“Prince of Darkness, take this most holy virgin sacrifice and in exchange let us place at regionals!” howls Elise, a team captain of the Lions dance squad, in a line that neatly sums up the gloriously unhinged premise of Netflix’s new Catholic schoolgirl horror, The Body.
What Is Netflix’s New Horror Series The Body About?
The eight-episode series follows a high-school dance team whose drug-addled initiation ritual goes horribly awry. Grace, the designated virgin sacrifice, begins acting strangely, and soon, inexplicable events start to plague the school. Releasing November 11, the show blends the familiar angst of teenagehood with dance competitions, sinful desires and apparitional visions.
Creator Quinn Shephard, who also directed the Zoey Deutch-led black comedy Not Okay and another teen psychological drama, The Blame, has drawn inspiration from cult classics including Carrie, Jennifer’s Body, Heavenly Creatures and Mean Girls. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which dramatises the Salem witch trials, also informs the show’s exploration of religious fervour and suspicion.
Other teen classics seem to have made their mark too. The hazy fall palette, preppy school uniforms and the small-town setting wouldn’t look out of place in Gilmore Girls. The campy dance routines and rhinestone-cross-adorned Juicy tracksuits feel like a strong nod to Euphoria. Underneath the 2000s teen drama aesthetic lurks a generally unnerving feeling of eerie paranoia, à la Picnic at Hanging Rock. Together, it’s a nostalgic cocktail of sisterhood and the sacredly supernatural.
Behind the scenes, Riley Keough, who worked with Shepard on true crime miniseries Under the Bridge and also starred as Daisy in Daisy Jones and The Six, serves as one of the show’s executive producers. Kristina Bogic, Sara Boustany, Geena Meszaros, Shirely Chen, and Sofia Wylie form part of the dance troupe, and The Traitors winner Gabby Windey plays the girls’ coach.
And how should you watch it? Shepard told Tudum that she recommends a slumber party for the optimal viewing experience, “I hope people eat popcorn while they watch this, even when The Body hits hard,” she says. “Maybe light some candles.”
Consider this your invitation to gather your friends, grab the snacks and settle in for a little sacrilege.
