Body (2015)
Starring Helen Rogers, Alexandra Turshen, Lauren Molina
Directed by Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Body is not so much a thriller or example in terror as it is a teaching tool. What tool could this film help to sharpen one’s thought process? Very simple: Know your surroundings, know the people that you’re hanging out with, and for all that is holy in the name of Richard Simmons, if you accidentally kill someone, either hide the friggin’ body and fake knowledge of the entire situation, or simply nut up and confess – simple as that.
Three recent high school grads – good-girl Holly (Rogers); Mel (Molina), the girl incapable of making her own decisions; and uber-bitch Cali (Turshen) – are all bored to tears during Christmas break; and after the relentless push of Cali’s will, the three will be spending it at her uncle’s mansion. One LARGE problem that I had with the initial casting here is the varied makeups of this trio: Would the mousy, indecisive girl really want to hang with the domineering bee-otch, or vice-versa? Aside from some control issues, it is feasible to an extent I suppose…
Anyhoo, back to the uncle’s opulent residence… Oh yeah, I forgot to mention (just like Cali did) that this isn’t really her unc’s abode. It belongs to people that she used to babysit for, and she’s fairly convinced that they’re away for the holidays. So, going with their inner party animals, the trio head to the mansion, and in a completely unfortunate incident, the estate’s groundskeeper is killed accidentally.
I did say “accidentally,” didn’t I? Good, because that is entirely what happened here, and at the risk of making these lovely young ladies not look too terribly bright, the option is quickly discussed about owning up to the crime and praying that someone will have mercy upon them. However, if that happened, we wouldn’t have a movie such as this, now would we? Things become radically more complicated with the girls’ infighting about the situation and the impending breakdown of communication it promises, and who’s that knocking on the door? Why, it’s Holly’s main squeeze! Nothing like throwing another log on the fire.
The tension really ramps up in the third act of the film, and we see an astonishing shift in power that will surprise many viewers. Dual directorial efforts are by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, and kudos to them for putting together what some could look upon at first inspection and probably dismiss without provocation, but this really comes off as a fun movie to check out.
Overall, I definitely recommend Body to those wanting to see a morality check played out amongst a tragic accident, with just the right amount of subtle humor tossed in for good measure – most assuredly worth a look.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
