In both concept and execution, Jennifer’s Body is a peculiar film. It is gnarly and rough around the edges, and often struggles to make it clear entirely what it wants to be in the first place. However, we have never found a cult film that didn’t possess some of these qualities, or at least have some degree of divisiveness in some way. Karyn Kusama and Diablo Cody worked together to craft one of the most unconventionally brilliant genre films of the past two decades, a daring and provocative combination of horror and dark comedy that manages to be better than the exact works that they are satirizing. Many have drawn comparisons between Jennifer’s Body and films like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby, classic horrors that have been appreciated as figureheads of the New Hollywood movement – and while it may not be the instant classic on their level, it has grown into a work that is cherished by a large portion of the population, especially those with a penchant for the alternative sides of well-defined genres. The combination of a gifted filmmaker like Kusama, and a screenwriter that had proven herself to be one of the most exciting voices in contemporary cinema in the form of Cody led to a masterful collaboration between artists with different visions but the same deep passion for courting controversy in a way that is constructive and entertaining, all of which is filtered into this off-the-wall, deranged dark comedy that knows how to handle some of the darker material with the most sadistic humour imaginable, making Jennifer’s Body one of the most unquestionably entertaining horror films of recent years, and one that has slowly started to earn the admiration it deserves.

One of the great benefits of looking at films in hindsight is that we often find that there are masterpieces lurking in plain sight. There’s nothing quite as endearing as a work that was written off as being inconsequential or unimpressive on its initial release undergoing a critical reanalysis. Jennifer’s Body is one of the most clear examples of this process, since not only has it received reappraisal as a genuinely great film, but also been redefined as a work with a very serious and pertinent message, especially in relation to the growth of feminist cinema, of which this has become one of the most notable examples. Horror has often been the genre that has managed to tackle some notable social and cultural issues in a way that is diverse and serious – where most traditional works will present these ideas directly, horror chooses to assimilate them into the conversation through the paranormal and supernatural, which may mean that they are more abstract in nearly every instance, but they can be more interesting to explore. There are few horror films produced that are made simply to terrify viewers (and most of them are not particularly good in any case), with even the most traditional of works containing some degree of commentary, even if only marginally. Jennifer’s Body embraces this practice through infusing this story of demonic possession and satanic ritual with strong feminist undertones, as well as a very clear example of queer horror, which is evident throughout the film, so much that it can be read as an example of a coming-of-age comedy just as much as it is a traditional body horror. The collision between Kusama’s visceral style and Cody’s forthright, deeply socially-conscious perspective culminates in a film that is still discussed as a great example of feminist horror, an area that is continuously growing as a result of the movement towards looking at it as more than just macabre scenarios featuring female protagonists, but instead something much deeper.

One of the most important elements of Jennifer’s Body that prospective viewers need to have going into this film is a sense of humour – this is not a horror film that hinges on the actual content so much as it is focused on how we are able to suspend disbelief and simply surrender to the sheer absurdity of the situation, and the insanity that ensues when we encounter a scenario that does not make sense in reality, but is carefully formed into this strange dark comedy by a group of artists deeply dedicated to this story. Considering how there has been a movement towards rationalizing horror with an almost scientific precision (and ensuring that absolutely every detail is covered by generations of literature from across academia, religion and international cultures), there is something valuable about a film that actually manages to be entertaining without needing to justify every individual choice. There is a surrealism that governs this film that is incredibly captivating, granted we are able to get onto the film’s wavelength – and those who need their horror films to have a neat resolution are likely going to walk away bewildered and unsettled, since none of these factored into Jennifer’s Body in any significant way, which is part of its charm and the reason it has been reevaluated as something of a masterpiece. It is an over-the-top, excessive and gruesome body horror with a lot of satirical dark comedy that often feels misplaced – and this is where it is most compelling, since it knows that it does not need to be serious, and can instead just offer the viewer a hilariously irreverent couple of hours of unhinged madness.

One of the aspects of Jennifer’s Body that is most commonly cited as being amongst its most significant merits is its cast, with both Amanda Seyfried and Megan Fox being cited as amongst the very best parts of the entire film, even by those who are critical of the approach taken to the story. Neither of the two were unknown at the time (having been part of massively successful films), so their presence here is quite peculiar – considering how they were both well-known from a variety of major films, their choice to take part in this small, insidious horror comedy only points towards the potential they saw in the production. Seyfriend is a captivating protagonist, playing the part of Needy with the kind of dedication required for a horror film such as this – and she rarely leans into making the character unlikable, even when she is constructed as the embodiment of jealousy and isolation. Fox, on the other hand, is a revelation – allegations that she is a limited actress can easily be disproven by her performance here, since she is playing into the kind of sexpot maniac many accused her of depending on, but in a way that is incredibly creative, and as if she was working closely with Kusama and Cody is intentionally subvert the image she had harnessed over time. Both leads are fantastic, and without their spirited work, there’s very little chance that Jennifer’s Body would have been even marginally a success, especially in how detailed the approach to the character development is, which isn’t something regularly cited as being amongst the film’s strengths, despite being the foundation for its success – ultimately, this is a film about friendship, and the performances of the two leads, as broad and eccentric as they may be, are integral to how it redirects our attention away from the grisly horror, and into the areas that are far more unique.

Jennifer’s Body is the kind of film that many may say works better in theory than in execution – and granted, some of the criticisms of the film do remain relevant (tonally, the film is often quite inconsistent, and a more assured approach may have allowed its more satirical element to flourish), but considering the extent to which the initial poor reactions were from a perspective that did not acknowledge the queer and feminist subtext that persists throughout the film, one has to wonder if this was just a case of the wrong voices defining the trajectory that this film took. The vast amount of criticism that has emerges over the past decade, where scholars and devotees spent time carefully dissecting this fascinating film and proving how there was a lot more to this story than initially meets the eye immediately indicates that there is something of value underpinning this film, and that it warrants much more attention than those overly negative opinions would lead you to believe. Jennifer’s Body has a long way to go before being consolidated as a true masterpiece, but even if we just take it as a film that has gained a lot of support as a cult classic, we can find value in the material, which offers us something we had never seen before. Blisteringly funny and deeply unsettling, the film is a tremendously entertaining horror that captures the feeling of those haunting teen years, and offers us something compelling, even if it may take a lot of patience to get to the point where these wildly disparate themes come together to form this marvellously complex work of unrestrained terror and interminable comedy.