Jennifer’s Body is a 2009 black comedy horror film written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. The film stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, and Adam Brody. Fox portrays a newly-possessed cheerleader who kills her male classmates, with her best friend striving to stop her. The film premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2009
The first thing that strikes me about this film is the cast line up of this film. The two main stars are Fox and Seyfried. Megan Fox is in common culture the main sex symbol of the moment, and in this film she is exactly portrayed as that; a siren. Seyfriend is a more awkward kind of beauty, but attractive to men nevertheless. This choice of main stars is directly chosen to appeal to men. Fox to attract the typical bloke, and Seyfried to attract the ‘indie’ kind of man, so they are going for the ‘all-round’ kind of bloke, as in common culture the majority of an audience for a horror movie will be male, and lots of movies will involve some kind of nudity or sexual implication. This is also echoed in one scene in the film where the two share out a completely irrelevant make-out scene.
The poster has the main focus of attention, (Fox) placed in the direct center of the image, focusing attention firstly on her, attracting the male attention directly towards the attractive female. She is clad in the sexual colour of red, whilst posing in a way which shows most of her skin; drawing up her leg to show more flesh, crossing arms to maximize chest. It also plays with the male’s common fantasy of a school girl fetish, having her pictured in a classroom, and in a school skirt. These younger features are mixed in with older features, such as the high heels, and the revealing top, which therefore makes the male’s feel more comfortable as they do not feel as if they are being perverts.
Fox holds eye contact with the audience, drawing them closer to the poster and intriguing them. Her eyes hold a ‘come hither’ look, which leaves the viewer slightly uncertain; is she innocent or guilty? The schoolgirl image suggests innocence, yet many features hint otherwise; the use of violent red, a large area of skin on shoe, heels, the caption used, and also the hand creeping out of the school desk, which Fox takes no notice of. This shows that she is completely oblivious of the consequences and has no regret in the matter.
The edges of this photo are of a darker tone and more in shadow than the center. Fox has been highlight almost to glow in an angelic way, playing with the idea of the devil and the angel. This gives the audience a hint into the movie, as she goes from an innocent schoolgirl into a demon. She is airbrushed, creating an image of perfection, an icon or an idol, a symbol of attraction. This ‘perfection’ contrasts with the setting of the photo, which seems dull and abandoned in comparison, although this adds the theme of horror back into the poster, re-instating it’s genre. On the board behind Fox, ‘Hell Yes!’ is written. This is often shouted by teenage boys when they are looking at something they like, or are thankful for. A informal, chatty calling of joy. It, of course, highlights the word ‘Hell’, and so subconsciously places that idea in the audience’s mind.
