A Catholic-school dance team, a Halloween ritual and visions that unsettle a whole town give Netflix’s The Body a deliciously over-the-top start. Set in 2004, Quinn Shephard’s eight-episode series mixes supernatural horror with teen drama, queer longing and sharp religious satire. Its lively, campy style is part of the appeal, though the uneven pacing may test your patience.
Essential Takeaways
- A distinctive mix: The Body blends supernatural mystery, Catholic-school satire and early-2000s teen drama.
- A ritual goes wrong: A dance team’s Halloween initiation leads to visions, rumours and growing community panic.
- Queer themes matter: The show explores sexuality and religious guilt through the characters’ relationships and social pressures.
- Camp is part of the fun: Exaggerated style and humour give its provocative material a playful edge.
- The reviews are mixed: Critics praise its atmosphere and character work, while some find the pacing indulgent and the ending frustrating.
The Body serves Catholic guilt with a side of camp
A dance team’s Halloween ritual is a lively way to launch a supernatural teen drama, especially when the story sets adolescent desire against Catholic-school rules. In The Body, the ritual goes wrong, and visions and rumours begin to unsettle the group and its wider community. Netflix describes the eight-episode series as a drama created by Quinn Shephard.
That contrast is the show’s calling card: religious imagery, teenage partying and social rivalry share the same heightened stage. The result can be deliberately outrageous, but the humour helps the provocation feel playful rather than simply grim. The A.V. Club also sees the series’ supernatural uncertainty as a way to reflect its characters’ fears about identity and growing up.
A 2004 setting gives the drama its own texture
The series places its dance-team story in 2004, drawing on the era’s music, fashion and cultural references to create a recognisable teen-drama mood. What’s on Netflix describes it as a blend of Y2K nostalgia, religious storytelling, erotic thriller and supernatural horror. It’s a crowded mix, but that’s also what gives the show its particular flavour.
NME praises the period detail and the attention paid to teenage relationships, while RogerEbert.com frames the show as a genre hybrid rather than a straightforward horror story. So if you’re expecting a conventional ghost tale, the social dynamics matter just as much as the supernatural mystery. The unease comes from what the characters believe, what they hide and how quickly fear can spread among them.
Queer longing and faith are part of the story
The Body puts sexuality and religious guilt in direct conversation, using the Catholic-school setting to heighten the characters’ tensions. NME describes that balance as nuanced, and the A.V. Club likewise highlights the show’s interest in teenage faith, morality and mortality. That gives the drama more to work with than a ritual and a string of scares.
The relationships are central, too. Netflix Tudum’s cast guide describes Anya as concealing anxiety beneath her confidence and notes the complicated feelings between her and Elise. The A.V. Club points to the possibility of romance between Anya and Elise, while NME praises the handling of queer longing. The show’s campiness may be loud, but its focus on private feelings gives the heightened style an emotional centre.
The pace wobbles, even when the atmosphere works
The reviews agree that The Body has a strong identity, but they’re less united on how smoothly it carries the story. The A.V. Club calls the eight episodes overlong, with momentum weakening in the second half. What’s on Netflix also sees the series’ indulgent mix of styles as a potential drawback, even as it praises the atmosphere and distinct mood.
ScreenRant’s review likewise finds the pacing uneven and the ending rushed, with a cliffhanger that leaves major questions open. That’s worth bearing in mind if you prefer a neatly wrapped season: the show’s finale may leave you wanting more answers. Meanwhile, NME is more enthusiastic about the series’ energetic execution and character writing, so the experience may depend on how much you enjoy a deliberately messy, genre-blending ride.
Is The Body worth adding to your watchlist?
If you like supernatural teen dramas with a strong sense of style, The Body has plenty to explore: a dance-team hierarchy, religious tension, queer relationships and an early-2000s setting. The A.V. Club praises its empathetic view of young characters, while NME recommends it as a confident blend of teen melodrama and horror. What’s on Netflix offers a more measured take, finding atmosphere and a clear identity alongside shortcomings.
The best way to approach it may be to meet it on its own terms. It’s not a restrained, tightly paced horror series, but its camp humour and willingness to mix awkward adolescence with supernatural uncertainty are part of the point. If you enjoy that kind of tonal swing, its flaws may feel easier to forgive.
A little chaos is part of the appeal, but the cliffhanger may leave you hoping for another chapter.
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