It does seem weird, I’ll give you that, to go from the hand-drawn credit sequences and cutesy indie tunes of Juno to a supernatural slasher. But if you go by the celebratory nature of the horror esoteric in the former (references to Dario Argento, etc.), maybe we should’ve expected Diablo Cody’s second movie to be a teen blood circus about a demon-possessed Megan Fox using her sex appeal to rip apart high school boys with her bare, demon hands.

…Or, maybe we should have at least expected something bloody.

By now everyone probably already knows the story. Diablo Cody, who penned and won an Oscar for Juno back in ‘07, used to be a stripper and phone sex operator before she sold her first screenplay. That was big news back when her film was storming through festivals and making its way toward the finish line of the Oscar race two years ago. But now her second movie is completed and just around the corner, and it’s getting just as much attention.

It’s called Jennifer’s Body, and it’s starring everybody’s favorite imaginary squeeze, Megan Fox. Check out the Red Band Trailer at the foot.

It does look like a lot of fun. And even though it seems like the exact kind of “horror” that I criticized in my “Horror Is Dead” post, I have to say it’s gotten my attention.

On the one hand you have Diablo Cody who, beside having one of the coolest names in Hollywood, seems to be making a huge departure from her first script–which is always great to see. But on the other you have Fox, who’s so high up right now on a fan-made pedestal of hottness that she seems untouchable. Which could mean two things: Either she’s going to coast on that following, play the part of the young icon that brings almost nothing but her looks and automatic big ticket sales to the table–or she’s going to set out to prove herself, which to me seems more likely in this case.

It’s hilarious. The other day I was reading the beginnings of a Michael Bay/Megan Fox word war. Fox made some comments about how Bay’s films aren’t exactly known for highlighting acting prowess as much as they were running and screaming. In fact, she said, the Transformers films only really showcased “7%” of her talent. (And, obviously, at this point in the article it immediately became my favorite of all time.) She then took a shot at Transformers II, saying that she still doesn’t even understand it–which means that “it must be a movie made for geniuses.”

And just like that, I hopped on and became a Kool-aid guzzling member of the Megan Fox bandwagon.

After that, Bay talked to a reporter or someone and said those comments were typical Fox, and that she sometimes “says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do.” Then he proceeded to list actors he’s made with his movies, ones like Will Smith, Ben Affleck and, oh yeah, Megan Fox.

Really, how can you get any better than this kind of ridiculous back-and-forth? I’m still waiting for a Fox counterattack. Check out the full exchange here.

Anyway, the point is that Megan Fox definitely has something to prove. And it’ll be cool to see her all covered in blood and disgusting, trying hard to blossom into more than just the girl in the short skirt who bends over open car hoods in movies about fighting robots.

One last thing. The poster for Jennifer’s Body was released a few weeks ago, and I have to say I like that too. I also liked it when HBO used it last year to market Alan Ball of Six Feet Under’s new vampire series True Blood. I mean, really, get a load of both of them below. Can you get any more shameless?

Look for Jennifer’s Body to start “killing” in box office sales September 18th. Get it? “Killing.” …Because the movie’s a slasher…