It’s not widely disputed that the classic femme fatale character, first evident in 1940s film noir and later revived in various Halloween-styled slasher pics and high-school satires like Heathers, stems from male fear/resentment of female erotic power. It’s a sexist construction, in short. Even if you cloak it in fang-toothed female revenge and empowerment-gone-wild, it’s basically the same old Lucretia McEvil game.

Karyn Kusama‘s Jennifer’s Body (20th Century Fox, 9.18), a darkly comedic, intensely erotic horror film written by Diablo Cody, is about a teenage cheerleader (Megan Fox), screwed over by a visiting rock band, who turns into a sexual predator and goes on a guy-eating rampage. It’s clever but still a femme fatale thing playing to an age-old psychology. Hello, Jane Greer!

Jennifer’s Body will make a lot of money, of course, because of the exceptional Cody dialogue (“No, I mean actually evil, not high-school evil”) paired with Megan Fox‘s depiction of rabid vampire sexuality. Can’t miss. Here’s a video chat with Cody by the Dish Rag‘s Elizabeth Snead.