Megan Fox stars in "Jennifer's Body," a film about a teenage girl and her involvement in the deaths of several of her male classmates. The film has received mixed reviews. First-time screenwriter Diablo Cody won an Oscar a couple of years ago for Juno, and it immediately catapulted her to a level of fame that very few Hollywood writers ever reach.

Cody has now tackled her sophomore film, a horrorcomedy hybrid called Jennifer's Body. The movie was further thrust into the spotlight when Transformers sexpot Megan Fox signed on to play the lead role, ensuring that the film would have plenty of hype, both positive and negative.

The story is one for the ages: hot high school cheerleader Jennifer Check and her nerdy best friend Anita "Needy" Lesnicky attend a local rock show, when a freak fire breaks out at the bar. After a narrow escape, Jennifer ditches Needy to hang out with the band, despite the fact that something is not quite right with them. Later that night, Needy has a disturbing encounter with Jennifer, and when bodies of male classmates start turning up torn to shreds a few days later, she is pretty sure that Jennifer has something to do with it. The problem is, no one believes her.

Horror fans will likely be disappointed, as aside from a couple of bloody kills and a few jump scares, there really isn't much in the way of atmosphere or suspense. Director Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, Aeon Flux) lacks any sort of background in horror, and other than some Raimi-esque tracking shots early on, she doesn't bring much to the table. Then again, the movie doesn't call for much more than that, since it is more appropriately categorized as a dark comedy.

With a little more focus and a steadier tone, Jennifer's Body could have been something memorable. A lot of the right elements are there, but the movie gets caught up in being cute and fails to give any sense of urgency or truly biting humor. A shrug of the shoulders is about all it earns, although it is the kind of movie that may eventually develop a cult following on DVD.