Alright, beasties. It’s that spooky time of year again. For this edition of Spooktober, I’m going to do a post a day but, like a great haul after trick or treating, I’m hoping to mix it up and deliver some surprises. There’ll be reviews, new or old, seen/unseen, TV or film. Depending on my wicked mood, there may also be lists, audio, or video. I hope you’ll enjoy it and remember: stay spooky.
“Hell is a teenage girl.”
I have always had mixed feelings about Jennifer’s Body. I walked away from it the first time thinking the characters were obnoxious to a degree that annoyed me, and the dialogue seemed tacky.
However, after watching it more than once it grew on me, and while I still think some of these things are true, I also think that it’s an intentional thing and that the overall style is pretty unique. It most definitely screams writer Diablo Cody‘s signature voice, but Karyn Kusama‘s biting satiric horror-comedy is most definitely a vibe, it’s its own brand.
Needy (and nerdy) (Amanda Seyfriend) and Jennifer (the school-known hot girl) (Megan Fox) are best friends in the town of Devil’s Kettle. When an indie band comes to town who are -to say in Jennifer speak- salty morsels, what begins as a fun trip to the bar turns into a massacre and a sacrifice. But, these Devil-worshippers make a valuable mistake in assuming she’s a virgin, turning Jennifer into a high school boy-eating demon.
It’s obvious that this is trying to fill the 2000’s slot for a Heather’s-eque teenage dark comedy. This goes much further into the horror element, and it’s probably my favorite aspect of the film. When Jennifer is her flesh-eating newly developed demon self, the story is more compelling than its snarkiness. Even though some of the jokes are quite clever, others, just cringe.
This is probably Megan Fox’s best outing. The supporting cast, which includes J.K. Simmons and Adam Brody (as the perfectly menacing and comical lead singer), are all terrific additions and have some of the funniest lines. Fox and Seyfried have a good rapport, with an ample mixture of jealousy and resentment buried beneath all their years as besties. The incident makes the band rise to fame with a song that becomes the high school’s anthem. Even worse, it is actually catchy, and this writer will now be stuck with it for days once more.
Sometimes I think Jennifer’s Body bites off a bit more flesh than it can chew. It becomes, like Jennifer, greedy when it works and overextends some of its flexes. That being said, there’s a charm in the details and the originality, even if the combo of horror and comedy doesn’t always mesh.
Bonus points to the satisfying end credits sequence.
Wonderfully Weird & Horrifying 