Jennifer’s Body. 2009. Directed by Karyn Kusama

Film

Fri, Aug 12, 2022, 7:00 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

Jennifer’s Body. 2009. USA. Directed by Karyn Kusama. Courtesy of Photofest

Jennifer’s Body. 2009. USA. Directed by Karyn Kusama. Screenplay by Diablo Cody. With Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, J. K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, Adam Brody. 35mm. 102 min.

Hell is a teenage girl. Jennifer’s Body, written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama, is a genre mash-up of horror, comedy, and drama that conveys the incredible notion of girls as powerful, mystical beings. Though the film was ahead of its time in many ways when it was released in 2009, the times have caught up with its sharp-edged expression of toxic relationships among young women, queer love, and revenge. When high school beauty Jennifer is turned into a demon one night after a sacrificial rite gone wrong, she begins living off the blood of young men to retain her health and beauty. Her lifelong best friend Needy, who’s always lived in her shadow, must stop her rampage. As searingly funny as it is frightening, Jennifer’s Body is a foundational film in contemporary horror that gives young women the rightful position of power, even when possessed.

This film accompanies Messaging the Monstrous: Women Make Horror.
This film is part of Horror: Messaging the Monstrous.

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