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Climax

2018, horror/musical
directed by Gaspar Noe

Bodies Bodies Bodies

2022, horror/mystery
directed by Halina Reijn

April 24th
    at the FRIDA




by Kai Karafotis  |  April 21

Feverish, explosive, twisted and ambling, Climax explores the breakdown of normalcy into the primal when all control is lost. Set in 1996, the film follows a group of dancers rehearsing in an abandoned school, whose night tears itself apart when they discover their sangria has been spiked with LSD. Part dance movie, part whodunnit, part Lord of the Flies, Gaspar Noé’s daring Climax is a jaw-dropper from start to finish.

Bodies Bodies Bodies hits a similar premise with a completely different result. Trapped in a mansion with a storm raging outside, a drug-fueled group of friends play their version of Werewolf, which quickly erodes into a do-or-die witch hunt until the sun comes up. Hilarious in all the right moments and suspenseful everywhere else, Bodies Bodies Bodies is a ridiculously fun time, and the perfect follow up to Climax.

   Both movies are screening as a double feature at the Frida Cinema on April 24th. Read more about them below (with some very light spoilers).

Climax is a movie where looking only at the product does it a disservice. The production itself is what resulted in such a unique picture: the movie had an unbelievably fast turnaround from conception to actualization. The cast was made up of two seasoned actors—the rest were dancers. The film had no script, operating off of a one page outline, with the cast improvising nearly all of the dialogue. It was shot over 15 days, almost entirely in chronological order, allowing the team to mold the story as it went along. The resulting storyline is incredible, and in large part because each actor is conceptualizing their own complete perspective. The ensemble nature allowed each character to have importance and individuality, and even the more minor characters are experiencing their own truth, if in the backdrop. 


In that sense, the creation of the film matches perfectly with the narrative. Once the characters start tripping, they enter a world of individual survival. Overtaken by LSD, they revert to their base instincts, their feelings, and each moment is the only reality and fleeting fast. The characters in the film are discovering their next thought, their next minute, at the same moment as the actors playing them. Climax remains gripping because of its unpredictability, leaving you constantly guessing if there will be any limits. 


The narrative weaves together a small group of people, their love, frustration, desire, and jealousy. Their shared history is a constant undercurrent, and at moments they crash into one another so desperately and horrifically that you can only watch in disbelief. Queerness is a given, as characters’ attractions shift continuously, and as the story progresses some characters’ desire for sex becomes a need, a starvation that must be fed. It becomes dominance and control for them as much as validation and worth for others. The social bonds that hold a group together melt away under the acid, and individual truth must be expressed at any cost.


But however much individuality is a key component, the mind of the group is equally as significant. A question is repeatedly asked throughout the film: who spiked the punch? Panic sets in and the group descends into fight instead of flight, the intense need to direct fear at something in order to absolve yourself from it, to eliminate the cause. With compromised faculties (from both drugs and fear), pieces of the film devolve into a witch hunt, a game of Werewolf desperate to find something evil. Desperate to destroy it. 


Bodies Bodies Bodies takes the foundation set by Climax and runs with it. The perspective of the group becomes critical. If everyone agrees who the murderer is, it might not be long before they’re voted out. Half truths come out and miscommunication is central to this dysfunctional group (who never listen to each other to begin with). Once fingers start to point, then “the best defense is a good offense”. 


Much like in Climax, sexual tension cannot stay hidden for long, and true feelings—whether positive or negative—are validated by blame. The complex web of past relationships adds so many layers to the mystery, as the facade of their friendships crack under the animalistic pressure. And despite what the characters may say, feelings aren’t fact, and even facts aren’t fact, both are desperate grasps at self-protection. As the stakes heighten, civility crashes and burns. This film shows how quickly groupthink can change targets, and how fast someone can find themselves on the outskirts. Revealing the primal instinct to stay alive, it plays with the idea that when push comes to shove, you better be shoving. 


Bodies Bodies Bodies is the perfect shift back into reality following Climax, and needless to say, both films are a worthwhile watch—especially in a double screening.