Many torture porn connoisseurs were upset by the utter lack of Megan Fox’s body in Jennifer’s Body. This was partially the fault of Fox Searchlight’s promotion of the film – which largely included shots of Megan Fox’s Body.
Similarly, many feminist viewers were upset that this wasn’t the gem they were promised by the trailer. It’s a female monster and a female heroine! No virgins! And all the victims are boys! This Is Not Your Mother’s Horror Flick!
It took me a few minutes to adjust to the constant barrage of Diablo Codyisms (‘Salty’ = cute, okay, I can accept that. I am a devoted minion of the Whedonverse where nonexistent slang abounds ….”where’s it at monistat?” ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME SOMEONE KILL ME NOW MAKE IT STOP), but after that I really enjoyed the ride. It doesn’t pack the same feminist allegorical punch as Ginger Snaps (mostly hindered by overuse of aforementioned Diablo Codyisms), but still provided a damn fine horror-based look at women’s lives that went beyond the expected ‘virgins live/whores die’ dichotomy.
Jennifer eats men, but she does it to get at Needy. She eats the men Needy loves. As director Karyn Kusama has said, Jennifer’s Body is a movie about toxic friendships between women. By placing this story in the context of a monster movie, it also does something interesting. First, it acknowledges that women are horribly dangerous, which you already knew if you watched The Sarah Connor Chronicles. More importantly, it acknowledges that women are dangerous to other women. Not just in a mean girls way, but in an “I will rip your lungs out” way.
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This is a movie about female wrath. And it’s not the clean, sympathetic wrath we saw in Thelma and Louise; it’s not the trampy blankness we wanked over in Species. It’s ugly, wrong, powerful wrath. The kind that builds empires and destroys towns. And men are irrelevant to this wrath, in the same way Jennifer’s life was irrelevant to the guys in Low Shoulder who murdered her.
Note: Usually I am infuriated by the Hollywood insistance that all women be paired up with romantic partners. As if women need a relationship in order to fucntion. But the roles were switched in the small town of Devil’s Kettle. Yes there was the expected high school boy-drama, but rather than it being about NEEDING TEH MENZ, it was the men who needed women. All relationship-angst was caused by the menfolk’s own insecurity. There was even a 100% believable scene where the insecure boy-toy tried unsuccessfully to convince his girlfriend she didn’t need her best friend. And she shot him down. Mwhahahaha! Take that societal disregard for women’s friendships! Granted said friendship did turn out to be fairly toxic what with the whole demon possession problem, but I digress.
Jennifer’s Body manages to stick itself firmly in that niche between the utterly trashy 70s gorefest Halloween and the highbrow feminist retrospective Iron Jawed Angels. If you go in expecting one or the other, you are bound to be disappointed. But if you are someone like me – who loves both aforementioned films – this is the best genre melding project you’ve seen in awhile (especially compared to the horrifying Zombie Strippers and reactionary Teeth).
Sit down, shut up, and enjoy. Also: buy the DVD. Some fucking idiots aren’t releasing it until after Chrismukkawnztice, but that is only the latest in their marketing failures. In the meantime you can buy the feminist horror fanatic in your family Ginger Snaps. (Yes, I am aware that I keep mentioning Ginger Snaps, but it is the standard to which all striving-to-be-feminist horror flicks are held. Much like all scifi heroines must contend with Ripley and Sarah Connor).
Note the 2nd: Despite links to Amazon, I oppose all purchases from the Orwellian Internet Superstore. They are just the most convenient forums for showcasing the appropriate products.
Note the 3rd: I forgive Megan Fox for Transformers now. This proves she is fully cognizant of her creepy manufactured Sex Goddess status. And isn’t above making fun of it.
The above version of the movie comes to us courtesy of Megavideo. They cut you off after 72 minutes and insist you wait an hour to continue watching. That scenario doesn’t really work for me. I suggest resetting your internet router, which gives you a different IP address, and delete the all megavideo-related cookies, so you can finish up the movie in one sitting. Or you could subscribe.
