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"JENNIFER'S BODY" (2009) (Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Extreme Extreme Heavy Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy Moderate Extreme Minor Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Minor Extreme Heavy Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror/Comedy: A mousy high school student must contend with her best friend, the school vamp, turning into a savage, demonic killer. PLOT: Needy (AMANDA SEYFRIED) is a violent patient at a mental institute located near the town of Devil's Kettle. Not long ago, however, she was a somewhat mousy high school student taking classes taught by Mr. Wroblewski (J.K. SIMMONS), dating boyfriend Chip (JOHNNY SIMMONS), and being best friends since childhood with Jennifer (MEGAN FOX). The fact that the latter is the class vamp doesn't seem to affect their friendship, although Jennifer certainly gets the lion's share of attention from boys ranging from reserved punker Colin (KYLE GALLNER) to Nikolai (ADAM BRODY), the lead singer of the band Low Shoulder that's playing at a local club. After that venue burns down and kills various locals, Jennifer leaves with Nikolai and his band-mates in their van. When Needy next sees her, she's bloody from head to toe and vomits up a nasty concoction of thick, black blood. Little does Needy know that her friend has been turned into a demonic killer who's soon feeding on the local guys, such as hulking football player Jonas (JOSH EMERSON). From that point on, Needy tries to figure out what happened to her friend who develops an appetite not only for Colin, but also Chip. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into horror comedies, are fans of anyone in the cast, or are interested in the second screenplay by Diablo Cody (who penned "Juno"), they might be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For sexuality, bloody violence, language and brief drug use. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: MEGAN FOX plays a snarky high school vamp who uses her sexuality to her advantage and enjoys all of the attention paid to her. She ends up mesmerized by Nikolai and heads off with him and his band-mates, only to return as an occasionally savage, demonic killer who feeds on her victims. She uses strong profanity, nearly smokes, and briefly drinks. AMANDA SEYFRIED plays her somewhat mousy friend who drops most anything whenever Jennifer comes calling. But she becomes both confused and frightened when her best friend turns into a savage, demonic monster. She has sex with Chip, her boyfriend, and uses strong profanity. JOHNNY SIMMONS plays her boyfriend with whom she has sex. He uses strong profanity. ADAM BRODY plays the lead singer of a band that's playing a local venue but also looking for a virgin to make a Satanic sacrifice in hopes that doing so will help their career. He drinks and uses strong profanity. J.K. SIMMONS plays one of the high school teachers, an instructor (with a prosthetic claw hand) who wants his students to honor those who died. KYLE GALLNER plays a somewhat reserved punker with a pierced lower lip who takes a liking to Jennifer, unaware of what he's getting himself into. He uses strong profanity. JOSH EMERSON plays a hulking high school football player who's shaken up by a friend's death in the fire. He ends up being seduced by Jennifer, thus putting him in harm's way. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this horror comedy that's been rated R. Profanity consists of at least 22 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, as are sexual encounters (straight and lesbian) and views of scantly clad female teens, while a teen girl skinny-dips. Violence consists of a demon-possessed teen savagely attacking and killing various people after being murdered herself as part of a satanic sacrifice (while others are killed in a fire that sweeps through a club). There's other contact, as well as brief self-mutilation. The murders have extremely bloody/gory results, and those scenes, various visuals of the demonic girl and various moments of potential peril (haunted house style) might be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to some viewers (although everything is played tongue-in-cheek). Bad attitudes are present, as is material that some kids might want to imitate, while tense family material also occurs. Drinking is present, as is brief drug use (coke) during the end credits. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that from flames flickering. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Various people drink in a bar, and Jennifer states she can't wait until she's old enough to get wasted. After she offers to get Nikolai a drink, Needy asks how she'll do that. Jennifer replies, "I'll play hello-t*tty" with the bartender." She then walks back with the drinks, but nobody has any of them. Later, Nikolai has a drink and then hands it to Jennifer who drinks some. Nikolai tells a band-mate that the guy owes him a beer about a bet related to Jennifer. We see images of Nikolai and his band-mates partying, including drinking and some snorting of cocaine. BLOOD/GORE We see bad-looking scars on Needy's back and arm (seen again near the end of the film). Needy kicks a mental institution worker backwards quite hard (and spits on her), with the female worker then spitting out some blood that pools on the floor beneath her. Needy suddenly encounter Jennifer, all bloody and appearing deranged, with blood dripping onto the floor. Jennifer then removes a whole chicken from the fridge and starts feeding on that before letting out some sort of monstrous roar and then projectile vomiting copious amounts of black blood and other material. Moments later, her hand ends up smearing blood onto a framed picture on the wall. We see a flashback to the girls as young kids with Needy pulling a tack out from Jennifer's hand with a little bit of bloody results. We see a flashback to Needy scrubbing up the above projectile vomit blood. Jennifer pushes Jonas back against a tree, shows her suddenly monstrous teeth, and we then hear sounds of him screaming as she kills him off camera. We later see his brutally savaged body, with a deer licking his open chest cavity. Jennifer purposefully uses a lighter to burn the end of her tongue (blackening that). Jennifer breaks Colin's arm and then savagely attacks him (the latter seen in silhouette, with her sharp teeth noted and blood spraying and splattering everywhere). We later see her scooping up blood with her hands from his open chest cavity and drinking from them. While having sex with Chip, Needy sees blood forming and then dripping from the ceiling, as well as dead Jonas sitting there watching. Needy drives at night and Jennifer is suddenly in front of her, all bloody. After sacrificing Jennifer, Nikolai is somewhat bloody and wipes the knife on his shirt. To show she's indestructible, Jennifer cuts her own arm with a knife, and the bloody open wound quickly heals back to normal. Needy imagines seeing Jennifer at school with a bloody mouth. Jennifer throws Chip into an abandoned and dirty indoor pool at night and then struggles with and thrashes him about. By the time Needy runs there, she finds Jennifer at his neck, and when Jennifer pulls back, her mouth and his neck are bloody. Needy then jumps in to save him, and ends up spraying pepper spray into Jennifer's face. Jennifer then levitates out of the water and projectile vomits black bloody stuff onto them. During the above, Jennifer tells Needy she's going to eat and then "sh*t" out the latter's soul. Chip runs the long handle of a pool scoop net through Jennifer's torso, but she then slides that out and appears no worse for the wear (beyond the blood). She then asks Needy if she has a tampon (for the wound), adding, "You seemed like you might be plugging." SPOILER ALERT: Needy crashes through Jennifer's window and tries to hit her with something. They then struggle and Jennifer bites and/or scratches Needy who comes at her with a utility knife, slicing Jennifer's belly, leaving a bloody "X" there. They then struggle, with Jennifer levitating both of them off the bed. They end up falling back onto that, with Needy landing on Jennifer and stabbing her through the heart with that knife, killing her (with bloody results). We see images of the aftermath of Needy attacking and killing Nikolai and his band-mates, with blood everywhere, a dead guy in the bathroom, and one with a knife still jammed in his chest (with bloody results). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Jennifer kills various people while possessed by a demon. Needy kicks a mental institution worker backwards quite hard (and spits on her), with the female worker then spitting out some blood that pools on the floor beneath her. A girl states that Needy is "totally lesbo-gay" (due to hanging out with Jennifer and despite having a boyfriend). Needy comments (via voice-over narration) that she was told Jesus could save her, but then adds that hasn't happened (some viewers might not like the connotation of that). Jennifer uses the term "retard" about a guy (who's not mentally challenged). About a foreign guy, Jennifer wonders if he's circumcised, saying she's always wanted to try a sea cucumber. A person uses the term "faggers." After Needy calls Chip to say that Jennifer went off with Nikolai and his band in a van, Chip asks if she got the make or license number. She replies, "I don't know, an '89 rapist?" (some viewers might not like the joke). About those who died in the club fire, Jennifer callously states, "Sucks to be them." A person uses a term that sounded like "total gay-lord." Jennifer tells Needy the latter should get a "Chinese chick" to do her nails. About what's wrong with Needy, Jennifer makes the comment about that beyond her superficial flaws. Jennifer lies to Jonas about his late friend saying they (Jennifer and Jonas) would make a "totally banging couple." She then takes him off into the woods to seduce and then kill him. Needy's mom says she had a dream about her daughter being nailed to a tree like "JC" (Jesus Christ -- some viewers might not like the abbreviation). Jennifer uses the term "It's freak-tarded." When Mr. Wroblewski comments about those who perished in the club fire, Jennifer says, "Boring," while we hear someone say about her, "What a bitch" and another girl refers to Needy as a "lez." About Colin, Jennifer sarcastically states that her "d*ck" is bigger than his. Jennifer uses the phrase "Slow down, tardy" (the latter a form of "retard"). Nikolai and his band-mates sacrifice Jennifer to Satan (hoping doing so will help their music career). Jennifer lies to Chip about Needy and Colin, saying they were intimate, adding that she means they were "porking" on a semi-regular basis. About Needy coming at her with a utility knife, Jennifer says, "God, you're butch." FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. The same holds true for various views of Jennifer in her demonic state (evil eyes, lots of sharp teeth, etc.). That said, all of the above is played to varying degrees of tongue-in-cheek, so the severity of the material is somewhat lessened. Hearing something in her house, Needy slowly goes to investigate, including opening the front door, but no one is there (although we see a shadow pass by her back inside the house). She then hears sounds and goes to the basement door and peers into the dark (we don't see her POV), but finds nothing. She then hears more noises and goes into the kitchen, only to suddenly encounter Jennifer, all bloody and appearing deranged. The latter then removes a whole chicken from the fridge and starts feeding on that before letting out some sort of monstrous roar and then projectile vomiting copious amounts of black blood and other material. Following Jennifer's directions to what's supposed to be her home, Colin ends up in a deserted and scary-looking neighborhood at night. After entering a house, he slowly makes his way through that, eventually finding Jennifer who comes on to him, but some rats then run by. Jennifer's eyes then turn demonic and he freaks out, but it's too late as she attacks him (seen in silhouette). While having sex with Chip, Needy sees blood forming and then dripping from the ceiling, as well as dead Jonas sitting there watching, with Jennifer crouching nearby. We see various Satanic images in a book about the same. GUNS/WEAPONS Knives: Used to wound or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Shut the f*ck up," "I hate this f*cking song," "That's f*cking weird," "F*ck you," "F*cking-A it is," "F*cked up," "We were f*cking idiots" (nonsexual), "F*ck it," "What the f*ck is happening?" "You killed by f*cking boyfriend," "I'm kinda the sh*t," "All stylized and sh*t," "Sh*t gets real," "Sh*tty," "Eat sh*t," "Like some X-Men sh*t," "Your front butt," "I'll play hello t*tty with the bartender," "Back-door virgin," "I don't known, an '89 rapist?" "What a ho," "Serious pubic inches," "My d*ck is bigger than his" (said by a girl), "You give me such a wettie," "Hell is a teenage girl," "Welcome to the mental Olympics," "Babe," "Dork," "You're totally lesbo-gay," "What's up, Vagisil?" "Retard," "Faggers," "Shut up," "Cheese and fries," "Somebody's lame," "Douche-bags," "Where's it at, Monistat?" "Sucks to be them," "Total gay-lord," "Chick," "Not to be a dill-hole," "Hard ass," "Move on, dot-org," "It's freak-tarded," "What a bitch," "Lez," "That is so Emo," "You're such a cliché," "Slow down, tardy," "You're screwed," "They did go all Benihana on my ass," "Satan chow," "You're so salty," "You're such a player hater," "You're a jerk," "You seemed like you might be plugging" (using a tampon) and "God, you're butch." The various scares and related material might be enticing for some kids to imitate in order to try to scare others. Jennifer wears midriff-revealing tops in several scenes, while Needy wears the same in one scene. Nikolai has a tattoo on his neck. Colin is a punker with a ring through his pierced lower lip. We see a very long-distance view of Jennifer skinny-dipping/swimming in a lake (full rear nudity, from a distance), followed by her getting out and walking along, but none of those shots shows explicit nudity. Jennifer purposefully uses a lighter to burn the end of her tongue (blackening that). Nikolai and his band-mates sacrifice Jennifer to Satan (hoping doing so will help their music career). To show she's indestructible, Jennifer cuts her own arm with a knife, and the bloody open wound quickly heals back to normal. Jennifer jumps out from a second story window to exit Needy's room, and is gone when Needy goes to look. JUMP SCENES Needy is suddenly at Jennifer's window. Needy turns and a bloody Jennifer is suddenly right there. Colin suddenly bursts through a plastic-covered window in a deserted house. A crow or similar large bird suddenly takes flight near Colin inside a house. Needy drives at night and Jennifer is suddenly in front of her, all bloody. Needy swerves and then stops, looking around, but sees nothing. Just then, Jennifer suddenly lands on the windshield, cracking it. Needy crashes through Jennifer's window. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A song has lyrics about "You hit me once, I hit you back" and "I set fire to our bed." PROFANITY At least 22 "f" words (4 used sexually as is the term "porking"), 14 "s" words, 3 slang terms using male genitals ("d*ck," "hardware" and "pubic inches"), 3 slang terms for breasts (variations of "t*t"), 3 asses, 1 crap, 1 damn, 1 hell, 9 uses of "God," 2 each of "G-damn," "Oh God" and "Oh my God" and 1 use of "My God." SEX/NUDITY We see Jennifer lying on her bed in a tight top and small shorts. As Needy undresses, we see the back of her bra, but nothing else. A girl states that Needy is "totally lesbo-gay" (due to hanging out with Jennifer and despite having a boyfriend). About Needy's low-riding jeans, Chip jokes that he can see her "front butt" and nearly her womb. Chip and Needy start to kiss, with him undoing his belt, but she hears Jennifer enter the house and then stops. When both go down to see her, Jennifer says it smells like Thai food and jokingly asks if they've been "f*cking." Jennifer shows varying amounts of cleavage (sometimes a lot) in various outfits. Needy says that "t*ts" are Jennifer's thing (that she uses to her advantage). Various people drink in a bar, and Jennifer states she can't wait until she's old enough to get wasted. After she offers to get Nikolai a drink, Needy asks how she'll do that. Jennifer replies, "I'll play hello-t*tty" with the bartender." About a foreign guy, Jennifer wonders if he's circumcised, saying she's always wanted to try a sea cucumber. Jennifer suggestively asks a guy if he's going to "f*ck" her, all while apparently groping his clothed crotch (we don't see that contact). About using her body, Jennifer gropes Needy's clothed breasts and says they're just like smart bombs in that if you point them in the right direction, "Sh*t gets real." Nikolai comments to his band-mates that Nikolai is a tease who's probably still a virgin. When Needy later reports that to Jennifer, the latter says she's not even a "back door virgin" thanks to the efforts of a local guy that hurt and required her to sit on some frozen veggies. We see Chip shirtless while alone in bed. Jennifer shoves Needy back against a wall, fondles her and nuzzles her neck before leaving. About examples of what his students might utter, Mr. Wroblewski says, "What a ho." Jennifer lies to Jonas about his late friend saying they (Jennifer and Jonas) would make a "totally banging couple" and puts his hand on her heart (but really just her clothed chest to entice him). She then takes him off into the woods to seduce him, starting with passionate kissing and then unzipping her top, showing a lot of cleavage. She then removes that (we don't see anything), rips his shirt open, undoes his pants, and puts her hand down there to manually stimulate him. But he's concerned about all of the animals that have gathered to watch, and she then pushes him back against a tree before killing him. We see a very long-distance view of Jennifer skinny-dipping/swimming in a lake (full rear nudity, from a distance), followed by her getting out and walking along, but none of those shots shows explicit nudity. We see Jennifer in very small shorts. About Chip, Jennifer asks Needy if he's packing some "serious pubic inches" in his pants. Needy and Chip briefly kiss. A plastic anatomy model torso in a science class shows one bare breast. About the story of Hamlet, Jennifer asks, "Is he gonna f*ck his mom?" About Colin, Jennifer sarcastically states that her "d*ck" is bigger than his. Jennifer makes a sexual comment about a character and a blowhole in an unseen video. Jennifer tells Needy and Chip to "get a room." Chip tells Needy that he picked up more condoms. We then see them in the bedroom (the scenes inter-cut with the below scene), kissing, with her outer top coming off. Her shirt then comes off (bra view), while he's shirtless and gropes her bra-covered breast. He then reaches for a wrapped condom, commenting that it's a "slippery swirl" (or something sounding like that), adding that it's supposed to feel good for the girl, with Needy replying, "Cool." We next see them in bed, with the covers over their lower bodies, but we see her bare back as she's on top of him. He then puts on the condom (she watches, but we don't see the actual act), and when we return to the scene, he's on top, she tells him to "put it in" and he does, and they start having sex, with movement (but no nudity). After initially enjoying that, she then starts seeing supernatural images (including that of Jennifer crouching nearby, seemingly nude but nothing explicit is seen) and freaks out, but he thinks that means he's doing a good job. As that continues, however, he then becomes concerned, asking if he's hurting her and if he's too big. Jennifer comes on to Colin, telling him, "You give me such a wettie." She then passionately kisses him and then pulls his pants off, revealing his boxers, with her commenting on his nice "hardware." She then turns demonic and attacks him. Needy is shocked to find Jennifer in her bed, in a tight top and small shorts. Jennifer then caresses her hair and kisses her on the lips (seen in extreme close-up), followed by Needy doing that back to her, on top of her. We see Jennifer's leg up alongside Needy's body while having her hands on her back, but Needy then stops. When she says she's going to go to the police, Jennifer says, "I'm f*cking a cadet." We see a flashback to Jennifer realizing Nikolai and his band-mates are into Satan worshipping (related books, a human skull with a hole in the top, etc.), and she becomes nervous. When Nikolai asks if she's a virgin, she says yes, that she doesn't even know how to have sex. Jennifer suggestively tells Needy they could play boyfriend-girlfriend like they used to, but Needy tells her to leave. Chip reminds Needy that she's not just some girl he made love to for 4 minutes a few nights ago. Needy says that Jennifer hasn't been a virgin since junior high school. We see Chip in his underwear alone in his bedroom. We briefly see miscellaneous making out at a school dance. Jennifer lies to Chip about Needy and Colin, saying they were intimate, adding that she means they were "porking" on a semi-regular basis, doing things he never heard of, and that those were varsity moves. She then passionately kisses Chip, and when they later enter an abandoned pool house at night, she suggestively tells him to show her his "breast stroke." Sensing danger from her, Needy tells Jennifer that she thought the latter only ate boys, with Jennifer responding, "I go both ways" (a double entendre). The camera goes up Jennifer's body as she lies on her bed in small shorts and a very tight top (that accentuates her bust). Needy stabs Jennifer in the chest with a knife, prompting Jennifer to state, "My t*t!" Needy then corrects her, saying it was her heart. SMOKING Jennifer nearly smokes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We see a mother reacting in grief and horror as her son is brought out in a body bag. We see people grieving at Colin's funeral. We don't know any related details, but we don't ever see any father figures for Needy or Chip at home. SPOILER ALERT: Jennifer's mother walks in to find that Needy has killed Jennifer who's quite bloody. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The comment that "Hell is a teenage girl." The film's look, metaphors and all, at the teen experience. Jennifer using her sexuality to get what she wants. Satanic worship. Jennifer goes off with Nikolai and his band into their van (not knowing who they are or what they're about). Needy says that Jennifer hasn't been a virgin since junior high school. VIOLENCE Needy kicks a mental institution worker backwards quite hard (and spits on her), with the female worker then spitting out some blood that pools on the floor beneath her. Various male guards then grab Needy and she struggles against them. A fire breaks out in a club as Low Shoulder plays. It quickly spreads, several people are on fire (partially or fully), and a ceiling beam lands on one person, while another is trampled. We then see several fiery explosions and later hear that various people perished. Jennifer shoves Needy back against a wall, fondles her and nuzzles her neck before leaving. Jennifer pushes Jonas back against a tree, shows her suddenly monstrous teeth, and we then hear sounds of him screaming as she kills him off camera. We later see his brutally savaged body, with a deer licking his open chest cavity. Jennifer purposefully uses a lighter to burn the end of her tongue (blackening that). Jennifer breaks Colin's arm and then savagely attacks him (the latter seen in silhouette, with her sharp teeth noted and blood spraying and splattering everywhere). Jennifer suddenly lands on Needy's windshield, cracking it. We see a flashback to Jennifer realizing Nikolai and his band-mates are into Satan worshipping (related books, a human skull with a hole in the top, etc.), and she becomes nervous. When Nikolai asks if she's a virgin, she says yes, that she doesn't even know how to have sex. When they accompany her out of their van, she kicks one, but the others grab and carry her off. We then see that they have her gagged and bound on the ground, with Nikolai then raising a knife to sacrifice her to Satan. After a few false starts, he then stabs her (repeatedly) to death (seen in highly stylized slow-motion, although we don't see the actual impact). To show she's indestructible, Jennifer cuts her own arm with a knife, and the bloody open wound quickly heals back to normal. Jennifer throws Chip into an abandoned and dirty indoor pool at night and then struggles with and thrashes him about. By the time Needy runs there, she finds Jennifer at his neck, and when Jennifer pulls back, her mouth and his neck are bloody. Needy then jumps in to save him, and ends up spraying pepper spray into Jennifer's face. Jennifer then levitates out of the water and projectile vomits black bloody stuff onto them. Chip runs the long handle of a pool scoop net through Jennifer's torso, but she then slides that out and appears no worse for the wear (beyond the blood). A character dies from Jennifer's previous attack on him. SPOILER ALERT: Needy crashes through Jennifer's window and tries to hit her with something. They then struggle and Jennifer bites and/or scratches Needy who comes at her with a utility knife, slicing Jennifer's belly, leaving a bloody "X" there. They then struggle, with Jennifer levitating both of them off the bed. They end up falling back onto that, with Needy landing on Jennifer and stabbing her through the heart with that knife, killing her (with bloody results). We see images of the aftermath of Needy attacking and killing Nikolai and his band-mates, with blood everywhere, a dead guy in the bathroom, and one with a knife still jammed in his chest (with bloody results). Reviewed September 14, 2009 / Posted September 18, 2009

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