(Rated R for bloody violence, sexuality, profanity, semi-nudity, some drug use): Holy moley, McGee! This here pastiche - part camp, part Hollywood-type high school romance, part tease, and a huge part bloody horror flick with a twist - is, despite its hyperbolic excesses, less of a bang, more of a whimper.
According to its author, Diablo Cody , it's about time the tables are turned on the sexes; let the guys become the victims while the girl, a knock-out sex target, becomes a killer babe. Cody bonds with director Karyn Kusama, casts delicious Megan Fox in the lead, with Amanda Seyfried as her adoring side-kick, Needy (An all-too-obvious name for her?), and they seem to be having the revenge time of their lives. At least Jennifer does, while Needy observes the insatiable chewing up of men with fascination, fear & anxiety.
Well, at least one of them is highly entertained by the ravages. Still high from her success with "Juno," Cody permits herself the opportunity to wallow in feminist glee, however sloppily, with this oil & water mixture. For the rest of us, it's a badly written, badly directed, poorly acted flick, submerged in screaming acid rock music from Theodore Shapiro & Stephen Barton for whatever effect. The results - an unsatisfying hour & 42-minutes that supply neither the laughs intended nor the scares promised.
How do you set up a horror flick that begins with Needy - no longer the sweet, idolizing school girl, now a tough prison moll who says, "I'm kinda sh..t. Everything's fŠ.cked up." Flashback. She and her boyfriend are playing around on a bed. She rips open his pants (seems to be a popular way to show friendliness in this flick), is interrupted by the need to join her icon, Jennifer, the hip swinging, languid high school chum with bee-kissed lips & a hauteur that would make Garbo look taciturn.
For some unknown reason (there are plenty unknown reasons and odd coincidences spread throughout the movie) they wind up listening to band music at a sleazy bar out in the country. Jennifer takes off with the sleazy band members in their van, returns dripping in blood, all bloody faced, a blood red smile smearing across her bee-kissed lips.
Seems the guys belonged to some occult religion that turns non-virgins into blood suckers - or something like that. Anyway, from then on poor Jennifer can't live without slavering over anyone in or out of pants, which sort of bothers her side-kick a bit, as noted during their sultry Lesbian smootches. Then, at the big school prom (It's a high school setting, remember?) everything goes awry and we get fireworks like they're going out of business, with side-kick's boyfriend now getting his pants flung open again, this time by Jennifer. Says the side-kick, sweetly but urgently, "You're killing my fŠin' boyfriend." "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" this ain't.
One other innovation - of sorts. Throughout the movie there are contrasts between Christianity & the occult, with the former ridiculed and the latter coming up winner on all accounts. On second thought, even that twist has been more convincingly treated in other flicks as well.
As for suspense - well, it's there and familiarly so - hand on door (while the rock band volume increases exponentially), door is opened slowly, and - guess what - there's nothing frightening on the other side. That comes from behind, first out of focus, then rapidly into the action with the music splitting eardrums. Really original.
It might be fun to watch and laugh at with friends high on pretzels & beer. Otherwise, forget it. (Grade: D)