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This will contain the odd spoiler so if you haven’t seen Jennifer’s Body, then just keep in mind that it’s a body that stays mostly clothed.

Towards the end of Jennifer’s Body, the lead characters Jennifer and Anita fight in a disused pool house and the two of them end up having an argument about Jennifer being insecure (what with the popular girl wanting what her best friend has). It’s at this point where Jennifer says, “I am still socially relevant.” Taking teen bitchiness to an unheard of level, it’s a good scene made odd due to their exchange of words. Viewing the film today, the line seems to have an altogether different meaning, given the actress that speaks it.

The production of Jennifer’s Body saw a mix of talent come together. Written by Diablo Cody, she was coming off of an Oscar win with Juno and would be reuniting with Jason Reitman, who also came on board as a producer. Actress Megan Fox had reached mega stardom after working on Transformers, its sequel, and for voicing her opinion about Disney. Actress Amanda Seyfried was coming off the worldwide success of Mamma Mia! Calling the shots was the director of Girlfight, Karyn Kusama. The film had a slim production budget of $16 million. Surely this couldn’t fail?

Opening with the line, “Hell is a teenage girl,” the film then spends around 100 minutes proving this with the help of Anita "Needy" Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried) and Jennifer Check (Megan Fox), two teenage high school friends. One night they decide to go check out the band Low Shoulder playing at a bar. However, the bar is mysteriously set on fire and during the escape Jennifer voluntarily decides to go with the band. She is unaware that they plan to use her for a ritual, which unfortunately goes awry. The next morning Jennifer turns up at school as if nothing happened, but as the days go by Anita slowly discovers that her best friend is now pure evil and is eating their fellow students in order to stay alive.

Cody revealed that the character of Jennifer wasn’t based on anyone specific. She instead thought about aggressive female bullies she had known and imagined them as literal monsters. Though she wasn’t a fan of horror, Fox said that she was drawn to starring in the film because of the script, describing it as, “unapologetic and how completely inappropriate it is at all times.” In Empire magazine, Fox described her character as a “spoiled, self-obsessed, narcissistic fuck-up that needs an immense amount of attention from boys.”

Peter Rice was head of Fox Searchlight, and having previously distributed Cody’s Juno to success, he brought her script of Jennifer’s Body and set it up Fox Atomic, the other division where he also happened to be head. As a specialty distributor created to cater to the teen market with low-cost comedies and thrillers, films such as The Comebacks and The Rocker had failed to find success. It was eventually shut down just months before Jennifer’s Body was released. 20th Century Fox ultimately distributed the film.

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