JENNIFERS BODY REVIEW

Jennifer’s body is a horror comedy that makes me wanna listen to pop punk and get possessed by a demon.

Before its 2009 release, Jennifer’s Body had grave expectations for it; with screenwriter Diablo Cody hot off the rails from Oscar nominee Juno and Megan Fox trying to cement her leading lady status outside of Transformers. However, it bombed terribly at the box office and was panned as tasteless B-movie trash for teens.

Even the people who gave favorable reviews to the film like Roger Ebert drew less-than-stellar comparisons to the film, calling it “Twilight for boys”.. We shed a silent tear for Diablo Cody. The movie is helmed by director Karyn Kusama and stars Megan Fox as Jennifer, a cheerleader who gets possessed by a flesh-eating demon during a Satanic sacrifice ritual she is forced into. It also stars Amanda Seyfried as Jennifer’s best friend, Needy, who realizes Jennifer is pure evil and has to stop her. Is the movie as bad as people make it out to be or unjustly criticized?

I will analyze the cinematography first.

The movie opens with a slow POV shot of an unknown character, guiding the audience from the far end of Jennifer’s house’s front yard to the house window, making the viewers complicit in this voyeurism and peer into Jennifers’ life, hooking their attention . The shot has many cutaways to the on-goings inside the house with extreme close up shots of the grainy television in her room and also Jennifer running her hair through her lips suggesting that this privacy is about to be invaded, and that we are about to expose what is really going on under those seemingly mundane images of her on her bed.

The movie employs a lot of high key lighting at the first half that reflects the funny, lighthearted nature of the start.This is in sharp contrast to the later intense horror sequences such as the scene involving Megan Fox’s botched sacrifice ritual that has low-key lighting, accentuating her terrified facial contortions, emphasizing the visceral impact of the scene.

The blue tonality of the town at night is also really good at evoking eerie atmosphere like when Needy explores the noise at her house at night. The blue tonality is also put to use effectively many times like when Jennifer entersNeedy’s house at night covered in blood, spilling bright red blood on the floor that creates a vivid, striking contrast to the blue tonality in the frame.

Other than the lighting, the cinematography also gives us information about the toxic and complex friendship between Jennifer and Needy .

Shallow focus is used at times like when Needy stares over at Jennifer to see how she is feeling during a concert, but Jennifer is blurred out from the frame as if she is isolated away from Needy and not in her orbit, which causes Needy to feel upset due to Jennifer’s fixation elsewhere and not on the time they are having together. This emphasizes Needy feeling at times neglected in their friendship. Poor Needy.

A close up of their lips as they kiss in one scene also shows the brief intense moments of intimacy and care that unexpectedly creep in between them, giving us the reason Needy might cling onto this relationship even though Jennifer doesn’t put as much into the relationship as she does.

So, I GIVE cinematography an A.

Next ill analyze mis en scene.

The wadrobe reveals traits about the characters with Jennifer opting for low-rise jeans and bright pink to flaunt her looks and weaponize her sexuality while Needy intentionally opting for plain fabrics so as not to upstage Jennifer, showing Jennifer’s dominance over her actions..

The film is largely set in a bright cheerful town often saturated with bright warm sunlight that seems picture-perfect. However, this image shatters in certain locations, especially the areas Jennifer brings her victims that reveal the town’s sinister underbelly.

The abandoned house Jennifer brings her victim Colin to cannibalize is filled with rodents, decay and eerie candles that illuminate the house in a weird glow. The candle props are also placed around Jennifer as she eats Collin, making her cannibalism look like an eerie occult ritual.

Also, the forest that Jennifer brings one of her prey to that is proliferated with wild vegetation and animals, highlighting the animalistic and wild side of Jennifer as she munches down onto the victim.

I also feel that blocking of scenes in Jennifer’s body is done well and this is exemplified in one particular scene where both goirls confront each other.

to show the change of their relationship with Jennifer at first physically levitating above Needy, showing her dominance over Needy. However, this time, Needy doesn’t back down and lashes out at her, causing Jennifer to lower herself to the ground, having both characters be face-to-face with each other, showing how they now had equal dynamics in the relationship unlike the start of the film.

Mis en scene is an B plus!

While Jennifer’s Body mainly offers escapism with a lot of blood, guts and snappy one-liners, it also does give insight into the relationships we have with people from the exploration of Megan and Amanda’s friendship; and how the brief moments of bliss and positivity can blind us from seeing how much of a toxic flesh-eating demon your friend is.

I feel the movie is underrated and highly recommend!