“Jennifer’s Body,” directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody, effectively helped a vast amount of young women feel less alone in their experiences with men, and feel seen and validated in the ways that women are commonly treated.

It’s no secret that sexism and misogyny exists, and it’s not a surprise that young women feel the weight of their gender every day.

“Casual misogyny comes to me in a way that a lot of women are often spoken over by men in a way to be silenced as we have been for years upon years,” junior Vincent Wild said. 

This is not a one-off experience, it’s hard to ignore the fact that you’re a woman when it’s all others can talk about when referring to you, or its all your identity is boiled down to–being a woman.

When “Jennifer’s Body” was released in 2009, it was a commercial failure, with the movie having a 46% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Many believe that the failure was due to the way  “Jennifer’s Body was advertised.

Megan Fox played the lead role of Jennifer, and at the time she was one of the most successful actresses in the industry, and also the most fawned over by men and boys.

The film itself has strong themes of feminism, the empowerment of women, social domination over men, and a more scary, grotesque tone, leading many to be misled.

The posters and advertising for “Jennifer’s Body” led many to believe that the film would be focused on Fox, portrayed as a traditionally feminine highschool girl.

“I did feel like they sexualized her, but I think that it was supposed to be like that,” sophomore Mia Rushing said. 

Naturally, most who decided to watch the film when it was released were men and boys, expecting a different kind of movie than what they got, causing many of them to leave the theater disappointed.

The movie follows Jennifer Check and her best friend Needy as they decide to go out to a bar show in their small town, only to get caught in a horrific fire at the bar.

After the commotion of people trying to escape the building, Jennifer and Needy being young high schoolers, are traumatized.

The members of the boy band playing that night gave Jennifer a spiked drink, and lured her into their van. They then go on to sexually assault her and try to sacrifice her in a demonic ritual in exchange for fame, though the ritual fails.

Jennifer survives the brutal attack and goes on to live with supernatural powers, such as extreme speed and strength, and regeneration. She essentially becomes a vampire.

The only catch is, in order to keep her strength and vitality, she must feed on people.

The insane concept of a high school girl who gets viciously assaulted in a demonic ritual, then becomes a succubus blood sucking killer, drew people’s attention. “It’s very angsty,” sophomore AJ Johnson. 

But other than the plot, what sets “Jennifer’s Body” apart from other films of that time is the way it focused and portrayed stereotypical troupes found in horror movies.

Instead of having Jennifer be an unfeeling stereotypical mean popular girl, you sympathize with her. Jennifer is humanized, she jokes around with Needy, she has family and friends.

The scene of Jennifer’s assault is unique for a horror movie. Usually horror movies rely on the fear the killer or perpetrator brings, horror movies usually focus on the assailant. 

But “Jennifer’s Body” relies only on the sadness, frustration, and morality of the viewer in order to instill fear.

The camera is blurry and shaking, the faces of the men hovering over Jennifer blend together as they ridicule and laugh at her.

While watching the movie, it’s almost as if you are Jennifer, the viewer becomes Jennifer during the fire, during the assault, and during her spree of killings.

Her transformation into a supernatural creature is seen through the eyes of her closest friend, Needy, forcing the viewer to feel the relentless concern and trauma Needy is dealing with throughout the movie.

And although the film is campy, funny, and ironic, it also horrifies, and invests the watcher in the bizarre plot.

The movie managed to invoke strong emotions in viewers, with Johnson saying some scenes were very overwhelming.

In recent years, the film has been viewed as a sort of ‘cult classic,’ and the effect the movie had on the masses over the years has finally begun to be recognized.