 Before directing the popular TV series Yellow Jackets, Karen directed a little flick in 2009 called Jennifer's Body. This R-rated dark comedy written by Diablo Cody starred Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, and it did not do well in theaters. It got a cult status over the years, and I'm actually very happy that a patron requested this one because I've wanted to talk about it ever since I saw it just a few years back. So without wasting any more time, let's talk about Megan Fox's body. I mean, Jennifer's body. It's been said before, but I'm gonna say it again. The marketing for this film was atrocious. I didn't see it in theaters because it was really focused on the fact that Megan Fox is hot. Now, to be fair, that is a good marketing sales pitch. Sex does sell. However, it was a sexy Megan Fox in a horror film. So you're kind of having a confusion boner going on. Like, ooh, she looks good here, but oh, she's like now unhinging in her jaw and taking someone's life. That's not hot, at least not for most people. It's not hot. It also didn't help that Megan Fox doesn't have a track record of being a good actress because she's really not a good actress. However, most people that saw this movie changed their tune on a lot of it. In fact, Megan Fox is really good in this film, and it seems like it was tailor-made for her in the one specific thing she's good at. Acting bitchy and looking really hot. The reason the marketing was a bit of a misdirect here is because, yes, Jennifer's body is on display, although unfortunately, no nudity is involved in this R-rated film. It's such a sad thing to say out loud. But sexuality is a factor here, for sure, and she does look very good. She gets to change wardrobes a lot. We see her swimming naked in the lake at one point, although there's nothing really to see. Again, just such a disappointment. But Amanda Seafreed is the show here. She plays a character named Needy, and we're gonna be following her for the majority of the picture. Seafreed is great. She was great in Mean Girls. She's great again here. Plaina, completely different character. She's not a dumb dits. She's actually a very likable, friendly girl who doesn't have a lot of friends herself outside of Jennifer, who they've been friends ever since they were young. And I just realized I am getting ahead of myself because I'm excited to talk about this movie, but I have to give a shout out to Jan Rose on Patreon at patreon.com slash adamdosmovies. She's a great supporter of the channel. She recommended I watch Jennifer's body, and I really appreciate it. Jan is a Mithril member on Patreon. You can also be one via YouTube. And with that membership, you can request a movie. I have to watch it, give you a tip of the hat, and talk about it like I'm doing right now. Let's keep talking about this film. Fun thing about it is I used to live in Minnesota, believe it or not. Probably hard to tell because of my stellar accent and the way I pronounce everything. This movie takes place in Minnesota, in a fictitious town. This quaint little town is called Devil's Kettle. And within it is a crappy little dive bar that a lot of the students and even the teachers hang out at night because there's really nothing else to do here. Jennifer convinces Needy to go out with her. They run into a cameo by Chris Pratt, which is really fun. And there's also a band there from out of town called Low Shoulder. And this is really when the movie takes a sharp turn into the dark side of things. So far the film has really done a good job introducing these characters. With really witty, clever dialogue, I expect nothing less from Diablo Cody. This is no exception. And to jump off of that for a second, the dialogue in this movie is really funny. Some really clever lines here. And I love how there's this version of Teen Speak that no one ever spoke. It's just for the movie. They'll call people names like Freak Tard. Jennifer will be on the phone and she'll literally make an X in the air and say, I'm crossing you out because she's upset at the time. This will be a nice foreshadow to the end of the movie where they'll bring that back. And I also really like the line, sandbox love never dies. Which of course refers to them being friends since they were kids and how that bond cannot be broken. Until it inevitably is when your best friend turns into a succubus because she was ritualistically killed on the side of Devil Falls. That's right. Jennifer is violently murdered in this movie by this boy band after they flee a fire at the bar which ends up killing I believe eight students and a teacher. So the town is already grieving from this horrible loss. Meanwhile, Niti's dealing with this whole bag of issues which is Jennifer has shown up at her door in the middle of the night after being violently cut to pieces by this boy band that wants to make it big. And the way to fast track it is of course to make a deal with the Devil which means sacrificing a virgin in exchange for the limelight. Unbeknownst to them, Jennifer hasn't been a virgin in quite some time not even a backdoor virgin as she states. And what happens when you make an impure sacrifice? Well, the girl turns into a succubus and the only way to sustain her health and her beautiful natural glow is to suck the souls from boys, devour them completely. And that's the plot of this movie. Jennifer will lure men away from their area into the woods, into an abandoned home, make her way with them, take their life and move on to the next. She can usually go a few days it seems or weeks even before having to feed again but the hunger always comes back. And it doesn't take long for Niti to realize things aren't on the up and up. Especially when Jennifer keeps going out of her way to hit on Niti's boyfriend Chip who I always will refer to as young Neil from Scott Pilgrim versus The World. Speaking of actors, the other big one that shows up here and there is J.K. Simmons as one of their teachers. He's hilarious. He's always grieving. He's always feeling compassionate for these kids. So outside of great casting, terrific dialogue and a surprisingly solid performance from Megan Fox we also have very good visuals. The movie is lit so well. It doesn't look digital or artificial. It just looks damn good all around. Sometimes night shots come off as blue because it's not really filmed at night. They do a thing in post. Here though, the contrast, the shadows, everything is brilliant. I like that there's layer to the story too and these characters. You can definitely dissect it, take it as far as you want. For instance, Niti, definitely by Curious. I think that she's madly in love with Jennifer and that's probably grown over time. There is a nice little make out sesh for a second but it's deeper than that. It's not just surface level girls having pillow fights at a slumber party and they decide to kiss. Now, this is something familiar for both of them and it's something that you could look at it and go, okay, it's clear Jennifer doesn't have the same feelings for Niti, at least that Niti has for her. Jennifer is a very selfish individual. She's very vain, she's very superficial but she's held on to this friendship because it props her up. It makes her feel empowered. Niti will have major growth by the end of this movie too because she will eventually take Jennifer out and herself end up in a mental institution after a very terrible scene plays out in front of Jennifer's mom who finally shows up for the first time as a parent. These parents are terrible, by the way. They have no idea what's going on in their kid's lives. And the movie ends with a really cool sequence where she's in that mental institution, intentionally gets herself thrown in like a stockade where she can levitate off the ground and show the camera that she has ascended. When you're bitten by a succubus and you don't die, you get some of that power and she's gonna unleash hell on that freaking boy band who did this to that small town. Which reminded me of another great movie that also did this with the end credits which was Dawn of the Dead, the remake by Zack Snyder. Both movies give us a little extra fun closure. Well, there you go, my thoughts on Jennifer's body. A movie I avoided for many, many years, eventually watched it probably seven years back and then again I got to relive it and I liked it even more the second time here. So thanks again, Jan, for the request and to all Patreon and YouTube joint members. You help keep this channel going and these reviews flowing. Let me know your thoughts on Jennifer's body if you've seen it, if you love it like me. Like the video if you had some fun. Please subscribe if you're new here and hopefully I'll see you next time. Take care.