Bodycam has a timely premise, and I enjoyed Brandon Christensen’s previous film Night of The Creeper. Right off the bat, it’s tense and compelling. It’s built around real-world situations and issues with a very supernatural twist. Does it handle these controversial topics well?

• Directed by: Brandon Christensen
• Written by: Brandon Christensen Ryan Christensen
• Starring: Jaime M. Callica. Sean Rogerson. Catherine Lough Haggquist

I don’t know what to tell you about Bodycam, which generally means that while I enjoyed large parts of the movie, for me, the ending was a miss.  This is largely due to the weight of the subjects Bodycam is tackling and the manner in which they are choosing to do so. 

The Plot

Bodycam is a found-footage film about two officers responding to a domestic disturbance that escalates into an unjustified police shooting. When the cops try to cover it up, they find themselves in the middle of a supernatural nightmare.  

I always admire horror movies that are willing to tackle big subjects, especially when they are lower-budget. From the start, we are knee deep in tough subjects. But there’s little nuance to the characters. We have the cynical, more experienced white officer Bryce and his younger, Black partner Jerome.  Yes, I am calling out race because it is important in both the plot and how the story resolves later.  Also, when talking about the dynamics of police in underserved communities, not acknowledging it would be an oversight. 

Here’s the thing: big, complicated, and controversial subjects are open to more scrutiny. They need to be.  Not because we should be afraid of fiction, but because of the discussions that come out of works of art. What is being said?  Does it resonate with you and why? Do you disagree? These are all valid questions that have nothing to do with how good a movie or book or painting is.  

If it fails to communicate any message, that’s a whole different kind of issue. I do believe you can enjoy watching a movie but still disagree with its core themes, which brings us back to Bodycam.  This is really a story about how temptation and corruption destroys communities. The power structures and authorities put in place to help are just as suspectable to temptation and ultimately are either useless or damaging.  This is great, I love this, until the end. 

SPOILER

The end of Bodycam is so nihilistic. After such a long struggle to try to fight to be free, it all ends badly. I wouldn’t usually have a problem with this; I love a good “bad guy wins” ending.  If this was just about the cops, it might have landed better for me. 

But about halfway through the movie, we were introduced to Jerome’s mother. She’s been working to save the community from the Underman. He’s a supernatural personification of temptation and corruption. She talks a lot about holding on to the light to fight the Underman’s influence.  And the movie even shows us that her method works. She’s saved so many people. 

But that’s not how Bodycam ends. We’re going for a very Blair Witch-inspired ending, which means all the light and hope in the world doesn’t mean anything and the demon wins. So why fight at all? Just give in to temptation and make life so much less painful for yourself.  You’re going to end up there anyway. If even the woman who’s been fighting and winning for years can’t do anything to save herself, what’s the point? 

Not every movie needs a strong theme. I’m not expecting life lessons from Shudder. When filmmakers build such strong parallels to real-world situations, I believe it invites this type of discussion.  

A Bad Ending Doesn’t Mean a Bad Movie

There are some cool tricks with the cameras signifying the presence of the demon and the deteriorating mental state of the officers.  The actors are good and the production quality is solid. It just didn’t land for me. 

One of the things that I talk with H³ about when discussing movies, about what works and what doesn’t, we keep coming back to sticking the landing. Your story, production, and so on don’t have to be perfect, as long as the ending is solid. This wasn’t it. And really, that’s all I have to say about Bodycam.

Bodycam is streaming on Shudder.