So this is a very early-2000s movie, and has some of that edgelordy cynical darkness to it. Like, as one example, there’s a lot of suicide jokes (and the movie’s teen girl protagonists do a photoshoot of staged fake suicides for a class project), which at the time would make it seem indie and cool and rebellious, but just isn’t something you’d see today in the same way.

Mostly what it’s doing with those teen girls, though, is telling a kind of feminist story about puberty and sexual awakening. Without getting too spoilery, one of the girls is turning into a werewolf, and so growing surprising hair, the presence of unexpected blood, and mood changes are clearly all working on two levels — and, well, it gives a new meaning to “sexual predator” when you’ve got a literal carnivore in the mix.

I don’t think the movie is doing anything especially novel — heck, I think Teen Wolf was hitting some of the same notes in a (much) lighter tone, even — but doing it from a female point of view adds something, and the movie’s decently enjoyable if not much more than that.