Everyone was afraid that Diablo Cody was a one trick pony. Even those of us who liked her 2007 drama/comedy Juno were unsure if she could repeat her success without resorting to another film about smart-mouthed teens that might as well be Juno 2. Even knowing that Jennifer’s Body is a horror/comedy may offer little comfort to the cynic. But fear not, oh ye of little faith and even less patience for hip teen lingo. While the fear is that Jennifer’s Body may end up as Juno in a Jason mask, the happy reality is more like a horror flick on a hamburger phone. This is definitely a Diablo Cody script, but the hip slang and band references play into the horror aspects rather than distracting from them.
Jennifer, played by Megan Fox, is the beautiful popular girl at Devil’s Kettle High School and no one can quite figure out why she’s best friends with the plain-looking and oddly named Needy, played by Amanda Seyfried. When the two go to a concert to check out the “extra salty” lead singer, the bar ends up burning down and Jennifer is carted away in the band’s van. When she returns, Needy can tell there’s something different about Jennifer, but she has no idea how much until local boys start dying.
Megan Fox is the big draw for the ad campaign, but Amanda Seyfriend really carries this film. Jennifer’s Body is essentially a film about the psychological underpinnings of a teen female friendship executed as a horror film with cannibalism and some pretty epic gore (described in the film as “lasagna with teeth”), and the whole thing would be entirely ridiculous if Seyfried didn’t sell it so damn well. J.K. Simmons also takes a side role proving once again that he is the only man ever to earn the phrase, “epically deadpan.”
Director Karyn Kusama executes the film masterfully, keeping it out of schlocky B-movie territory and instead infusing almost every aspect of this film with a hyper-awareness of the history and mechanics of the horror genre. In this respect Jennifer’s Body definitely echoes Sam Raimi’s latest, Drag Me to Hell. Both films poke fun at horror without stooping to the level of parody, and Jennifer’s Body is particularly tongue-in-cheek about the whole thing.
A lot of people are going to see Jennifer’s Body for the wrong reasons. Sure there are a couple sexy scenes, but this film is by no means a trouser tightener. Horror fans, on the other hand, will absolutely appreciate the subtle nods to the genre’s history and conventions. Not everyone will catch everything that’s going on in this film, but almost everyone who walks out of that theater will have enjoyed the movie on some level and that, is a tremendous accomplishment.
Posted by: DrHideous
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