Ginger Snaps

Well, they certainly made the father in the family fairly worthless. Just the normal angst of teenage girls growing up, with a few differences. Ginger and Brigitte are sisters, and made a pact. They are also obsessed with death, and are very Goth-like. That doesn’t serve them well at school. In the town, however, there is a werewolf, who bites Ginger, and then gets killed in traffic by a van. So Ginger starts to turn into a werewolf, while Brigitte vows to help her and stand by her. It is an interesting take on a werewolf movie overlaid with the struggles of teenage girls. One line in the film is: Are you out of your mind? Answer: Not yet. The last act was fairly well done, as it kept one guessing.

At the end of "Phases," the second season episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" where Willow discovers that her boyfriend Oz has become a werewolf. He thinks this is a major complication, but Willow replies: "Well, I like you. You're nice, and you're funny, and you don't smoke, and okay, werewolf but that's not all the time. I mean, three days out of the month I'M not much fun to be around either."The relationship between lycanthropy and menstruation is explored for pretty much everything it is worth in "Ginger Snaps," a macabre hybrid of the horror and coming-of-age genres. The screenplay by Karen Walton has lots of bite, in both directions, and even when the ending goes all horror show, director John Fawcett manages to not lose the focus on all the levels this film is operating on. This might not be a great horror film, but it is certainly a memorable combination of gags and gagging.The story is about too sisters who are bored to tears in their suburbian Ontario track development. Ginger Fitzgerald (Katharine Isabelle) is 16 and Brigitte (Emily), called "B," is 15, and for fun they stage and photograph tableaus of their own deaths. Their mother (Mimi Rogers) is concerned, not because of their fascination with death or their goth wardrobe but because neither girl has had her first period. The girls are social outcasts, which only strengthens the bond between them and it clear that all they can really count on in this world are each other, which is good. Because they are going to need that bond big time when the fur begins to fly.That is because on the night of the full moon Ginger gets her first period and is attacked by a werewolf. Now she is growing hair and other interesting things, not to mention more and more irritable (the tagline for the film is, of course, "They Don't Call It The Curse For Nothing"). We are not sure how this story is going to play out except for one thing: Trina Sinclair (Danielle Hampton) is going down for her treatment of the Fitzgerald sisters (one teen queen should never take on two goth sisters, especially in any support involving sticks and hitting). The story also involves Sam (Kris Lemche), the good boy who is trying to help "B" find a cure for Ginger's problem and Jason McCardy (Jesse Moss) the bad boy who is introduced by Ginger to a whole new level of badness. Then there is mom, who provides her own twist as she starts to put the pieces (literally) together."Ginger Snaps" works best when it is exploiting the horrors of puberty through the lycanthropy metaphor and when the bond of sisterhood comes into play. It is not until we get to see a werewolf up close and personal that we realize how low-budget this film really is, but that is a small price to play for being witty and showing some flair (even if the title is a rather lame joke).The "Ginger Snaps" DVD version is totally stripped down. You get the movie and the trailer. There are chapter stops but no list of scenes and no alternative languages. However, you do get most of the neat music that plays over the end credits while you look at your two options.Apparently "Ginger Snaps" was enough of a cult hit to take the next step to horror movie trilogy. "Ginger Snaps: Unleashed" (aka "Ginger Snaps: The Sequel" and "Ginger Snaps 2") is already out on DVD and late this year we get "Ginger Snaps Back" (aka "Ginger Snaps 3," "Ginger Snaps III: The Beginning," and "Ginger Snaps: The Prequel," which finds Brigette and Ginger in 19th Century Canada having more werewolf fun.

Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald are sisters, incredibly close and fascinated with death. They are also complete outcasts at their school because of their weird attitudes and photo projects of their mock deaths. There have been a rash of neighborhood dogs being killed, so Brigitte decides to play a joke on a bitchy classmate (who shoved her into a dead dog). The plan goes awry when the creature killing the dogs attacks Ginger seconds after getting her first period. Ginger survives the attack. Her wounds immediately start to heal at a rapid pace. After the attack, Ginger's behavior changes drastically: she shows interest in boys, smokes pot, exhibits extreme mood swings, and starts to physically change. Brigitte watches her sister in disbelief and is convinced she's turning into a werewolf. Can she convince her sister and find a cure before it's too late?Anyone who knows me well knows that I go through obsessions with books and movies. I will reread or -watch things I really enjoy repeatedly over a period of months sometimes. This is one of my obsessions. This film has just enough camp/cheese, suspense, and good story to be the perfect movie. I love the fresh take on werewolves. I usually seriously hate werewolves because it reduces good characters to competing in pissing contests in the pack and being extremely moody and annoying (see the Anita Blake series and the Twilight Saga). Women are generally not in positions of power in the pack and are treated as inferior or as property, which really makes me angry. This film, thankfully, has no werewolf pack and has a fresh interpretation of werewolves. The Hollywood vision of werewolves transforming at the full moon and being defeated by silver bullets is abandoned. The focus is on the transformation of a teenage girl into a werewolf in the span of a month, as an allegory for womanhood and growing up. The animalistic behavior represents the bodily urges of a young woman. She becomes a different person, as one should in a transition from childhood to adulthood. This is shown physically through her slow transformation into a wolf. Brigitte, since she is still a child, is completely terrified by the transformation. She tries everything she can to stop it, but the advancement in the cycle of life is inevitable.The acting is great. The sisters are completely believable and creepily close at the outset of the film. I personally related to the girls. Who didn't feel isolated or misunderstood in high school? Katharine Isabelle, as Ginger, carries the film well in her change in mood and demeanor as the film progresses. The effects are surprisingly well done, despite being an indie film. There is a lot of blood and gore, plus the deaths of about 4 dogs. The director opted to use prosthetics and makeup to achieve Ginger's transformation which I think worked wonderfully. CGI would have looked way too fake and dated the film. The changes are at first understated not even recognized by the characters. It's not until later in the film that the viewer realizes that the small changes have added up and drastically changed her appearance. I liked that she looked oddly beautiful even in the late stages of her change.The main musical theme is so hauntingly beautiful, featuring a cello in the melody. Similar themes in the movie are nice, but there are some laughably cheesy moments because of other musical motifs. I think the cheesier moments were intentionally poking fun at the teen horror genre. The climactic face-off at the end of the film between Brigitte and werewolf Ginger was so suspenseful. The first time I watched it, I couldn't look away and I was on the edge of my seat.There really isn't anything I didn' t like about Ginger Snaps. One can definitely see its effect in recent cinema, especially in Teeth and (unfortunately) Jennifer's Body. I think Ginger Snaps is what Jennifer's Body really wanted to be, but failed miserably. I hope the tradition of gynocentric horror films continues.

It's a long way from the episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess that John Fawcett was previously best remembered for...Perkins and Isabelle play two sullen, isolated sisters, with an obsession for photos of death situations, ostensibly for a school project. You know kids like them; they only hang around with each other, they smoke when they shouldn't, and they dress a bit funny.When Isabelle is bitten by a werewolf, she begins to undergo changes. The fact that these changes run parallel to the (un-)natural changes that her body undergoes as her menstrual cycle begins make for interesting observations. Outwardly, she becomes a vamp. She discovers boys, make-up, cleavage enhancing underwear and a tail growing from her coccyx, not necessarily in that order, and after that, the boys in town better watch out.There are parts that make you laugh, grimly, and parts that make you jump, loudly. There are parts that make you think, and parts that make you go 'Eugh!', and be honest, isn't that as much as you can ask for from a low-budget (but not cheap looking) independant film?An excellent effort, and shame on you if you didn't check it out on the big screen, in the dark. Still, here's your chance to make up for it!

One of the very best werewolf movies ever made! Ranks alongside "An American Werewolf In London", "The Howling" and "The Curse Of The Werewolf (the one with Oliver Reed in it). Great acting from the 2 female leads, and also liked the performances of Mimi Rogers and Kris Lemche.

How I enjoyed this story. Katharine Isabelle is perfectly cast as Ginger, an inordinary teenage girl, who falls victim to a werewolf. She does indeed snap when her inner wolf awakens.

The Fitzgerald sisters are outcasts, bound together by a suicide pact. However, after a fateful encounter with a wolf one night, their friendship will be tested as the race begins to save Ginger and those around her.Hard to write an unbiased review of this film as I've always had a soft spot for it. An interesting take on the Werewolf genre with puberty symbolism abound and some genuinely fun characters. Emily Perkins and Katherine Isabelle are fantastic and breeze through their roles.The Scream Factory release is a bit of a mixed bag. Picture and sound are OK, an improvement over DVD and certainly welcomed. Where this disc falls short is the extras. A couple of documentaries which are nothing to shout about and the usual commentaries and trailers. For fans of the film it's worthwhile but I'm not sure how Scream Factory categorises their "Collectors Edition" as I'm always left wanting more.Good film, average disc but certainly better than a barebones release!

Beyond a doubt, my favourite werewolf movie, and a striking confirmation that 'teenage' horror can be graced by lean, character-led productions, good writing, and good acting, and not reduced to couch-potato indolence by Hollywood's fast-food diet of big budget, star-studied, slash and gore, titillating trivia. Do you get the impression I'm serious about this one?"Ginger Snaps" takes the concept of the werewolf - a myth we have lived with since prehistory - and transforms it into a chilly tale of modern adolescence. It, at once, affirms teenage fears and plays upon them. Emily Perkins (Brigitte) and Katharine Isabelle (Ginger) are two teenage for whom puberty has been delayed, much to the consternation of their mother, who is constantly trying to feed them up on a healthy diet ... and checking their laundry for evidence that they've finally become women.The sisters inhabit a world in which the intellect is numbed; the most terrifying demand made of teenagers is that they fit in. Outcasts - they are hated by their status-seeking classmates - the girls remain the closest of friends, darkly dressed, fashion-rejecting Goths united by a death pact and a fascination with the macabre, and haunted by the boredom and sterility of existence in the suburb of Bailey Downs.On the night of Ginger's first period, the girls are attacked by a creature which has scented her blood. As they flee, it is knocked down and killed by a van. The girls escape ... but from now on, there's something not quite right with Ginger. Brigitte can see it, Brigitte works out what has happened, Brigitte sets out to save her sister, to find salvation not in religion, but in science and a drug remedy for the curse which has infected Ginger's blood.This is sophisticated horror. Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle are magnificent in the lead roles: there is a tangible chemistry between them. Perkins creates a dark angst and torment, steeling herself to throw off her timidity and protect her sister; Isabelle exudes arrogance and an erotic cool, makes a seamless transition from social reject to sultrypredator.The real horror of teenage years, of course, is boys and what happens naturally. How do you cope with it? How do you cope without it? How do you cope with relationships? Can you fit in with everyone else and avoid rejection, or are you forced out, left a terrified loner desperately trying to find friends and a role? Screenwriter Karen Walton uses the werewolf as metaphor for this. Her script has wit, and a feminist bite. Most teenage horror gives menstruation a wide berth - perhaps only 'Carrie' explores the issue with any consequence.It is obviously a Canadian movie. This is not a put down. Anything but. Canadian cinema can often be counted upon to come up with something much more sophisticated than the Hollywood studios could tolerate ... or imagine. A low budget movie - Walton and director John Fawcett fought for years to get this made - it is yet proof that a good script and good acting are the vital ingredients in a memorable film.This is a film about teenagers, but it is not a 'teenage' movie: I'm back to my harangue about so many teenage horror movies simply being devices for a load of scantily dressed celebrities and beautiful people to run around screaming, bleeding, and wise-cracking - it's a marketing device to get teenage bums on seats and into the Malls to buy the spin-off produce."Ginger Snaps" is a genuinely well-written and well-performed story. It works because it is character-led, because it addresses real human fears and worries seriously: you don't have to be a 15 year old to enjoy it. This is sophisticated, intelligent cinema. If there is a criticism, it is of the last 10-15 minutes of the production where it becomes an overtly 'horror' movie. Not that this seriously detracts from the overall enjoyment and impact of the film. It remains an honest, askew vision of teenage angst, adolescent sexuality, and human fears, and is also a sincere exploration of love, loyalty, and sisterhood.The wit is savage, as razor-edged as a wolf's fangs. With puberty comes a superfluity of blood and hair growth. "Ginger Snaps" is a black comedy which uses the theme of transformation as something which happens to everyone - although this is a decidedly female perspective, we are left in no doubt that boys face puberty with as little knowledge and as much fear, despite the bravado. Adolescence is fraught with problems of relationships - finding friends, losing friends, facing the dangers that you might offend someone, do the wrong thing, wear the wrong thing, be isolated and excluded. For those who do feel left out, life is one long night of rejection, with nothing to do but howl at the moon and hope someone, someday will understand you and love you. Now that is real horror! For Fawcett and Walton the source of all human horror lies within the human body and human mind.I say my only criticism is the last few minutes, when the monster appears? I'm still not entirely convinced this isn't a deliberate decision by Walton and Fawcett. This film has a very solid grounding in reality, having an almost documentary feel in places. If the real horror is within us, maybe creating a brief sense of unreality only drives the fears in deeper and makes the movie just a little bit scarier? In retrospect, the ending did leave me with a sense of disjunction which possibly heightened the film's emotional impact. Judge for yourself - I still rate this the best, the very best of the werewolf genre.