Jennifer's Body is a supernatural horror film with comedic elements that depicts the story of Needy Lesnicki and her best friend Jennifer Check. Jennifer becomes possessed and turns into a demon who feeds on the lives of teenage boys, while Needy tries to find a way to stop her. The film has gained cult status among LGBTQ+ fans for it's forefront depiction of sapphic romance between the two best friends and its accurate depiction of the struggle of compulsory heterosexuality that many queer women commonly face.
Jennifer's Body originally struggled at the box office. The film made $2.8 million on opening day and $6.8 million on its opening weekend, despite the film's $16 million budget.
The limited success of the film's original release is especially due to the way the film was marketed.
The trailer for Jennifer's Body was edited to make the film seem as if it would cater to the male gaze, giving in to the ever common issue of female objectification. However, the film focuses less so on this and moreso on the complex nature of strong female characters and queer female relationships.
Although the film was originally unsuccessful, due to it being a queer feminist film that was much ahead of its time. Throughout the past 10 years, as parts of society have evolved and become somewhat more accepting, it has gained a huge cult following, and now has a larger amount of support than ever before.
The film is held in a special place specifically among the queer horror community, as it is one of the few films to unapologetically feature sapphic romance. In most hollywood films, if there is any romance between women whatsoever, it is commonly used in an objectifying manner and is usually purely physicaly, catering to the heterosexual male gaze. Jennifer's Body, however, turns this on its head and tells the story of a woman seaking revenge on all of the men who have objectified her. Instead of forcing the female leads into heterosexual relationships, the film further explores the complex homosexual love story between the two best friends and the toxicity that rapidly grows once Jennifer becomes demonically posessed.
10 years later, Jennifer's Body is more important than ever. It is still politically relevant, with it's themes of female empowerment and acceptance of sexuality. Although the themes of this film didn't strike a chord with a majority of 2009's audiences, it has since gained the traction it deserves. In a culture where many still follow outdated patriarchal hegemonic values, it is important to have films that challenge these ideals, and Jennifer's Body is one of them.
Jennifer's Body is rated R for sexuality, bloody violence, and language. It has a runtime of 102 minutes and is available via Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.
All images included are shots originally from Jennifer's Body (2009), dir. Karyn Kusama.