Jennifer's Body and Exploitation

Jennifer’s Body takes an approach to cannibalism that builds on the supernatural elements of Blood Diner and the constructions of masculinity explored in Ravenous and American Psycho. Unlike Blood Diner, the focus of the film is not on the ritual that creates the cannibal, but on her hunger: Its satiation makes a statement about the multiple masculine representations in small towns like the Devil’s Kettle of the film, as well as the limitations of female power within its context. In Jennifer’s Body, Jennifer (Megan Fox) is transformed into a cannibalistic succubus by a satanic ritual performed by indie band Low Shoulder to ensure their success. When she and best friend Anita “Needy” (Amanda Seyfried) hear them play at a local bar that suddenly catches fire, and Nikolai (Adam Brody), the band’s lead singer, recruits her for their ritual, thinking she’s a virgin. Because Jennifer has had multiple sexual experiences, however, the ceremony backfires, turning Jennifer into a demon-possessed monster who feeds on men.

Jennifer recounts the tale for Needy in a scene later in the film, and we see her experience with Low Shoulder in flashback. Jennifer calls them “agents of Satan with really cool haircuts.” From Jennifer’s point of view, we see the inside of their van on her drive away from the bar. There are occult books on the floor, and Nikolai declares, “God, I hate girls,” when she begins to cry. To stop them, Jennifer claims she is a virgin, not knowing they need a virgin sacrifice for their ritual. She tries to escape, but they’re determined because they believe it’s the only way they can succeed as musicians. As Nikolai explains:

“Do you know how hard it is to make it as an indie band these days? There are so many of us, and we're all so cute and it's like if you don't get on Letterman or some retarded soundtrack, you're screwed, okay? Satan is our only hope. We're working with the beast now. And we've got to make a really big impression on him. And to do that, we're going to have to butcher you. And bleed you. And then Dirk (Juan Riedinger) here is gonna wear your face.”

After saying some words from an Internet download, Nikolai begins stabbing her with a knife and then throws it into a bubbling whirlpool under the town’s waterfall. When Jennifer wakes up, she has been transformed into a demonic cannibal who feeds on men to maintain her beauty and strength. When her tongue lights up in flames after a kill, for example, she tells Needy she “feels like a god.”

By including sympathetic male victims, however, the film takes a more subtle approach to its ecofeminist message. Jennifer’s prey are not the typical villains found in revenge films but stock character types found in teen films: the class jock and the sensitive Goth poet. In both of the murder and cannibal scenes, the natural world responds to Jennifer’s violence, watching her raptly as she devours each of her frightened victims and providing a macabre interpretation of the woman/nature connection perpetuated by dualistic thought.