‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ Originally Had a Totally Different Ending
Bodies Bodies Bodies is the type of comedic horror movie to keep its audience on their toes until its final moments. However, director Halina Reijn revealed that the original script originally went in a very different direction. Bodies Bodies Bodies almost had a very different ending with perhaps a more straight-forward conclusion. However, Sarah DeLappe’s screenplay ultimately changed the conclusion for a very particular reason.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Bodies Bodies Bodies.]
The ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ ending had a surprise reveal
Bodies Bodies Bodies follows a group of rich 20-somethings over the course of one hellish evening. They planned to get together for the ultimate hurricane party filled with alcohol, drugs, and games. However, things turn sour when they decide to play a party game, which reveals back-stabbing friends and fake friends.
The ending of Bodies Bodies Bodies reveals that there isn’t a killer at all, unlike similar whodunnit horror movies. Rather, the deaths all resulted from fear, panic, and accidents. As a result, Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) and Bee (Maria Bakalova) are the only survivors, with Max (Conner O’Malley) showing up the next morning. It’s clear that they’ll never be the same again after the events that took place.
‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ almost had a very different ending
Vanity Fair interviewed Reijn about Bodies Bodies Bodies, who discussed the ending. Kristen Roupenian’s early drafts of the screenplay originally included a killer reveal. However, Reijn and DeLappe decided to take the ending in another direction. They liked making the characters’ deaths “of their own making.”
“The core theme of the film is, ‘Is the killer outside of you, or is he inside of you? Are we beasts, or are we civilized?,'” Reijn explained.
The events of the film are a result of the fragility of the male ego. This was at the core of why Bodies Bodies Bodies has the ending that it does.
“It’s a metaphor of an old world,” Reijn said. “It’s a metaphor of a time that, hopefully, we’re still fighting to get that behind us.”
She continued that David (Pete Davidson) represents “white, straight male toxicity and vanity, and the pressure on these old-fashioned men to be strong … The character that Pete Davidson plays stands for all of those toxic values.”
A24 won big at the specialty box office
It’s clear that Reijn and DeLappe’s Bodies Bodies Bodies ending change paid off. The film is currently sitting at a “Certified Fresh” 90% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and 80% from audiences. A24 saw the benefits, as it earned the highest per-screen average this weekend with a limited opening.
The horror comedy brought in $226,526 on only six screens between Los Angeles and New York. As a result, Deadline reported that marks a $37,754 per-screen average. The only film to beat it this year was A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. It’s clear that the studio that champions independent filmmaking is having a huge year so far.
