Here's the thing about 'Jennifer's Body'. Like the slightly lighter side of its two female leads 'Needy' (Amanda Seyfriend), it's kind of the shit.
The only problem with Diablo Cody's horror film about a hot high school cheerleader possessed by an inner demon that leads her to literally snack on hormonally charged and yet terribly naive high school boys, is that it's not really scary.
Horror aficionados will likely tear the film apart like it's darker lead female character Jennifer (Megan Fox) tears apart her victims but if they can get past the genre classification, then they just might find themselves in the middle of a devilishly good movie.
'Jennifer' does allude to some hope early on that the film will be good and scary. There are scary shadows in dark corners, plenty of blood and other putrid fluids, the idea of a small town, a big lake for Jennifer (Megan Fox) to swim around in...
They are relatively easy tricks. It's not that scary. But that doesn't mean 'Jennifer's Body' isn't good.
Most of that credit goes to Cody. Her definitive writing , quick witted dialogue laced in her trademark tongue that is doesn't really shy away from anything, garnered her an Academy Award for her first film 'Juno' is evident here as well.
Oftentimes when stumbling across a horror film, it's either scares, think the original 'Halloween,' or it plays on all of those that haven't quite lived up to the task, think 'Scream'.
Here, the real horror in "Jennifer's Body" is actually Jennifer herself. No mind she feasts on flesh or has the tendency to pop up out of nowhere drenched in blood with a vacant look in her eyes. She's just as scary during the day time, using her feminine whiles to lure unsuspecting boys to the woods, manipulating her best friend's boyfriend, pushing her sexual charms just a little too far - which is what gets her into trouble in the first place.
"Hell is a teenage girl," Needy says.
That's really the whole point. Cody has said when she took on the task of writing a horror movie, she asked herself what she found scary - and came up with high school girls. Seyfried and Fox have good chemistry as toxic best friends who have grown from their days of "sandbox love" to BFFs who love each other, envy each other and resent each other.
So the story works - and it's relatable. One gets the conflict between Jennifer and Needy and their twisted loyalty and devotion to each other as well.
As a demon, Fox delivers. Behind the arresting beauty, her eyes look ever so slightly evil and if demons do exist, odds are they'd be just as she is in this film. The blood, the guts - the effects are decent. The music is perfect - the soundtrack is definitely one to pick up. And there are some delightful guest appearances by Adam Brody, as a dangerous liaison to both Jennifer and Needy and J.K. Simmons as one of the girls' teachers.
'Jennifer's Body' is also quite funny without making fun of itself. It's just the latest in the Cody genre. And like a chance to score with the hot high school cheerleader or the quarterback of the football team, it's one you don't want to miss.
4.5 yaps