By Maddie Silverstein

Maddie Silverstein (Film Forum Committee) writes about Bijou's upcoming screening of Jennifer's Body, featuring artwork by Emily Stagman (After Hours Committee) playing March 28 at 10pm at FilmScene!

Hollow hallways permeated with a monolithic student body

are deemed insignificant until Jennifer’s enchanting figure

floats down the stream of gazes

from her male classmates and male audience members

When should we tell these haunting onlookers that their gazes

are newly matched by female ones?

Gazes that oppress their male counterparts

through devilish seductions and bewitching kills

Stare too long

and you’ll discover how hellish a teenage girl really is

Misjudged, mismarketed, and mistaken

as another unavailing teen horror flick

With scathing reviews and unruly comparisons

Ebert even exclaims that it was ‘Twilight’ for boys

Yet, the speed and willingness to criticize it

is reminiscent of how quickly

the lighter’s flames consume the tongue between

Jennifer’s glossy lips

The backwards comparisons to preceding teen horror flicks

greatly deflate what Diablo’s sophomore film

contributes to a modern era of horror cinema,

dissolving the assault, the bruises, and the scars

stamped onto Jennifer’s body.