Synopsis: A demon takes hold of teen Jennifer making her desire to feast on the boys in school.
Release Date: September 18, 2009 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Horror, Dark Comedy
Film Review
Production
Sorry to say, but Jennifer’s Body is not a great horror movie, or a good one, or even an acceptable movie at all. It’s just an excuse to make an attractive woman a literal man-eating demon slut. And you do not even get to see any nudity – now that is scary! If any film was one to pass on, Jennifer’s Body would top the list.
Writing
Jennifer’s Body’s screenplay has so many holes its like swiss cheese. Sure, its full of catchy phrases like “you’re so jello” (that is slang for being jealous) or “where’s is at Monostat?,” but they cannot save an entire movie from being downright stupid and forgettable. The main character Jennifer (Megan Fox) is fun to watch as she becomes even more of a disgusting person while yearning to feast on high school boys. And to give Megan Fox credit she does an excellent job with very little by bringing some much-needed spice to a very bland film.
As a whole, though, it offers up nothing to the viewer. The writing is sloppy and there is not even a mystery to be solved as to why Jennifer has become a demon – she actually tells you herself in a very anticlimactic moment. To add to that her best friend does almost nothing to stop her, besides confiding in her boyfriend. If someone is devouring boys around town don’t you think there would be an investigation? If you witnessed your best friend killing someone would you not call the authorities or try to stop her? The movie is overly concerned with showing Jennifer and Needy (Amanda Seyfried) deal with their respective insecurities than actually diving into a real plot.
Had the characters in Jennifer’s Body been given some sort of arc this may have been sufficient in making the movie more entertaining but they show no growth or change. Everyone could live or die and you would not bat an eyelash with care or concern. As for the final confrontation between Jennifer and Needy, could the lack of creativity be ever more present? This is the lamest ending I have ever encountered in a ‘horror’ movie. BFF. Really? My eyes roll recalling the scene.
Scary Factor
Unless your idea of scary is seeing Megan Fox (Jennifer) dripping with blood from her face and giving the scary demon eye you will never get scared in Jennifer’s Body. The horror aspects are sophomoric at best and it never even really tries to heighten your fear or anxiety. Even Jennifer, the man-eating demon slut, is not scary because she only feeds on three boys the entire film and the scenes are so fast and quick you almost forget they ever happened.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Karyn Kusama
- Screenwriter: Diablo Cody
- Cast: Megan Fox (Jennifer), Amanda Seyfried (Needy Lesnicky), Johnny Simmons (Chip Dove), Adam Brody (Nikolai Wolf)
- Crew: Plummy Tucker, M. David Mullen, Arvinder Grewal, Katia Stano, Stephen Barton, Theodore Shapiro
- Country Of Origin: USA