When the Wi-Fi dies, a group of wealthy friends turns on each other.

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the 2022 horror-comedy Bodies Bodies Bodies, a hurricane party at a remote mansion spirals into chaos. When the power fails and a friend is found dead, the group’s reliance on social media jargon and digital validation leaves them unable to communicate, leading to a deadly, paranoid breakdown.

Directed by Halina Reijn and written by Sarah DeLappe, the film follows a group of twenty-somethings trapped in a Georgian stone manor in Chappaqua, New York. The plot centers on a murder-in-the-dark game that turns real when the guests find David, the host, with his throat slashed. Without cell service or a working car, the group descends into a cycle of suspicion, fueled by their inability to relate to one another without the trauma-centered language of social media, such as gaslighting and toxicity.

The film serves as a satire of Gen Z identity, class, and the digital age. Critics have noted its resemblance to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, while Reijn has cited influences ranging from John Cassavetes to the Michael Peterson murder case. Despite the physical danger, the characters remain tethered to their virtual realities; as Reijn noted, when the Wi-Fi goes out, these characters feel as though they are losing oxygen.

The production, acquired by A24 in 2018, features an ensemble cast including Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova. While the film received generally positive reviews for its humor and performances, it also sparked real-world controversy. A negative review by Lena Wilson, which criticized the film’s focus on sexuality, led to a viral social media exchange with Stenberg, highlighting the very tensions regarding public and private discourse that the film itself interrogates.

Ultimately, the bloodshed is revealed to be a tragic misunderstanding. The group’s paranoia leads to multiple deaths, only for the survivors to discover that David had accidentally killed himself while attempting to open a champagne bottle with a kukri. The film concludes with the power returning and the survivors left to grapple with the consequences of their own fractured, distrustful dynamics.

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