Saturday, January 6, 2018

Holiday Horror: Body (2015)


Holly and Mel return home for holidays and plan to party at home. Their friend Cali has other plans and convinces the others to go to her rich uncle's house with luxuries galore. They have a fun night playing games and drinking only to discover that the house isn't Cali's uncles. A groundskeeper discovers them and falls down the staircase after a fight with the women. They assume he died, but soon discover that he's only paralyzed. Cali wants to kill him since the harm is done and the others want to save him.


I went into this film no knowledge of what it was about. The women act realistically with foul language, drinking, and teasing each other. They simply want to have a good time. When they go to the mansion, it's everything they wanted. All of it comes crashing down when it's revealed that it isn't Cali's uncle's place, but it's owned by a family she used to tutor. Without knowing it, Holly and Mel are guilty of breaking and entering, enough to spook and panic them.


When the caretaker falls down the stairs, Holly and Mel just want to call an ambulance. Cali is the one pushing to kill him since he saw their faces and she tries everything to convince the others. It calls into question what you as the viewer would do and comments on the more prevalent cynical and selfish nature. Cali is only thinking about her own future and how to get out of the situation scotch free. The others are thinking more about morality and the man's life rather than saving themselves.


Body is an thought provoking thriller that could have been a short film. It struggles to fill just over an hour with such a bare bones plot. The tension could have been amped up if it was shorter and it wouldn't feel so empty. The twists are well done, but the characters are thin. After watching, they blend together because their dialogue together is too light. It's worth a watch, but flawed.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

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