Grading Three New Horror Movies: Bodies Bodies Bodies, Hellraiser, Deadstream
As we get closer to Halloween, and on this (unlucky and very spooky) 13th day of the month, let’s take a look at three 2022 horror releases that you can watch streaming today.
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
A24, 95 minutes
Bodies Bodies Bodies is a horror black comedy and an overall entertaining whodunit slasher. The story focuses on a group of rich and mostly obnoxious 20-somethings who throw a “hurricane party” at one of their mansions. After they start to play a game called “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” things turn both nasty and deadly.
The acting in Bodies Bodies Bodies is solid enough, and though none of the characters are particularly likeable, they’re not really supposed to be. I felt like the story took a little too long to really get going, but once we got out of the first act the pace picked up.
Bodies Bodies Bodies doesn’t have as much to say as a (far superior) horror-comedy like the original Scream, but it’s still worth a viewing for fans of the genre.
Grade: 7/10
Hellraiser (2022)
Hulu, 120 minutes
As far as horror movie franchises go, the Hellraiser franchise has always been one of my least favorite. I’ve seen a few of the ten prior entries to the franchise before this 2022 film and most range from bad to very bad. Still, I watched this Hulu release with an open mind since it’s supposed to be a new take on the story and it definitely didn’t have the super low-budget and direct-to-video look of prior installments.
First, the positives: the look of this film really is far superior to the others in the series. The effects are well done and the Cenobites (the demons in the films) are very creepy/disturbing. I also thought the look of the puzzle box, which is super important to the story, was spot on.
Unfortunately, that’s about all the movie gets right. The story here is extremely basic (in a bad way)—there’s not really much original or interesting going on. Characters are just cardboard cutouts of people without any depth and we don’t care about a single character in the movie. This felt a lot like they just filmed the first draft of a Hellraiser script without adding any of the actual substance to it. I think that if you’re a huge Hellraiser fan, you’ll probably like this movie since it’s still an improvement off of most of the other films. But to me, that’s really not saying much.
Grade: 3.5/10
Deadstream (2022)
Shudder, 87 minutes
Deadstream is a found footage horror comedy written and directed by husband and wife team Joseph and Vanessa Winter. Found footage films still have a pretty bad reputation after being extremely overdone in the early 2000s, but this is one of the rare instances where it’s really done right. The couple has crafted an entertaining movie that manages to be both funny and at times actually scary (in a “what’s lurking outside the door in a haunted house” sort of way).
Story wise, we follow Shawn (played by Joseph Winter), a disgraced internet personality trying to make his big comeback by livestreaming a night in a haunted house. It’s pretty simple, but well executed. The movie also does a better job with Shawn’s character, making him feel more real and complete as the movie goes along, compared to typical horror movie protagonists.
Deadstream premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival earlier this year before being picked up by Shudder to be released streaming, and I’d definitely recommend checking it out.
Grade: 8/10