Karyn Kusama’s “Jennifer’s Body” didn’t exactly make waves when it was released in the late summer of 2009. The film was marketed as a shallow, salacious slasher geared towards a predominantly male demographic, and its mixed critical reception didn’t boost its credibility. In hindsight, Kusama’s misunderstood comedy-horror has always had the markings of a cult classic, where everything from its campy tone and deliciously dark horror elements feels uniquely special. More than 15 years later, the film’s thematic symbolism still feels fresh, with ample space to discover subtle homages to the films that inspired Kusama (and screenwriter Diablo Cody).
In an interview with Deadline, Kusama said that her favorite scene to direct was the extended sequence that cuts back and forth between Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and Chip (Johnny Simmons) having sex, while Jennifer (Megan Fox) lures Colin (Kyle Gallner) into an abandoned house. The director also revealed that an integral aspect of this sequence was a homage to a particular scene from Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs”:
“I always felt like that sequence would work best if it were all intertwined and intercut. And we kicked it off with a song by a band that I really loved called Screeching Weasel, and they do an incredible cover of ‘I Can See Clearly Now.’ […] I also knew I wanted an homage to ‘[The] Silence of the Lambs’, when the senator’s daughter is singing ‘American Girl’ in the car. I always found that such an incredibly effective way to bond with her before she gets kidnapped in that film, and held prisoner.
Kusama continued, “And so, I wanted to sort of honor that scene and see Colin singing at the top of his lungs and just at his most joyous teenage self before he lands at this abandoned, half-finished housing suburb.”
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The intercut sequence in Jennifer’s Body establishes a lot in mere minutes
Needy looks worried inside her home in Jennifer’s Body – 20th Century Studios
As Kusama states, we feel an affinity towards Catherine Martin (Brooke Smith) moments before her kidnapping while she’s singing in her car in Demme’s film. We know next to nothing about Catherine, but this mundane, carefree moment is enough to evoke our empathy, as it starkly contrasts with the horrors that await her. While Catherine manages to survive the ordeal, Colin Gray isn’t that lucky. His free-spirited singing moments before he enters the abandoned apartment add pathos to his death — this act of extreme violence during a “date” is contrasted against the normalcy of Needy and Chip’s sexual intimacy.
But the parallels don’t end here, as Needy is distracted by blood dripping from the ceiling: a symbolic manifestation of Jennifer’s actions seeping into Needy’s consciousness even when she’s with Chip. Throughout the intimate encounter, Needy is spooked by the creepy vision to the point that she’s completely disengaged from the act. While Chip remains oblivious to Needy’s true feelings, Colin’s death makes it clear that Jennifer doesn’t choose her male victims based on their morality or heart. As soon as the unfairness of Colin’s death sinks in, we are indirectly clued into the fact that even someone as well-meaning as Chip is not safe. Then the common thread becomes clearer: Jennifer’s hunger, while aimed at boys, has everything to do with Needy.
“It was a really fun sequence to put together,” Kusama muses in the interview. Indeed, it is a memorable turning point in “Jennifer’s Body,” one that perfectly anticipates the scene right after where Needy and Jennifer make out. But this beautiful moment doesn’t last long, as it marks the beginning of the end.
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