Directed by Karyn Kusama

Haven't we been here too often already? Starring Amanda Seyfried, the wholesome young bride out of MAMMA MIA!, and current hot property Megan Fox, TRANSFORMERS eye candy, it's yet another highschool vampire bloodletting fest with violence and grossness aplenty. A smart, ironic script by Diablo Cody, of JUNO, at least lifts the dialogue above the usual mundanity, though only fitfully so, and with the exception of a few scenes the uneven narrative is scarcely saved by the hipness.

Basically it's a tale of two mismatched best friends, serious bespectacled Needy (Seyfreid) and the eponymous Jennifer (Fox), never a credible pair. Cheer-leader Jennifer is scary and predatory enough from the onset, but an unfortunate encounter with a diabolical rock band desperately seeking the blood of a virgin (huh?) turns her into a vampire, and... well, you can imagine. It has its amusing moments, but the usual subtext of adolescent fear of raging hormones, body changes, sexual desirability etc does not redeem its occasional raggedness and deficiencies in the scary department - too often when it wants to be shocking it's just distasteful or dull.

I wouldn't have so many objections to this movie were it not for the feminist claims made in some quarters for it. I expect something a bit more subversive from a female director and scriptwriter - but then JUNO was at heart deeply conservative (leave the wholesome as apple pie wifey type to bring up a baby). Here a feisty female vampire who eats nice and nasty young men for breakfast and a (totally gratuitous) lesbian kiss does not automatically amount to a feminist film. Numerous shots concentrating on Fox's ample bosom, a gang rape scene, and a sex scene which amounts to soft porn are the staples of this tired genre, and we know who is going to provide the biggest audience for this. Admittedly I am not within a million miles of the target audience of this movie, and if it makes young women feel more empowered, then maybe I'm wrong, but I suspect its chief effect will be to make young men feel horny. It's a bit like those neo-feminists who claim pole dancing is liberating. They might think so, but we know who it's really for and what unpleasant cultural stereotypes it boosts.

Seen at Cinema Days, Empire Cinema, Rubery, Birmingham, 2 October 2009