Star of cult hit Jennifer’s Body says marketing “ruined” the horror movie’s chances, but they may get another shot with a sequel 16 years later

In the pantheon of cult movies that deserved better, Jennifer’s Body is right up there. Underserved by its promotion, the demonic horror ate dirt on first release, gradually accruing an audience through word of mouth. One of the stars, Amanda Seyfried, still laments how the film was treated in 2009.

During a career retrospective with GQ, she talked up the work everyone put into Jennifer’s Body and what a special production it is. “I can’t critique this movie. It’s, to me, a perfect movie,” she says. “It’s got balls. [Writer] Diablo Cody was outspoken and beautiful and smart and funny, and we were expressing a certain angst in a very specific, comedic way, in a specific genre.”

But while everyone behind and in front of the camera was on their A-game, Seyfried calls out the PR. “The marketing sucked, it just did, and we all agree,” she states. “The marketing cheapened it, like it was just a gory romp. I think they ruined it, and I think that Karyn [Kusama, director] and Diablo were a really good team, and Megan [Fox, co-star in Jennifer’s Body] and I are a really good team.”