"Jennifer's Body" (2009) - Movie Review

Diablo Cody’s much expected second venture has the high school slang and the adding “o”s to the regular words but is not as suave and funny as “Juno”. The comparison is inevitable but for the record, I am not a great fan of “Juno” as many others worship it. “Jennifer’s Body” carries the tone of Cody’s debut script but more indulgent than the previous. It is a fantasy fulfillment for her as it displays itself on letting Megan Fox loiter around with enough sex appeal to go in to state of shock for men and enough blood to drool for the horror fans. It becomes a dumb mindless and non-entertaining show with parents literally deaf when someone in their kid’s room barges in through the shattering window.

This story told as a narrative from Needy (Amanda Seyfried) rebellious in a psychiatric hospital about her high school final days turning out to be the freakiest and bloodiest that no one had a clue. Her childhood friend is Jennifer (Megan Fox), the sex pot for the high school. She feels special to have such a friend. Jennifer and Needy smear (and later cross) the boundaries of lesbian crush. Needy though has a boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons), the ritual nice guy. Jennifer takes Needy to this crazy tavern with a crazy band whose lead singer (Adam Brody) is the only redeem to this upcoming meltdown of a screenplay.

Jennifer as surprised as Kanye West behaviour follows through the strangers in a band van and returns as a flesh eating, wait.....yes the deadly word which is a recurring theme everywhere “vampire”. She comes and has little to try for getting boys to follow her through the dark woods. As the town of Devil Kettle drowns in the sorrow of the tavern fire these friends were in and witnessed the demise of their fellow residents, Jennifer even convinces a grieving high school football player (Josh Emerson) to make her feast. As she feeds on the carnage, she glows more and becomes further voluptuous. As if that is needed for Fox.

Director Karyn Kusama appear to have gifted the writer with the material which was given. The film neither runs as a spoof/homage as “Shaun of the Dead” did nor does it take it seriously to get into the background of it. It has couple of things strongly forted which is to make utmost sincere attempt in presenting Megan Fox oozing eroticism and an up close kiss with Amanda Seyfried. Now men are yelling “What else you need?” and my fellow males, if there is a film exercising the customs of horror flick, it better do it some justice. Apart from feeding the titillating senses of the brain, it becomes sad to say routine and uninteresting.

The door creaks, the stair creaks and all the other creaks are there. People jumping from the sides of the camera and people often taking lonely ventures into the dark rooms and while I am typing this, even the sentence is cliched. It all becomes one giant of an expensive and a personal baby project which is purely made for the Diablo Cody. It is the right approach for a good movie which is to make a film the creators would like to see but out here the taste is lame and mainly losing creativity.

The origins of Jennifer’s vampirism does not go much and the supposed comedy is hiding somewhere which never gets the light of it. Adam Brody in his five minute dialogue is more impressive than Fox’s titular character. He represents the genre the movie is publicized for, dark comedy/horror. “Jennifer’s Body” is as shallow it can get and it does not try to give something better in it. It is one another horror slasher film with big names and hollow story.