set, Bodies Bodies Bodies never threatens to reinvent the genre. However, it proves a mostly intriguing and dark take on the topic. The Blu-ray comes with good picture and audio as well as a decent set of bonus materials. This becomes a generally solid film.