āThough critical reevaluation and appreciation for Jenniferās Body has been gaining momentum in the near 10 years since theatrical release, the film is still often referred to as a āguilty pleasure.ā Thereās nothing wrong with liking Jenniferās Body; itās a legitimately great horror comedy with pitch-black humor, clever themes, a loving deconstruction of horror tropes, and brilliant subtext. Itās long past time we embrace it.ā - Bloody Disgusting
āHad it been released a decade later, possibly through a streaming service, Cody told Variety that it would have ādefinitelyā found its audience and the themes of queer representation and sexual assault would have been clear.ā - Variety
āThe idea of a womanās body being used for menās gain (even if itās a prize as lame as indie rock fame), and her coping with this violation by using her sexuality to entrap and feed on those who once objectified her, feels like something to be celebrated, not mocked. Had this film been made a decade later, itās possible Fox could have been heralded as the feminist revenge hero of our time. In fact, the reason Jennifer becomes a demon in the first place, rather than just dying from the violent stab wounds inflicted on her by emo Seth Cohen and his band while sacrificing her to the devil, is because they wrongly believed her to be a virgin. In complete opposition to tired horror tropes, a woman is, in a way, saved by her sexual experience, rising anew to wreak revenge on those whoāve wronged her.ā - Refinery29
āThe internet is suddenly full of critics reclaiming the movie and naming it a forgotten feminist classic. Jenniferās Body is good now.Ā More precisely, Jenniferās Body was always good, and everyone is just now starting to get on its level.ā - Vox
āNow, I think whatās happening is that people are seeing that the movie really did have a distinctly female perspective and that we need those movies, like we find those movies even after the fact, even after theyāre dismissed because we need proof that we exist. And that was one of those movies for me. I was like, āIf I was in high school I would love this movie. I would see this movie 10 times.ā I wanted to make a movie for young women that they can feel themselves being represented in even in a crazy outlandish story. And so Iām glad to know that the movie is getting rediscovered because thereās something pleasantly bonkers about it for me.ā - Karyn Kusama,Ā SyfyWire
10 Years of Jenniferās Body
Writer: Diablo Cody, Director: Karyn Kusama
Theatrically released September 18, 2009
