The film “Jennifer’s Body” has just about everything a campy horror film needs to succeed: blood and gore, a great soundtrack, satanic sacrifice and the sex-driven star power of Megan Fox. 

Anyone who has seen a trailer for this film cannot deny the strong sex appeal that Fox lends to this film, and her role as a demon-possessed seductress is undeniably compelling.

But how does this portrayal of female sexuality look in a feminist light?

In this movie, Jennifer, as a succubus incarnate, seduces and then eats men in order to feed the demon within.

This idea of female sexuality as something that is dangerous, seductive and inherently evil is a familiar theme. Used in literature and film for decades, the concept even dates back to mythological motifs from the biblical era—just take a look at Jezebel. 

This view of sexuality is traditionally seen as a part of the prude/promiscuous dichotomy that feminism has been fighting since its inception. It is an unfair, damaging and incomplete view of who women truly are.

And yet, I feel that to focus on this is to do an injustice to this film. Does it include an overused archetype of female sexuality? Yes. Does the film portray Megan Fox as a seductive man-eater? Yes.

But is this the sole focus of the film?  Not in the least.

Ultimately, the film did not resort to major amounts of crass sexploitation. Much to my surprise, there was far more emphasis on the friendship between Jennifer and her best friend Anita Lesnicky, played by Amanda Seyfried. 

The film also concentrates on a small town community and how such residents deal with tragedy.

The themes of friendship and community are prominent within feminism, and despite the terrifying, grisly and occasionally campy scenes in the film, they manage to add a bit of value to what might otherwise be just another sexed-up horror flick.    

So, despite the overused archetype of the deadly seductress, “Jennifer’s Body” manages to impress, terrify and even inspire. Yes, to the delight of most moviegoers and the chagrin of males everywhere, the focus of this surprisingly good film was not on Jennifer’s body.