On the whole, 2009 has seen its fair share of decent horror comedies. Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell and Norwegian film Dead Snow both succeeded in making audiences laugh while scaring the hell out of them. Continuing that trend, director Karyn Kusama (Aeon Flux) and writer Diablo Cody (Juno) bring us Jennifer’s Body, a highly stylized film that is as black as a black comedy can get.

For many, the mere fact that Jennifer’s Body is a horror comedy written by Diablo Cody and starring Megan Fox is a sufficient description for the movie. For those of you who need a little more detail, the story centers around the friendship of Jennifer (Megan Fox), the girl in high school that all the boys want to be with and all the girls want to be, and her nerdy best friend/sidekick Needy (Amanda Seyfried). One night, Jennifer is transformed into a man-eating demon and goes on a killing spree to satiate her new hunger for flesh. To explain how this transformation comes about would spoil a significant point in the movie.

Megan Fox certainly has her detractors, and based on her work in the Transformers films, it is not difficult to see why. Many will inevitably question Fox’s competence as a leading lady. In Jennifer’s Body, however, Fox has the opportunity to play a better-written, more fleshed-out (pun intended) character, and she shines. In fact, Fox pulls off Diablo Cody’s smug humor much better than Ellen Page did as Juno. In a way, Fox, like her character, goes through her own transformation, making a dramatic transition from just another pretty face (okay, a very pretty face) into a capable actress.

When dealing with the metaphor of high school being a literal hell, one cannot help but think about Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Like Buffy, Jennifer’s Body succeeds in taking all the nuances of those formative years and exaggerates them to an almost comically terrifying degree. Watching someone you call your best friend change right before your very eyes can be a daunting, often traumatic experience.
Also like Whedon, Diablo Cody as a certain flair for inserting comedic dialogue into non-comedic scenarios. However, one thing that Whedon was able to do with Buffy that the filmmakers of Jennifer’s Body struggle with is the seamless integration of comedy and horror. Sure, there are some truly frightening scenes throughout Jennifer’s Body, and yes, Cody’s signature witty dialogue makes the transition between the two genres a little smoother; but dialogue alone cannot accomplish this difficult feat.

Jennifer’s Body should (and most likely, will) get the same cult-classic treatment as the Evil Dead films, Shaun of the Dead, and all the other myriad horror comedies. Those films never really pretended to revolutionize cinema, and neither does this one. However, to call this film pure entertainment does not do it justice. As a metaphor for all of the potentially terrifying trappings of adolescence—sexual maturation, friendship, etc.—the film is a winning achievement. With hilarious one-liners and a premise so delicious, the movie is one of the most highly entertaining films of the year.

Grade: A-