Jennifer's Body (2009)

A newly possessed cheerleader turns into a killer who specializes in offing her male classmates. Can her best friend put an end to the horror?

Director:

Karyn Kusama

Writer:

Diablo Cody

Stars:

Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Megan Fox	...	Jennifer
Amanda Seyfried	...	Needy
Johnny Simmons	...	Chip
Adam Brody	...	Nikolai
Sal Cortez	...	Chas
Ryan Levine	...	Mick
Juan Riedinger	...	Dirk
Colin Askey	...	Keyboardist
Chris Pratt	...	Roman Duda
Juno Ruddell	...	Officer Warzak
Kyle Gallner	...	Colin Gray
Josh Emerson	...	Jonas Kozelle (as Joshua Emerson)
J.K. Simmons	...	Mr. Wroblewski
Amy Sedaris	...	Needy's Mom
Cynthia Stevenson	...	Chip's Mom

Storyline

Nerdy reserved bookworm Needy, and arrogant, conceited cheerleader Jennifer are best friends, though they share little in common. They share even less in common when Jennifer mysteriously gains an appetite for human blood after a disastrous fire at a local bar. As Needy's male classmates are steadily killed off in gruesome attacks, the young girl must uncover the truth behind her friend's transformation and find a way to stop the bloodthirsty rampage before it reaches her own boyfriend Chip.

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Plot Keywords:

cheerleader | blood | virgin | best friend | fire | 

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Taglines:

She's evil... and not just high school evil.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, bloody violence, language and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

18 September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Diabólica tentación

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£736,535 (UK) (6 November 2009)

Gross:

$16,204,793 (USA) (20 November 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Atomic

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 107 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer and Needy were originally going to have a sex scene in the film.

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Goofs

After Melody Lane catches on fire and Needy and Jennifer are outside kneeling in the parking lot it is obvious that there are no lenses in Needy's classes as there is no reflection of the fire.

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Quotes

Jennifer Check: You're lime green jello and you can't even admit it to yourself

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Crazy Credits

Over the first part of the credits we are shown the events leading up to the fate of Low Shoulder

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Connections

References Aquamarine (2006)

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Soundtracks

"In the Flesh"
Written by Deborah Harry and Chris Stein
Performed by Ryan Levine
Produced by Josh Abraham
Courtesy of RCA/Jive, a label group of Sony Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Feast and Famine

Winning an Oscar for a first film is a perilous position for a screenwriter to be in, for with adulation comes high expectation, and with high expectation comes hype that is almost always self-defeating. Such is the case with "Jennifer's Body," the sophomore script from Diablo ("Juno") Cody, which takes an uncomfortable union of concept, content, and direction (by Karyn Kusama), and transforms it into a film I really WANTED to like, but in the end couldn't. Marketed as a hip, self-aware horror flick, it never delivers much beyond the norm of the genre (it follows firmly in the tradition of Kevin Williamson, who gave us "Scream" and "The Faculty" over a decade ago), and passages of heartfelt emotion are shortchanged for ridiculous horror segues (an indie band sacrifices a virgin to make a pact with the Devil, for instance) and Cody's own contrived linguistic quirks. The quirks worked for "Juno," which told a dramatic story populated by fully realized characters and peppered with moments of bittersweet humor. "Jennifer's Body" almost succeeds based on the strength of its central duo: the titular cheerleader (Megan Fox) and her bespectacled, dorky BFF, Needy (Amanda Seyfried), who undergo serious issues when Jennifer becomes a literal man-eater; the bond between them is so palpable and effective that it almost saves the film when it goes off into the realm of bloodshed and digital trickery. If Cody's script can't find a balance between the horror, the humor, and the pathos, director Kusama steers the film even more erratically, resulting in a tone that remains unsettled until the very end. Ultimately, "Jennifer's Body" has its share of visually arresting moments and fine performances (particularly Seyfried's), but it has much less to offer than its obvious (and far superior) influences: Jacques Tourneur's (and Paul Schrader's) "Cat People" and the "Ginger Snaps" trilogy (which took the metaphorical monstrosity of puberty and its own clever dialog into much more exciting territory).