Jennifer's Body: Megan Fox looks pretty pissed her dress is ruined

Cast: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody
Director: Karyn Kusama
Screenwriter: Diablo Cody

Jennifer’s Body tells that age old tale of popular/sexy girl-meets-Devil worshipping rubbish indie band. Girl is sacrificed by rubbish indie band. Girl returns from the dead possessed by a demon and goes on a boy eating rampage. Come on, you’ve heard this one before right?

Megan Fox plays the titular Jennifer, bitchy head cheerleader put down Queen. What makes Jennifer slightly less of a movie cliché is that her bff is Needy (Mamma Mia’s Amanda Seyfried), a gawky, geeky, mouse-like girl. Friends since childhood (sandpit love never dies apparently) Jennifer bosses her around and gets her own way much to the chagrin of Needy’s sweet boyfriend Chip (Simmons in the surely soon to be patented “Michael Cera�role).

Residents of small town Devil’s Kettle, the girls take a trip to their local bar to see a band from the city, the somewhat twee, guyliner wearing Low Shoulder fronted by the smug Nikolai (Brody, looking alarmingly like The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers). Sick of the small time the band turn to the supernatural to further their career and decide upon Jennifer as the perfect virgin sacrifice only our Jennifer is no virgin. Hell in her own words she’s not even a “backdoor virgin.�  This oversight results in Jennifer being demonically possessed and taking a sizable bite out of the boys in town. It’s up to the put upon Needy to stop her friend and perhaps finally step out of her curvaceous shadow once and for all.

There are two things that elevate this somewhat slight tale from the usual horror/comedy fodder aimed at attention limited teens and that’s a script by Oscar winning indie darling Diablo Cody (Juno) and fanboy lust object of desire Megan Fox.  Cody’s now trademark invented teenspeak is genius in some places and irritating dross in others. It’s clear to see that she has a fondness and understanding of her subjects but where her Juno script sparkled here it glows briefly and then dims when you want it the most.

Fox on the other hand finally gets a role to sink her teeth into and oh my what big, pointy teeth our Jennifer has. She’s hardly treading Hilary Swank award-winning territory but she does what is required in the role and pulls it off with great aplomb. It’s obvious that Fox is having a blast here and it’s an awful shame that she isn’t given more to do as she makes a fun villain to hang out with. Meanwhile, Seyfried shows there’s a lot more to her than flouncing about prettily on Greek islands and singing Abba songs. She’s convincing as the downtrodden Needy who must get medieval on her best friend to save the town’s male population and her transition to the mouse that roared is a believable one. The on-screen best friends have chemistry in abundance. And, boys, take note, the rumour of a girl-on-girl kiss is true, although it’s an entirely pointless moment serving only to titillate and please the braying hordes of gents in the audience as the characters never mention it once it’s over.

If it’s truly pithy dialogue and an absolute deconstruction of the ‘American high school’ movie that you’re after then Heathers continues to retain its crown. Neither funny enough to be out and out comedy nor scary enough to be considered horror, Jennifer’s Body does just about enough to count as a fun, if slightly disappointing 100 minutes.  

Jennifer’s Body is released in cinemas on 4th November via Twentieth Century Fox

By Christa Ktorides