JENNIFER'S BODY (Megan Fox) review by Gary Murray

Diablo Cody is one of the most unlikely success stories to come out of Hollywood. The former exotic dancer penned her first screenplay and panned Oscar gold. For those who didn't catch it, Juno was a story of teen pregnancy with dialogue that zipped along in hipster family drama moments. It was a bright spot for the Academy Awards and those who love independent flicks. Diablo has decided to do a one-eighty with her second effort and has scribed a horror flick, but one with hipster moments and zippy dialogue. It's called Jennifer's Body.

As stated from the opening frame, 'Hell is a teenage girl' which sums up the film better than any other encapsulation. The story starts in medias res, with Anita/Needy (Amanda Seyfried) in a insane asylum. Soon we discover that she is a strong, high-kicking trouble maker who fights every chance she gets. She draws blood from her caretakers and is placed in solitary confinement. We know the outcome, just not the how and why.

Then we jump back to the beginning. Jennifer (Megan Fox) and Needy have been best buddies since they were kids. But it is obvious that Jennifer is the dominate force of the two, the pretty girl to the plain Jane. But Needy does have a drum playing boyfriend, even though he's in the marching band with his skins. They all live in a hick town of Devil's Kettle, Minnesota - the kind of place that young people try to escape in every way, every day.

The high school gals decide to sneak out one night and see a hip band called Low Shoulder that's playing at the local watering hole called the Melody Line Tavern. Needy notices that the lead singer is 'skinny and twisted and evil'. In a moment that feels like a flashback from a Whitesnake bad dream, the bar catches on fire. The girls escape through the bathroom window, but most of the patrons are not as lucky. Outside, they meet up with the band, and Jennifer in a daze gets into the band members' van. Needy goes home.

Later that night, Jennifer comes back to Needy's house, but she is covered in blood and craving meat. After eating she throws up bile that looks like a mix between industrial sewage and primordial ooze. Needy sees that something is definitely wrong with her friend. But the next day, Jennifer is her perfect self but with a little more pep in her step and bile in her utterances. Everyone in the school except for Jennifer is in mourning over the town deaths. Jennifer just seems above it all.

Then a strange series of murders begin happening, and it is up to Needy to figure out how Jennifer and the band are tied to everything that is occurring in Devil's Kettle. It becomes a supernatural murder mystery... and as Joe Bob Briggs would say, heads will roll.

The film is being billed as a Diablo Cody flick, and it does have that identifiable stamp of the writer. Though Jennifer's Body is riddled with clichés, it never wallows in them. The dialogue is so fresh that it snaps like fresh snow peas. The lines ring like you wished you and your cool friends could have talked in high school. It has a hyper-realistic sense of self in the meter.

Director Karyn Kusama plays it smart by staying within the patterns established within the genre. She doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel with Jennifer's Body, just to make a modern horror flick. Her camera never falters in capturing the action and the beats of the piece.

Megan Fox plays the mean high school girl with a streak that is diabolical. With those piercing eyes and winning smile, she could convince the Pope to become Jewish. Though billed as just eye candy, she does make the most of playing evil.

The toughest role is Needy, and Amanda Seyfried just delivers a standout performance. She shows her turn in Mamma Mia wasn't a one trick pony. Here she becomes one with the audience, amazed by all that transpires in her little town.

The biggest interest within the movie fan community seems to be the lesbian kiss between our two leads. Really? Yes, they are both beautiful, but is a single kiss some kind of end-all be-all? Hasn't anyone ever seen The Hunger? That kiss was scandalous three decades ago, and I thought we were somehow past all this titillation and shock.

Now, is Jennifer's Body an Oscar-worthy flick? Not in a million years. But if you want a different take on horror and a fresh approach to a genre that has been going in the recycle mode for the last few years, you cannot go wrong with this little bit of fun.

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