The 2009 movie, Jennifer’s Body, is now considered a cult classic but it has not always been this way. The movie directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, and Johnny Simmons. Jennifer’s Body originally flopped in 2009 but has been revived on TikTok within the past few years, with people dressing as Jennifer for Halloween and using audios from the movie in their videos.
The movie follows high school student, Jennifer Check and her best friend, Anita “Needy” Lesnicki. Jennifer and Needy go to a bar to see a band Jennifer likes when a fire breaks out in the bar, killing many civilians from the town. Jennifer and Needy escape but the lead singer lures Jennifer into the band’s van. Needy tries to stop her but Jennifer goes anyway, leaving Needy behind. The band attempts to sacrifice Jennifer in order to become rich and famous but the ritual goes awry and turns Jennifer into a demon. Jennifer needs the flesh of boys to fulfill her hunger and kills a few boys from her school in order to feed the demon.
Although a seemingly silly plot, the movie actually covers some deep topics. For starters, the movie is actually based on the real-life murder of a fifteen-year-old girl who was sacrificed by a metal band in 1995. The men who committed this awful crime believed their band would become popular from the killing.
Secondly, Jennifer’s Body is a feminist tale that was deeply misunderstood when it was originally released. The movie was originally marketed towards straight teen boys; the movie poster focuses more on the sex appeal of Megan Fox with a picture of Fox in a small cheerleading outfit. Fox was recently in Transformers at the time and had made her mark as a sex symbol that appealed to straight men. The trailer also only focuses on reeling in young straight men by using a scene of Fox and Seyfried kissing and scenes of Fox looking sexy. The actual film is way more feminist and deals with young women learning about their sexuality.
Due to the marketing, critics and audiences had different expectations of what the movie was going to be like. Critics also did not like how the male characters of the film were underdeveloped, but now the movie is understood to be mostly about Jennifer and Needy. The male characters were meant to be underdeveloped and one-sided to make the focus more on the two main female characters. The women behind the film were upset with how the marketing portrayed the movie and did not intend for it to be portrayed as a movie to satisfy men by showing naked scenes of Megan Fox.
Jennifer’s Body should have been marketed towards teen girls, as the film covers topics such as sexual assault, predatory men, female friendships, and taking control of your sexuality. The writer, Diablo Cody, said herself: “This movie is a commentary on girl-on-girl hatred, sexuality, the death of innocence, and also politics in the way the town responds to the tragedies [of the bloody deaths of several young men]. Any person who dares to respond in an unconventional way is branded a traitor.” The movie is way deeper than most people think it is. Of course men would hate the movie when they originally thought it would be a surface-level film that only shows naked scenes of Megan Fox but in reality, there were no naked scenes and it involves problems that most teen girls can relate to.
I did not know what to expect when I first watched it a few years ago, little did I know it would become my favorite movie. Jennifer responds to her trauma and tragedy by turning against her attackers and wreaking vengeance on the patriarchy. It’s a powerful story about taking control of your own body and owning your sexuality. Jennifer’s Body has resurged as a powerful feminist cult classic for young girls and women a decade after its release.