Women are told their whole lives that their puberty is a nasty, unforgivable thing.
You go from being a sweet, innocent little girl to an angry mess of hormones that no one will explain to you head-on. Natural body functions get flowery euphemisms. Everyone celebrates your new womanhood, but shows disgust when you ask why and how your body is doing this to you. It’s a betrayal of the deepest kind; your own image distorts into something you cannot recognize.
It’s no wonder some women have made the connection between becoming a woman and becoming a monster.
The first cinematic example that truly exemplified this was Carrie(1976), an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. Adapted by Lawrence Cohen and directed by Brian De Palma (Scarface), the titular Carrie gets her first period in gym class, and develops telekinetic powers the same day. When a prank at prom goes way too far, she enacts her revenge in one of the most iconic scenes in all of film. While it is incredibly satisfying to watch, it is clearly written and directed by men who can only guess at what puberty is like for women. Close, but no cigar.
Ginger Snaps (2001) takes this concept further, and was actually partially written by a woman, Karen Walton, this time around (though directed by a man, John Fawcett). Ginger herself is bitten by a werewolf on the day of her first period, and starts eating her classmates, specifically boys. Her sister, who is appropriately horrified by it, can be seen as a foil to this behavior; the two sisters are a representation of the internal turmoil of a teenage girl. Part of you feels abject horror towards what’s happening to you, and the other part delights in it.
Perhaps the pièce de résistance of this subgenre is Jennifer’s Body (2009). Written by Diablo Cody (Juno) and directed by Karyn Kusama (The Invitation), it features Megan Fox in what is possibly her best role as teenage girl Jennifer,who is sacrificed and comes back as a succubus to eat boys. Her best friend Needy (played by a stellar Amanda Seyfried) is an excellent contrast to Fox’s vivaciousness; blond and brunette, outgoing and shy, naivety and world-weariness. When (spoiler alert) Needy kills Jennifer at the end of the film, it doesn’t feel like triumph, even after the events that preceded it. It feels like the repression of something darker, and Needy herself reflects on that. Teenage girls have a deep well of emotion within them that is often brushed aside, and this film hits that particular nail on the head.
Why all the male-centered cannibalism? Maybe it’s a way to reclaim femininity as the messy thing it is. Maybe it’s just a way to play with the term “maneater”. Maybe it’s a way for women to work out their often-dangerous relationships with men in real life. Girls are violently thrust into being preyed on men from the moment they begin puberty, and while deeply tragic, many do adjust in time. Some don’t. And some make media that reflects that.
Or maybe it just makes for an enjoyable film.