As far as social commentary goes, A24's newest addition to the horror family, Bodies Bodies Bodies, has a lot to get off its chest. Of course, venting is only truly therapeutic when you have an audience. In director Halina Reijn's sophomore feature film, a flashy whodunit thriller that traps its intimate group of friends in a maze of paranoia, one of the attendees plays the spectator - for a while, at least. In an interview with Discussing Film, Oscar-nominated actress Maria Bakalova shared a few of the horror films that helped her prep for her role as Bee, the doe-eyed, uninvited newcomer.
Without giving anything away, Bodies Bodies Bodies reunites Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) and her new girlfriend Bee with her old friends. The plan, which Sophie wasn't actually let in on, was to meet up at her best friend David's (Pete Davidson) parents' mansion to party through the night while a hurricane blows through. When Sophie and Bee show up unannounced, the immediate tension is palpable, especially with Sophie's ex Jordan (Myha'la Herrold). Immediately, Bakalova's character is on the outskirts of the group. While she isn't the only new member - Lee Pace who plays Greg, Alice's (Rachel Sennott) older boyfriend is also a newcomer, Sophie has packed Bee up and brought her right along with all her other baggage.
Bakalova's character in the film is experiencing two types of horror throughout. From the moment she's introduced there's bad blood, and poor Bee is shy, and afraid of making a bad impression. On top of the pressure to fit in with her girlfriend's friends, their game of bodies, bodies, bodies takes a deadly turn, and fast. The entire movie takes place in a sprawling mansion in the dark that Bakalova says, "started feeling a bit spooky," with a murderer lurking around every corner. As the night unfolds, the players also reveal their true selves, and as the tension escalates their vitriol is aimed at the new girl.
In her interview with Discussing Film, Bakalova States:
"In the past, I’ve watched some of those A24 horror movies which are visually beautiful and brilliant but then was scared for weeks after. So I haven’t been a fan of the horror genre, but I deeply appreciate it. Even more now [with Bodies Bodies Bodies] because, you know, the actors in these movies have been through a lot with blood and other kinds of liquids being thrown all over them."
For Bakalova, Bodies Bodies Bodies is a far-cry from the raunchy humor of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, the comedy that earned her the first Academy nomination for a Bulgarian actress ever. Though she's proven her comedic chops with the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen and Judd Apatow (The Bubble), Bee's character is stumbling through the dark, crawling through tight spaces, covered in blood and playing a game of life or death. For Bakalova, who's "...always been scared of horror movies," the transition took a great deal of studying. Naturally, the actress cited a couple of A24 classics, like Ari Aster's Midsommar and Hereditary, as well as some that feature a cast of friends being picked off one by one, like It Follows and Scream.
Bakalova says she wanted "to prepare and challenge," herself for her new role, and if her performance in the movie is any indication, we'd say the scares were well worth it. The character of Bee embodies a number of horror tropes throughout the movie's progression, and Bakalova takes command of each one. Along with the rest of the phenomenal cast, she keeps audiences guessing until the credits roll.
Bodies Bodies Bodies is in theaters now. You can watch the trailer below: