It’s way too easy to avert your eyes during Bodies, Bodies, Bodies. After all, the SXSW–approved thriller starring Pete Davidson is an ultra-audacious heart pounder in which a group of freaked-out pals hanging out in a mansion on a dark and stormy night try to figure out who among them is a covert killer. But if you do look away, you’ll miss some truly to die for residential real estate. Now, as the film hits theaters nationwide, stars Davidson and Rachel Sennott give audiences a behind-the-scenes tour of the ultra-lavish abode.
“This house is huge!” says Sennott, who plays a self-absorbed podcaster named Alice, in the new video. And even though Saturday Night Live alum Davidson pokes fun at his gaudy custom portraits that dot the walls—his MIA onscreen parents own the place—and jokes that a blood-soaked and garbage-strewn sink and tub “is actually not that different from regular girl’s bathroom,” he stops to marvel at the floor-to-ceiling bookcases. “I’ve never seen a library with a balcony,” he says. “That’s a flex.”
Indeed, there is no Hollywood soundstage here. The cast and crew filmed in an unoccupied 20,456-square-foot estate in Chappaqua, New York, that sits on 86 acres of land. “We found a McMansion that had been on the market for a few years, and thus created our world entirely inside without much limitation,” production designer April Lasky tells AD. Because it was only built in 2004, she adds, “We played into the original style, which was a grotesque early 2000s Americanized interpretation of European design: gaudy, grandiose, and not quite hitting the mark with its attempt at tasteful sophistication.”
With six bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, the house provided ample space for the production to craft a thematic aesthetic. They ultimately chose a bold French-inspired color palette of pink, green, blue, and gold because, according to Lasky, “I knew we were going to be shooting in the dark once the power went out and wanted the colors to pop.” She continues, “I also wanted to put us in a more vivid world, and we descend deeper in the movie with increasing violence.” As interior inspiration, she looked to photographer Larry Sultan’s images as well as the work of artist Juno Calypso for the more fantastical props (a sword) and set decor (curtain valances).
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Her favorite space? The sunken living room where the bored friends decide to play the ill-fated titular game. Lasky says she envisioned that Davidson’s good-time-guy character, David, helped design the place himself as a teen to complement his rebellious attitude. However, “His parents didn’t let him go all the way, so they created a balanced blend of contemporary and traditional with an eclectic colorful touch. But it’s still his personal party wing.”
And once the party stops, the thrills—not to mention the metaphorical and literal backstabbing—begins. “I hope that audiences feel the exaggerated, unhinged nature of the house and the imminent mood that starts to form inside it right through to the bitter end,” Lasky says.
Below, Davidson and Sennott give a tour of the filmset in a video courtesy of A24—check it out.
