Goriest Feminist Horror Just Entered Disney+ Top, and It’s Not Midsommar
It’d be perfect for a movie night with your bestie.
5 years ago, the world saw a folk horror that is today considered the best one to get over a heartbreak for girls. Florence Pugh ’s Midsommar spoke about female anger, revenge and grief and broke the genre’s canons in a very surprising way.
However, 10 years before that, another feminist horror was released, even though it was grossly underappreciated at the time. Luckily, it’s now getting more viewership, and it’s proved by the fact that it’s now holding the fifth place in Disney+ global chart.
It starts by introducing us to Needy, an awkward teenager who learns the shocking truth about her friend, the school’s hottest girl. The point is that the latter is now a vampire possessed by a demon that forces her to kill their male classmates, and it’s Needy who must put an end to her bloody hunt for the boys ’ flesh.
Unfortunately, this 2000s gem fell victim to a weak marketing strategy, as it was advertised as a straight-forward flick about a sexy girl who lusts for boys’ blood.
In fact, there is certainly a feminist subtext present in the film. Firstly, it reverses the damsel-in-distress trope and presents men as victims, not women. Besides, it sheds light on sexualization of teenage girls in pop culture and female friendships.
Luckily, over the course of the last few years it has been reassessed and revisited by a lot of people, and it resulted in its current status of a cult classic female-led horror.
Apart from the essential questions it raises, it’s a pretty good movie. By blending horror and comedy, it both scares you by its depiction of gore and struggles of the possessed and delivers top-notch jokes related to coming of age and cringey school experiences.
Titled Jennifer's Body and starring the brilliant duo of Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, it appears to be a must-watch for fans of comedy horrors, like Zombieland (2009), Fright Night (2011) and What We Do in the Shadows (2014).
“It's a good dark comedy with themes of friendship, grief and sexuality, and it reverses a lot of the conventional horror tropes,” concludes Redditor @Spackleberry.
Instead of crying over Midsommar, you can rewatch this hilarious gem about girls’ power, as Jennifer's Body is available for streaming on Disney+.