The Body Review: Religious guilt, teenage drama, and a rush of adrenaline come together in this Netflix thriller about chaotic schoolgirls with a supernatural twist. Created & directed by Quinn Shephard, the series showcases teenage friendship, sexuality, faith, manipulation and the consequences of keeping secrets through a dance-team initiation ceremony that goes disastrously wrong. As Grace falls into a coma and the dance team keeps their mouth shut, things slowly start to get more and more out of hand.
Starring Kristina Bogic, Geena Meszaros, Sara Boustany, Jackson Kelly, Sofia Wylie, Shirley Chen, Louisa Krause, and Nnamdi Asomugha, the series escalates from a story about a bunch of girls keeping a deadly secret to mass hysteria with a supernatural angle. However, at the heart of it, the series explores how easily fear, guilt, and desire can manipulate a person into doing shocking things.
The Body Review
A Chaotic Teen Drama That Knows Exactly What It Wants to Be
The Body reminds viewers of a mix of a plethora of 2000s teen horrors, with its social hierarchies, school politics and friendship dynamics closely resembling Mean Girls, while the underlying horror elements and escalating tension are much like Carrie. For the most part, the series is a little bit of everything, focusing mostly on being a messy teen drama with horror elements to give viewers something to munch on from time to time. This leaves viewers entertained and threatened, as viewers try to understand what’s happening to the dance team.
To be honest, the series is so messy, but it’s so fun to watch. While the first episode takes its time, the following ones are fast-paced and extremely enjoyable to watch as things just escalate like no other. Moreover, the dialogue is extremely entertaining as well, as these teens just spew venom at every given opportunity.
Of course, that also makes sense because they are scared of what’s going to happen to them and whether the Devil is coming for them. The story is more about the girls’ questionable actions and decisions rather than a true horror show, which makes it all the more accessible. As the girls get desperate to maintain control over the situation, the tension builds through them as well.
Kristina Bogic, Sara Boustany and Geena Meszaros Lead a Strong Cast
The performances do a fantastic job of bringing the anxiety, fear and excitement of teenagehood. Bogic, Boustany and Meszaros bring different energies to the series wherein audiences see the story unfolding through different perspectives. While the former are two peas in a pod, Lisbeth arrives in between them and the dance team to wreak havoc soon after. While none are bad people per se, the series explores their characters and how high-pressure situations can make us do horrible things.
Meszaros, especially, is fantastic as Lisbeth, as her desperation and anxieties make her do incredibly disturbing things and make up assumptions on purpose to derail everyone’s suspicions about her and Leo. She is forced to exploit and manipulate others, but is there more to her character than meets the eye? Overall, the performances are simply great, and make viewers want to continue watching the show.
Anya and Elise’s Relationship Is the Emotional Centre of the Series
Supernatural intrigue, mass hysteria and friendship drama aside, one of the major reasons the series works is thanks to Anya and Elise’s relationship. They add the emotional weight to the story which would otherwise have been a forgettable watch. However, their friendship, love and adoration for one another show through their nuanced performance. In the midst of this is also an awakening of their sexuality which, in a strict Catholic household, is a taboo topic. The situation has an obvious effect on their relationship as well, which is explored well in the story.
As with every teenager out there, their relationship is also fraught with issues, especially with the hysteria surrounding Grace. However, Bogic and Boustany share great chemistry that makes their friendship look real.
Catholic Guilt, Mass Hysteria and the Problem With Belonging
Apart from teenage issues, The Body also deals with religion, which influences every part of the story and the characters’ decisions. It influences what everyone thinks, and the decisions that they make, along with the lens through which they understand the consequences of their actions. The series highlights how an extremely religious upbringing and lifestyle can skew people’s ideas about themselves and their sexuality, pushing them to make decisions that hamper them. On the flip side, it shows how opportunistic people take advantage of religion to gain acceptance, attention and control.
Although the religious aspect plays a big role in all the girls’ lives, it’s Lisbeth who is the most interesting character in this regard. When push comes to shove, she flips everything on its head and deftly uses religion to her own benefit. It’s very interesting. However, the same can’t be said about the other topics that the series decides to discuss, particularly surrounding eating disorders and even substance abuse. Most of it is said with an angle of dark humour, but it doesn’t do a good job of exploring the topic sensitively.
Final Verdict
With its 2000s nostalgia, The Body has plenty of personality and a lot of messy drama. It explores religious manipulation and guilt extremely well, and its underlying current of horror and thrill makes it stand out from the rest. It’s not perfect, but it’s devilishly entertaining.
Watch The Body on Netflix. What did you think about the series? Let us know in the comments below!
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