HORROR FILM REVIEW : BODY

Three girls decided to have a fun night out at a house that is supposed to be owned by the relatives one of the girls.  However the penny soon drops that this is not the case and when someone decides to check on the house and the noise of them having a party all hell breaks loose, when they accidentally kill him.  What would do do in that situation, I bet you won't do what the three girls do?  

Body is one of those films that perfectly embodies the concept where you don't need to have a single character in the film that you actually like.  You don't need nice cozy characters to relate to, and yet despite this you end up caring about them, well not all of them.  

This is a tight, tense and at times brutal film that is carried on the shoulders of the three excellent leads.  When we first meet them they appear as pretty much your standardise privileged American slacker girls, not quite up there initially with the Heather's girls but still pretty annoying.  You know the sort, pot smoking, pretty girls used to getting their own, and not really caring about anyone else.  

But as the film proceeds you see them for their true colours.  Especially Cali, who when things initially go wrong really shows her true colours as a dyed in the wool psycho.  Played in spectacularly crazy style by Alexandra Turshen, the transformation into a real wild child is a joy to watch.  She cleverly drops hints at the  hidden dangers lurking beneath her psyche, before going full bunny boiler.  

While the events that unfold may not be totally believable, the tight direction and performances from  Alexandra Turshen and the two other leads ( Helen Rogers and Lauren Molina) will help to suspend belief so that you are fully invested in the film.  The film has some nice twists, some of which are fairly obvious, but there are still one two surprises, and the great almost silent downbeat ending is a perfect fit for the tone of the film.  

Where the film excels is n the group dynamics, which as the film plays out shift and change as friendships and bonds are made broken and remade.  Each of the three leads give their characters distinct personalities, that they develop as the film progresses, and power shifts within the group.  

There are no real scares in the film,  the shocks come the actions of the girls, just as you think they can't dig themselves in any deeper, of they go and do just that.  


Body is an excellent slab of horror thriller,  that uses it relatively short running to great effect.  

Purchase a copy here