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New York, 4:22 PM
Mon Nov 30
35 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/19/09
It is, in fact, very similar in tone to Slither. Which is funny, but funny amidst horror and real emotional sincerity. So it's like Slither meets Gingersnaps in a good way.
Also, the ads are misleading. This movie is VERY girl centric. Whatever tittilation may be had from Fox's character or the lesbian kiss is couched in so much layering, so many disturbing ideas about toxic friendships, that it's pretty clear that this is not sexed up for the male gaze. At all.
I'm honestly impressed. I was expecting fun horror, and I got that...but I also got emotional depth and one of the more honest explorations of poisonous female friendships. There are bunch of different themes at work, obsessive/consuming adolescent friendships, female sexuality, growing up...and, of course, bodies.
The consistent theme of devouring and consuming is pretty raw, too, and it hits on a lot of different meanings and levels.
I don't know. A lot came up for me while watching this movie. I had fun, and I did laugh, but it's a dark kind of comedy. It's played straight, similarly to Gingersnaps or even Heathers, amidst all kinds of chaotic and totally unreal events.
And I have to say...Megan Fox can act. The reviewers that couldn't see that missed something, I think. There's this underlying cynicism to the character that's really interesting. Amanda Seyfried was, naturally, really great. She plays Needy with this awkward, sincere, likability that's never fake.
it's also true horror, in the sense that it's more viscerally upsetting/disturbing than scary or even gory. There are definitely some gory scenes, but the horror lies in the relationships more than the violence.
09/18/09
as an aspiring screenwriter/director, i found myself trying to figure how i could right karyn kusama's wrong. first, the picture quality was too sheen robbing the story of its atmosphere. i didn't feel snowy mid-western town rather it felt like an exurb of a major city. secondly, karyn didn't trust the actions of the characters because she went too often to creepy sounds and music to set the mood. third, i wanted to see more characterization from jennifer, who should've been a more layered character.
09/18/09
09/19/09
That said, I honestly was horrified and effected by most of the film. I wasn't expecting to relate so strongly to the toxic friendship, nor react so strongly to the reversal of roles with sympathetic characters like Chip and Colin. It was far more layered than even I had been expecting, and I think I need a day to process it all before I can really analyze it the way I'd like.
09/19/09
09/20/09
@whynotshesaid: i don't have a blog but thanks for your words.
09/18/09
"This shits about as far from god as shit can get."
"Margaret packs a box lunch."
"I don't care if you are a lesbian, you don't deserve this shit."
This is my favorite line from From Dusk til' Dawn:
"Did they look like psycho's? Psycho's do not explode when sunlight hits them, I don't give a fuck how crazy they are."
This is from Gingersnaps:
"Then you'll just have to distract her while I nab the pooch and make with the gore."
I'd quote Heathers, but I think everyone here knows lines like "What's your damage?"
So.
Can we please stop talking about how "quirky" Cody's dialog is? Or that this movie looks "bad" when it's SUPPOSED to?
That would be awesome.
I'd much rather talk about the themes play out, or what the purpose of exploring the demonization of female sexuality might be in a horror movie with a feminist bent.
09/18/09
"Pain don't hurt."
"You're such an asshole."
"I used to fuck guys like you in prison!"
--
I just saw Jennifer's Body and think her dialogue was perfect for it. Nuanced, even to show a lot of subtleties of character - not just a almgam of Nadsat.
09/18/09
*side note: the actress who played chip's mother was horrible. did she have a smile on her face while giving her son pepper spray because there is a cannibalistic freak running loose?! again, the tone fucked with me.
09/19/09
09/18/09
Whoops, Salon, I think you missed the point. Many teenage girl friendship are -exactly- like that. They're abusive. Because they've been friends so long, or there's this weird comfort in it.
So, yes, that is the point. It's out of habit. I'm pretty sure Cody even said that in her Bust interview and elsewhere.
09/18/09
09/18/09
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09/18/09
The poisonous nature of some girl friendships, the way girls can "devour" each other with the way our culture constantly pits us in competition with each other, the "mean" girl phenomenon....I could keep going.
You can look at it metaphorically or literally, which is sort of the point of horror.
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/19/09
09/18/09
Cue not so "mousey" friend... Whoa.
I think this is a love/hate thing. It will be interesting to see what the genre-reviewers think... I'm not expecting [i]Drag Me to Hell[/i], but I do imagine something a good deal better than [i]Sorority Row[/i].
09/18/09
That whole line just sounds like those mothers who feel the need to save their sons from the wicked, sperm stealing, bad girls. I'm still on the fence about how feminist this movie really is. I wil go see it anyway because I love cheesey horror flicks but I don't think this going to be any more of a female centric tale than any other horror film. From what I've been reading it sounds like good girl vs bad girl and about how young women's relationships are battles and vapid.
09/18/09
I keep saying this, but she's PLAYING with those tropes. All of them. The girl friendship tropes, the good girl vs. bad girl tropes, it's all on purpose.
And it's not unfeminist to explore those things. What makes it feminist is how it's executed, and how intentionally it's explored.
09/18/09
It will get my vote (i.e. dollars).
09/18/09
This film is bringing out a lot of nasty, though subtle, sexism from dudes.
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09
For a piece of throwaway fluff entertainment, it sure gets a lot of coverage.
09/18/09
There's really no other reason for Jezebel to discuss a film about the teen girl experience, directed by a woman, written by an Oscar-winning female screenwriter, and starring an incredibly popular and controversial actress in her first leading role.
09/18/09
09/18/09
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09/18/09
09/18/09
I'm such a fucking outcast.
09/18/09
When did people stop actually -reviewing- movies?