From director Karyn Kusama (Girlfight), and writer Diablo Cody (Juno) comes one of the most refreshingly original horror films I have seen in some time, Jennifer’s Body. Think Drop Dead Gorgeous with a dash of Mean Girls, a hint of Heathers, and a whole lot of demonic carnage.

Jennifer Check (Megan Fox) is the sexy and popular star of her high school. Her best friend Anita (Amanda Seyfried) is pretty much the opposite. After Jennifer falls victim to a botched attempt at a virgin sacrifice at the hands of a fledgling indie band hoping for some help from Satan, she finds herself with a strange new hunger that can only be sated with the blood of her male classmates. Now it is up to Anita to help her friend before her senior class is totally wiped out. Sound ridiculous yet?

I was beyond skeptical of this film. Megan Fox staring seductively from a movie poster with the word “body” in the title? The film looked to be no more than an exploitative teen horror film trying to cash in on Fox’s curves. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case. What you get is a solid satanic possession tale with a sharp wit and a wonderful darkly comedic atmosphere. I am at a loss to find another film with entirely the same characteristic to compare it to.

Let me say, it was a pleasure to see a horror film from a female director. With the exception of American Psycho (Mary Harron) and Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow), the horror genre is pretty much devoid of female-helmed projects. Kusama presents strong female characters that come across as whole people, not the shadows that women become in most of the genre’s films.

Perhaps most importantly, a big pat on the back to the whole team for making an R rated film. Do you remember R rated films? Back when a film was not in danger of being trimmed down to a PG-13 to bolster the box office earnings? When a horror film was made for adults, not junior high field trips? Jennifer’s Body stands its ground, and for that I am eternally grateful. One could easily imagine a PG-13 version of the film, a version drained of all its energy.

I believe this film has a much larger audience than I had previously suspected. I would strongly recommend this film to all horror fans, and to those who are looking for an excellent dark comedy as well. This sleeper fits firmly into my top horror films of 2009, and remains one of the most original films I have seen all year. – [DVD]

Comedy/Horror/Thriller

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 12/29/09

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