Jennifer's Body

 I hate horror movies, zombies, slasher films, scary movies. I have never watched Psycho, or Carrie, and I have no desire to see any of the horror classics. But I made an exception and watched Jennifer's Body because I've liked what Diablo Cody has done in the past, and because it's up next for my cinema discussion group. I still didn't like the horror elements but it was interesting to see how the movie goes against genre expectations. The victims are boys not girls and the monster is female not male. The primary motor of the film is the relationship between the two friends. The film was poorly marketed and lots of folks expected to see Megan Fox in a porny role, and didn't know what to make of the female friendship plot. Some viewers in the years since its release have connected with the scene in which the two friends kiss (one of many elements suggesting a queer romance). The depiction of a toxic BFF relationship is what the director Karyn Kusama and Cody had in mind, and the send-up of indie bands as villains delivers the real horror of the film. Cody, Kusama, and Fox have all talked about how painful the mismanaged publicity campaign and sexist backlash against their film was to them at the time. In fact, this piece appeared today about the film's reception, ten years later.

Here's a video essay on friendship and sisterhood that points to the teen girl horror genre that is Heathers and Mean Girls for context: