Megan Fox and Debby Ryan's Acting Careers Craved Roles in Netflix's 'Night Teeth'

Like most things in life, being an actor is all about taking chances, gambling with your fingers firmly crossed, and selling your soul to the devil — oh wait, scratch that last part. While actors do their best to build a unique personal brand and choose thought-provoking, challenging parts in films and shows that will only elevate their careers, they can't all be winners.

Disney Channel veteran Debby Ryan and Transformers honey Megan Fox know this all too well, as their resumes have been stained with shallow roles, flop movies, and tacky, controversial plot lines. For both actresses, the time to move is now. With big roles in streaming giant Netflix's LA-based erotic vampire thriller Night Teeth (hot vampires sure are timeless), the two experienced actresses may have found the right film to sink their teeth into. As for how the blood tastes, it's still a toss-up.

Though 35-year-old Megan Fox is debatably a Hollywood icon, as her role in 2009's cult satirical horror film Jennifer's Body is celebrated to this day, that was 12 years ago now. Playing the lead in 2021's lukewarm thriller Till Death was the necessary jumpstart to her long-awaited acting comeback, but her career needs a little more fuel.

Notwithstanding what people say about Megan's acting, often jabbing that she's simply a pretty face and nothing more, Megan truly has star quality in every ounce of her being. We've seen it before, and we'll likely see it again.

But Michael Bay's bro-baiting, explosion-laced Transformers franchise, for instance, plastered Megan's Mikaela Banes on the screen like a piece of meat. Parts such as this utilize her sex appeal rather than her star appeal. However, we'd be remiss not to point out that the role made her uber-famous.

As for 28-year-old Debby Ryan, well, perhaps the Disney sweetheart needs 2021's Night Teeth to be a hit more than Megan does (she's busy spawning wild headlines alongside her new beau, Machine Gun Kelly). Known for her roles in Disney Channel's The Suite Life on Deck, Jessie, and Radio Rebel (don't get us started on the meme), Debby managed to slink away from her squeaky clean persona when she landed the lead in Netflix's dark dramedy Insatiable.

Insatiable's two-season run on Netflix was rocky and misunderstood at best. The plot followed formerly-fat, now-thin high schooler Patty (Debby Ryan), aka Fatty Patty, who returns to school completely transformed after a summer vacation spent with her jaw wired shut. The new "hot" Patty wishes to get revenge on all of the people who wronged her when she was overweight — by murdering them.

As you can imagine, it wasn't well-received, despite its fuzzy attempts at satire. When you're dealing with touchy subjects, such as bullying, fatphobia, and toxicity in the world of beauty pageants (which includes bullying and fatphobia), the satire must be impeccable, which it was not. Is this Debby's fault? Was Megan's depiction in the Transformers franchise her fault? Though the answer is no, it doesn't particularly matter. These projects are forever tied to the actresses.

With that being said, every actor's career evolves over the years. Heck, Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio was in Critters 3. Adam Randall's Night Teeth is an opportunity to reintroduce the actresses, who will spend the hour and 47-minute runtime fanged up and preying on Benny (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.), a college student and chauffeur who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. The film also stars Godfather of Harlem's Lucy Fry and Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney.

Betting on a vampire flick in 2021 isn't exactly a surefire plan, but perchance maintaining relevance is at the forefront of the actresses' minds, which isn't necessarily the worst thing. We're not here to imply that Night Teeth will redefine cinema as we know it, as it already has critics torn, but the film gives Megan Fox and Debby Ryan a chance to once again show off their acting chops, even if it is while draining blood from hot LA men.

Night Teeth is available for streaming on Netflix on Oct. 20, 2021.