Few horror films in the last decade have been given as much care as Ginger Snaps, a modern take on the werewolf phenomenon. Heavily advertised, well in Canada anyway, and given a wide release fit for a huge summer blockbuster, again in Canada, it hit theaters in 2000. Unfortunately, virtually no one went out to see the film regardless of numerous positive reviews and reactions from critics. Perhaps it's because it is a Canadian film? Ok, I won't go there in this review...maybe another time, but the point is that this flick kicks some major ass! Not since American Werewolf in London have I enjoyed myself this much watching a wolf film. But I digress, to compare it to John Landis' 1981 masterpiece is an insult to the originality of either film.
Ginger Snaps is the story of two sisters, blood relatives none of that bestest friends in the world that are like sisters crap. Anyway, these two sisters are morbid, dark, and brooding the perfect anti-hollywood teen (aka. a real/normal teenager) and loathed at their school. Of course, they don't need or seek the approval of their peers as they have eachother for any real comfort or support. But one of the local female bullies at school just won't let up on either of them. Needless to say, a line is crossed and the girls feel that it's the perfect time to exact revenge on this bully.
Now, what is uber cool about this flick is that the girls are real. Unlike in most horror films, these two keep their tops on, and it's not just because they portray characters that are under the age. Instead they are like many girls that are around that 15-16 year-old age, who have serious concerns about their bodies. Regularly these girls wear baggy clothes to school so as not to emphasize their features. They aren't looking to draw attention to themselves or even be noticed, the less attention is paid to them the more free time they have to create their art (death related photography!). All they need is each other, even in the worst of circumstances. Of course, this delicate balance can't remain intact and soon their world is turned upside down when, during a night time trip to play a prank on their bully, one of them is attacked by a bizarre creature from the nearby woods.
Personally, I find that the best horror films lack a real explaination for the occurance of some evil presence. Like Romero's NOTLD series, who cares where the zombie threat originated, it makes it more realistic for us as human beings not to know where the source of the problem is. We don't know everything and it's this concept that Ginger Snaps employs for the werewolf creature that attacks the girls in the park. Just as soon as it has appeared it is dispatched and all that is left is the impending doom caused by the threat of infection.
Cleverly, the writer-director team of John Fawcett & Karen Walton have woven the wolf's infection in with the idea of puberty and the end result is "growing up" like you've never seen it before. Here are two girls who have never sought the assistance of anyone outside of their relationship trying to figure out how to deal with their first periods AND growing fur & claws.
It's a strange film indeed bordering at one point on the comedic and the next minute on the horrific with nary a misstep. For those fans of gore, sadly there's not too much but don't worry lotsa innocent teen blood still flows as NO werewolf goes for the clean kill. Definitely not your typical werewolf or teen movie and it's completely worth your time!
Ginger Snaps is the story of two sisters, blood relatives none of that bestest friends in the world that are like sisters crap. Anyway, these two sisters are morbid, dark, and brooding the perfect anti-hollywood teen (aka. a real/normal teenager) and loathed at their school. Of course, they don't need or seek the approval of their peers as they have eachother for any real comfort or support. But one of the local female bullies at school just won't let up on either of them. Needless to say, a line is crossed and the girls feel that it's the perfect time to exact revenge on this bully.
Now, what is uber cool about this flick is that the girls are real. Unlike in most horror films, these two keep their tops on, and it's not just because they portray characters that are under the age. Instead they are like many girls that are around that 15-16 year-old age, who have serious concerns about their bodies. Regularly these girls wear baggy clothes to school so as not to emphasize their features. They aren't looking to draw attention to themselves or even be noticed, the less attention is paid to them the more free time they have to create their art (death related photography!). All they need is each other, even in the worst of circumstances. Of course, this delicate balance can't remain intact and soon their world is turned upside down when, during a night time trip to play a prank on their bully, one of them is attacked by a bizarre creature from the nearby woods.
Personally, I find that the best horror films lack a real explaination for the occurance of some evil presence. Like Romero's NOTLD series, who cares where the zombie threat originated, it makes it more realistic for us as human beings not to know where the source of the problem is. We don't know everything and it's this concept that Ginger Snaps employs for the werewolf creature that attacks the girls in the park. Just as soon as it has appeared it is dispatched and all that is left is the impending doom caused by the threat of infection.
Cleverly, the writer-director team of John Fawcett & Karen Walton have woven the wolf's infection in with the idea of puberty and the end result is "growing up" like you've never seen it before. Here are two girls who have never sought the assistance of anyone outside of their relationship trying to figure out how to deal with their first periods AND growing fur & claws.
It's a strange film indeed bordering at one point on the comedic and the next minute on the horrific with nary a misstep. For those fans of gore, sadly there's not too much but don't worry lotsa innocent teen blood still flows as NO werewolf goes for the clean kill. Definitely not your typical werewolf or teen movie and it's completely worth your time!