Finding Jennifer's Body Again...for the first time (because the marketing killed it for me in 2009)

A sex therapist's analysis of marketing mishaps, the male gaze, and teenage girl horror

When "Jennifer's Body" hit theaters in 2009, it was widely dismissed as a failed horror comedy that couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Fast forward to today, and this Diablo Cody-penned, Karyn Kusama-directed gem has rightfully earned cult classic status. As a sex therapist who regularly examines how media portrays sexuality and relationships, I find this film particularly fascinating - not just for what it is, but for how it was presented to the world.

Marketing Misfire: How to Tank a Feminist Film

The most compelling aspect of "Jennifer's Body" might be the stark contradiction between the film's actual content and how it was marketed. Created by women (written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama) with a distinctly feminist perspective on female rage and friendship, the marketing team instead chose to package it as "hot girls doing hot things" for the heterosexual male audience.

The posters featured Megan Fox in provocative poses with suggestive taglines, while trailers heavily emphasized the makeout scene between Jennifer and Needy, presenting female bisexuality as titillation rather than authentic representation. As Amanda Seyfried recently told Variety, the film was "perfect" - but she absolutely hated the marketing. Adam Brody, who played the demonic band's lead singer, scathingly described the marketing as reducing the film to "Goosebumps magazine for Maxim's audience."

This raises a crucial question: How much can a marketing campaign undermine a film's feminist message? If "Jennifer's Body" is any indication, it can tank it almost entirely.

When the Object Becomes the Predator

Horror films have long had a complicated relationship with the male gaze. The genre simultaneously objectifies women while subjecting them to violence, yet often features female characters who emerge as powerful final survivors.

"Jennifer's Body" cleverly subverts this dynamic. While Jennifer is initially presented as the classic object of desire, with camera angles that linger on her body in typical male-gazey fashion, she then transforms into the predator. After being sacrificed by an all-male band seeking commercial success, Jennifer's "non-virgin" status complicates their sorcery, turning her into a literal man-eater.

The film's cosmic karma system is hilariously backward - Jennifer becomes a powerful demon not because she's pure, but because she's "tainted." It's slut-shaming with a demonic twist, with Diablo Cody practically winking at us: "See how absurd this is?"

While these guyliner-wearing Hot Topic rejects think they're simply consuming a virgin for fame, they've actually unleashed Jennifer's sexual power in the most literal way possible. Jennifer's seduction scenes become a satirical takedown of fragile masculinity - these boys fall for her advances so embarrassingly fast that we can barely muster sympathy when she devours them. She weaponizes the very sexuality society used to shame her, turning the male gaze back on itself with deadly consequences.

"Hell is a Teenage Girl": Adolescence as Horror

The film opens with perhaps its most profound line: "Hell is a teenage girl." Both darkly funny and devastatingly accurate, this sets up the entire premise.

Released in 2009, before the major wave of feminist filmmaking that would follow years later, "Jennifer's Body" was revolutionary. It wasn't just about teenage girls - it was about the hellish experience of being a teenage girl, told from the female perspective without the male gaze subverting the message (well, except in its marketing).

Equally important is the portrayal of female friendship. Needy's relationship with Jennifer represents the archetypal toxic teenage friendship. There's a clear power imbalance from the beginning - Jennifer is the conventionally attractive popular girl, while Needy (whose very name suggests her position) is the more average, insecure friend who exists in Jennifer's shadow.

Their supernatural connection (literally feeling each other's emotions) perfectly metaphorizes the intensity of adolescent female friendships, where boundaries between self and other often become dangerously blurred. Who among us hasn't had that one friendship in high school that felt like it was consuming your identity?

By the end, Needy must literally sever this connection to save herself - representing the difficult but sometimes necessary process of ending toxic relationships. In the world of teenage girls, this might be the scariest challenge of all.

The Redemption Arc

Diablo Cody created a film that shows teenage girlhood for what it often is: a horror story. The demonic possession isn't just a plot device - it's a metaphor for all the ways young women are possessed by societal expectations, beauty standards, and the complexity of their emerging sexual power.

What makes "Jennifer's Body" truly special is how it flipped the horror genre on its head. The monster isn't some masked man hunting babysitters; the monster is the hot girl who's been treated like an object her entire life and finally decides to bite back.

The film was tragically ahead of its time, and its marketing catastrophe is almost too on-the-nose a metaphor for how female stories get twisted to appeal to male audiences. But like many who survived the hell of being teenage girls, "Jennifer's Body" eventually received its redemption arc, finding appreciation years later from the audience who needed it most.

Dr. Cayte is a sex therapist and self-identified media analyst who examines the intersection of sexuality, gender, and representation in popular culture. Follow for weekly analyses of films, TV shows, and other media that shape our understanding of relationships and desire.