Bitter Sweet: Jennifer's Body Deconstruction #2

'Explaining To Chip' Scene

The angles in the scene are very standard for a general discussion scene. There are close-ups for reaction shots and mid-shots to show more of the characters actions.

There’s a close-up of Jennifer talking and then with blood in her mouth. The angle increases the effectiveness of the shot, causing more shock and terror which appeals to the target audience.

The shock and intensity of the scene is broken when Chip (Needy’s boyfriend) interrupts an out of focus, long-shot of the crowded corridor. The audience are then seeing from Needy’s point–of-view. This is conventional for a horror as it causes the audience to feel more scared because they’re in the characters’ position.

There are high and low angles of Chip and Needy when they’re on the stairs. The high angles are of Chip as he feels helpless in the situation as he doesn't know what’s happening to Needy and is extremely worried about her. On the other hand, the low angles are of Needy as she believes she has the upper-hand in the situation because of her research but Chip isn't listening to her.

The high-angle long-shot of Needy on the balcony emphasises how Chip has left and now she is alone in the scene as well as the problem with Jennifer. This gives her a vulnerability which allows the audience to sympathise with her.

The scene is introduced with a non-diegetic soundtrack: a melancholy, eerie, piano melody to set the scene and understand how Needy is feeling. Her non-diegetic dialogue as a voiceover says at this point ‘Jennifer and I hadn't spoken since our encounter in my room. Actually, I hadn't really spoken to anyone.’ This proves how alone she is already in the situation because she knows the truth and is working by herself to try and solve the problem.

When the shot of Jennifer’s bloody mouth is shown, a quiet but echoing screech is heard. This supports the shocking image well to scare the audience.

When Chip enters the shot, the eerie music stops in a windy echoing fade. This represents how Needy is snapped out of her vision and back to reality, showing how Chip is there to keep her grounded. Therefore, we know at the end of the scene when he leaves that Needy is going to get in too deep.

Chip tries to keep the conversation normal by asking Needy if she’s ‘made reservations at the cheesecake factory?’ and awkwardly laughs as he says ‘hey’.

Through her dialogue, we can tell Needy is paranoid, anxious, serious, panicky, upset and regretful when she explains to Chip what’s happened to Jennifer and that ‘it’s not safe to be together right now’. Chip’s tone on the other hand is confused, concerned and in disbelief.

Needy begins her explanation by exhaling and saying ‘okay’ to prepare herself. She then outwardly says in an amused and disbelieving tone ‘Jennifer’s evil’ and ‘not high school evil’. She talks about ‘demonic transference’ which happens if you ‘try to sacrifice a virgin to Satan without using an actual virgin’ which the band did to her after the fire. This means that ‘the devil will forever reside in the soul of the victim. She must forever feed on flesh to sustain the demon…’. All of the occult explanation creates more tension to the film as it adds a spooky but realistic element to the horror film. This sort of explanation/plot reveal is a convention of the horror genre as it makes the plot seem more realistic and therefore more effective as a film.

To put this into perspective for Chip, she explicitly announces that ‘she’s eating boys!’ She goes on to explain her worries about the dance and how ‘it’ll be like an all-you-can-eat buffet’. This overtly gives the audience a clue to what will happen which is done to give the effect that the audience will be expecting this as the climax of the film and from now on the tension will build exponentially.

There is no musical soundtrack at this point in the scene to provide a clear focus on the dialogue as it’s integral to the plot.

There are some lines of dialogue which have a comedic element to them which is a convention of teen horror. Chips says ‘not some girl I made love to for four minutes the other night’, and when describing Jennifer as ’weak, cranky and ugly’ she goes on to say ‘I mean, like, ugly for her’.

After Needy tells Chip it’s unsafe for them to be together, they’re both silent. It’s at this point that a non-diegetic music soundtrack begins. It’s an upbeat female acapella which introduces a repeated beating drum as the shot cuts to the long shot of Needy on her own.

Needy’s costuming tells us about her personality long before she went into the mental hospital. She wears a woollen hat and round glasses being the stereotypical ‘American loser’ meaning she’s vulnerable and victimised but could also mean she’s intelligent and a good problem-solver which means the audience have faith in her.

Needy is look down and avoiding eye contact and as she glances up she looks anxious and deep in thought. At this point in the film, Needy has found out a lot of information and an explanation for the happenings and now it’s up to her to find a way to solve the problem and save the day.

Jennifer strongly contrasts Needy, looking healthy and happy chatting wearing a bright pink jacket. This shows how she has the power and things are going her way. She then seems to taunt Needy by showing her grin covered in blood as if after another attack.

Chip is a sterotypical quiet high school boy as he wears a graphic t-shirt and checked shirt with his mousey brown floppy hair. He also seems vulnerable compared to Jennifer’s overtly sexual and powerful character.

Over than specific school-related decoration e.g. football and prom banners and noticeboards in school colours, the rest of the school is very plain. This supports the idea that the school is in a small town which is devoted to the school spirit and has a close, tight-knit community, therefore these attacks are even more feared however day-to-date life still carries on as normal.

The occult book that Needy shows Chip is large with a brown cover suggesting it’s old but in fact has a new, modern finish inside but with archaic images. This could reflect how the film’s themes have been brought from classical and traditional horrors but are now in a modern setting of a high school.

The first shot zooms into Needy as we see how deep in thought she is and to increase the emotion of the scene.

Jennifer talking is in slow motion as if Needy is in a dream state but the next shot of Jennifer’s bloody mouth suggests how she’s probably hallucinating. I like the use of slow motion for this effect. The slow motion could also be there to emphasise how she’s looking from down the corridor at Jennifer. Their distance is also shown though bodies passing the camera during shots. This lends to an interest transition of showing Jennifer normally to then with a bloody mouth.

The camera goes from a shot of the corridor to tilt up to Chip as if this is actually Needy’s head movement. This effect is given as the audience have been put in her position of a dreamy/hallucination state so naturally hey should be brought back to reality, too.

There is a tracking shot of Needy and Chip walking across the corridor which follows them to the stairs. This shows how the action in this scene is focused on them as a couple as opposed to Jennifer.

There is then a jump cut however to them sitting on the balcony at the top of the stairs, which shows a clear progression in time, cutting out the action of them walking up the stairs which is not relevant or needed so the action is moved forward more quickly. This is important as this scene is predominantly dialogue.