In Dutch director Halina Reijn’s fast-paced, incisive horror-comedy Physique Physique Physique, Gen Z characters get their throats slit, fall off a flight of stairs, and get shot. But for these 20-something revelers who’ve gathered in a distant New York mansion to trip out an impending hurricane, there’s nothing deadlier than a well-spoken insult. And there’s a lot to do on this skewer of group dynamics within the digital age. Set on a wet night time, Physique Physique Physique is a tense and more and more violent dismantling of friendships constructed on a fragile basis of TikTok dances and group chats. That includes a rock-star assortment of younger actresses, led by Amandla Stenberg (The hate you give), the movie makes use of horror tropes to coax out the buried insecurities and resentments of mates whose buried insecurities and resentments are all they’ve in frequent.
Reijn begins by skillfully introducing every character, and any annoying persona traits will turn into probably the most essential because the night begins to unravel. Sophie (Stenberg) is the newest member of her clique to cease by the darkish, wooded mansion the place she and her girlfriends go consuming, railing, and hooking up as a strong hurricane inundates the realm. Upon arrival, Sophie is torn for not collaborating of their group chat. The truth that she was in rehab barely counts as an excuse. Sophie is accompanied by a newcomer, her middle-class girlfriend Bee (Maria Bakalova from Borat Subsequent Film), who’s so shy and uninitiated to those vipers that she brings zucchini bread as a thanks.
2022
1h35
Comedy/Horror/Thriller
SYNOPSIS
When a bunch of rich twenty-somethings plan a hurricane celebration at a distant household mansion, a board recreation turns into lethal on this contemporary and enjoyable take a look at backstabbing, pretend mates and a celebration that has very, very flawed.
The mansion is owned by the household of the supremely punchy David (performed by the supremely punchy Pete Davidson, wearing a pink tracksuit he in all probability introduced dwelling from dwelling), whose belligerent angle units the tone for the night. He reduces his girlfriend, Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), to tears by accusing her of not having an unique thought in thoughts. Then he will get aggressive with Greg (Lee Tempo), the a lot older Tinder boyfriend of Alice (Rachel Sennott of Child Shiva). She’s a daring podcaster whose podcast sounds terrible, a view supported by Sophie’s ex-girlfriend Jordan (Myha’la Herrold), who can solely hate listening to her. None of those supposed mates appear to love one another very a lot however they keep linked as a result of the social hierarchy calls for it, as does, based on Alice, “the suffocating weight of our shared historical past”.
Working with cinematographer Jasper Wolf, Reijn creates a darkish, oppressive strain cooker ambiance that is able to explode when the precise circumstances come up. What kicks off is when the group performs a recreation of Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies, which includes turning off the lights till the designated killer “murders” somebody by patting them on the again, then the survivors guess whodunnit. When one of many revelers finally dies and the hurricane knocks out the facility and cell service, everybody panics, blame is handed on, and the advantage sign, awakening, and performative ally the Gen Zers use to outline themselves turn into weapons of suspicion and derision. .
As physique counts improve and girls turn into extra suspicious of one another, the muse of buzzwords on which they’ve constructed their identities begins to really feel more and more fragile. With out sounding compelled and with out condescension, screenwriter Sarah DeLappe finds room for all of the empty phrases that inflate the socially acutely aware good religion of younger upper-class snobs. Emma appears petulant and petulant as she spouts phrases like “gaslighting” and “poisonous”, whereas Sophie shouts that she’s triggered. Neurotic Alice claims she suffers from physique dysmorphia, as if being any sort of sufferer is an excuse for any unhealthy conduct.
Reijn, nevertheless, is not shaming her characters for any of this, neither is she making an attempt a boomer-approved takedown. The film is extra observational than scathingly essential, and there are occasions once we do not know if that is an issue or the purpose. All that chaos by no means actually quantities to a lot, as if calling out Gen Z for the insanity of their well-meaning misconduct was sufficient. And but, it is ok, due to the movie’s very performing and relentless solid. The charismatic Sennett leads the pack, proving herself a terrific bodily comic, whereas Bakalova, as an outsider who arouses a lot suspicion from others, maintains her outward calm so effectively that she is in pole place to be the killer.
Reijn, whose newest directing effort was Intuition, the Dutch entry for the 2019 Greatest Worldwide Function Movie Oscars, performs with unfastened improvisational power. If she retains too unfastened a grip on the reins, sometimes letting scenes meander, there’s one other shock or biting line of dialogue to get issues again on observe. Whereas there’s loads of blood and evil homicide, Reijn is not right here to ship a real horror film expertise. The seek for the killer, which culminates in a hilarious ending, is simply an excuse to show the screws on a bunch of hypocritical, virtue-signaling tradition warriors till the superficiality of their beliefs is uncovered.
Along with his biting, class-conscious humor and rising physique depend, Physique Physique Physique is the intersection of a moderately sprawling Venn diagram that would come with motion pictures like imply ladies, Heathers, After which there was noe, lord of the flies, The Exterminating Angel, and even The sport’s guidelines. All of those movies site visitors concern and insecurity inside a bunch. Physique Physique Physique, shrewdly and with abandon, provides a social media-fueled performative awakening to the combination and damningly pleads for his or her limits in the true world. If the film has something to remove from it, it is {that a} TikToker’s DEI id is barely as sturdy as their Wi-Fi sign.
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