Malone had top billing in the dark comedy "Saved!" (2004), in which she portrayed a Christian high school student who discovers her boyfriend is gay. The same year she starred in the ecological-themed independent thriller film "Corn", about a young woman who returns to her family's farm to find that their sheep are being driven mad by corn modified to be immune to pesticides. Ronnie Scheib of "Variety" praised her performance, writing: "With "Corn" Jena Malone proves conclusively that she can carry a movie."