Jennifer Lopez has said she is pleased that her new film shows older women can still be attractive to younger men.

The Jenny From The Block singer, 45, plays a high-school teacher who gives in to a night of passion with her 19-year-old next-door neighbour, but then falls victim to his obsessive and violent attentions in The Boy Next Door.

She said of her casting: “I think it’s more realised than ever that women are at our best, and that we get better as we get older.”

Jennifer Lopez The Boy Next Door
Jennifer Lopez stars in The Boy Next Door (Universal)

However, J-Lo admitted that didn’t make it a feminist film: “Nah. This is NOT that movie.”

Jen, who divorced Marc Anthony last year and whose most recent boyfriend Casper Smart was 18 years younger than her, also admitted that she could relate to the character, who feels vulnerable after splitting from her husband: “She’s so vulnerable that she makes a terrible mistake, something that she would normally never do. I feel like that’s such a human thing.

“We’re all looking to anaesthetise ourselves at certain times and with certain things, when we go though hard times. And this guy comes along…”

The Boy Next Door Ryan Guzman Jennifer Lopez
Ryan Guzman stars opposite J-Lo in thriller The Boy Next Door (Universal)

She continued: “There was just something really great about this character for me at this time in my life.

“I find that, often during my life, I have attracted whatever it is I need to work out, for some reason. It’s very serendipitous in that way.”

J-Lo takes part in action scenes as her character’s young stalker turns violent and she revealed: “We were lucky enough to have a great stunt coordinator to make things look dangerous, but you still get beat up doing those stunts.”

:: The Boy Next Door is in cinemas now.