Ginger Snaps

Rating:
Summary: A werewolf film with bite!
Review: Like DOG SOLDIERS, another werewolf movie (which I found to be great fun), I had heard a lot about GINGER SNAPS before I saw it. What's weird about this is that it, like DOG SOLDIERS, didn't get a theatrical release in the U.S. Now to not get a theatrical release in the U.S. and to still hear plenty of positive buzz about a film that's got to mean something right? That's right!

Let me start off by saying that I am a movie fanatic. I watch a lot of movies. I mean a lot of movies and for something that went straight to video in the U.S. to stand out to me that's saying something. GINGER SNAPS does just that. It stands out. It doesn't seam cheap or low budget and I'm sure for a Canadian made movie that it probably isn't.

In the film, sixteen-year-old Ginger (Katherine Isabelle) and fifteen year old Brigitte (Emily Perkins) are sisters with a disturbing bond. Their sibling connection runs deep and they share an understanding that is totally unique from the world they live in. Although their existence is a dark one, they live in a world that is truly of their own creation. And the only thing that stands to destroy their bond is the monstrous effect that puberty has on Ginger.

GINGER SNAPS is a rare horror genre gem. It's a movie about the bonds of the family, society, and adolescence.). It's also quite funny at times. I wouldn't call it a comedy necessarily but like the brilliant DOG SOLDIERS it is somewhat of a dark, horror comedy.

In my opinion, GINGER SNAPS will be the film that reinvents the werewolf genre that has lain dormant pretty much since the mid-eighties. After this film and DOG SOLDIERS, Hollywood will no doubt start trying to cash in on the werewolf craze again. (I've already heard that Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven are working on one and there's another project with werewolves and vampires called UNDERWORLD with Kate Beckinsale.) I welcome this though. I like the concept of werewolves. However, I must say that topping this (and DOG SOLDIERS) will be a feat and Hollywood may just have its hands full.

C+

Rating:
Summary: Best Werewolf Movie Ever!!!
Review: Ginger Snaps - the best werewolf movie ever! Why? Well, Ginger Snaps has an interesting plotline, terrific acting from all cast, particularly from Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle, and some creepy wolf effects. Now, I have seen a few werewolf movies in my time, most with better effects, but it wasnt the werewolves that attracted me to this movie. What attracted me to it was the characters - Ginger and Bridgette were brilliant characters, very well written and well played! It was their relationship, not the horror, that makes this film shine to me.
Also, being a teen, I kinda get what they are going through (even though I'm not a teen girl and not a werewolf!), with the whole growing-up thing, relationships, etc. I find this a very interesting angle in the film.
Overall, a must-see movie for all audiences. Cant wait for the sequels! Bring on Unleashed!!!

Rating:
Summary: Suprise
Review: Oh great, a Canadian, teen-angst, werewolf movie. These are not words which inspire confidence in the horror movie circle. You almost expect to see it on MST3K. However, this movie is exceptional. I haven't seen such dark humor, quality characters (mom is very funny,) and a well written story in years. This movie is scary, funny, and interesting. "Ginger Snaps" could have become a terrible, boring movie, but thanks to a great script and acting, you get more bang for your buck than almost any other recent horror movie. Let's face it, who really give a damn about "Freddy vs. Jason?" Don't waste your time and hard earned dollars on worthless garbage, pick up "Ginger Snaps."

Rating:
Summary: The next generation of horror films.
Review: In the 1990's horror took a disturbing turn. Vampire's went from being soulless evil bloodsuckers to misunderstood addicts and serial killers went from being horrifying to quaintly fascinating. Now, we get Ginger Snaps, a well-crafted film that attempts to expand the genre while still maintaining some good scares. For the most part, it works. Ginger and Brigette are a typical pair of brooding sisters. Neither one seems to fit in with in-crowd so they hang out together and shoot disturbing photographs.

Then, one night they are attacked by "something" which bites Ginger. I think you can guess what happens from there. The twist is that Ginger is now beginning her period. She is becoming a woman at the same time she is becoming a werewolf. I wonder which is scarier for her.

The film gets high marks for this clever premise (Werewolfism as sexual awakening), but loses them in the execution. Ginger develops mad-scientist syndrome -- "I'm fine, you're the one who is screwed up!"-type of thinking. It's irritating watching a character be so self-destructive. The other problem I have is their parents. Mimi Rogers WAY overreacts to one situation and almost turns this into a screwball comedy. Also, the movie is really more teen coming-of-age drama until a climactic (and pretty good) ending.

The Canadian DVD has way more extras than the American version. If you like the movie try to track it down. If you're just curious about the movie, though, the American version is just fine.

If you're a horror buff this is probably a must-see just for its genre-bending (like "Wolf" before it)...

Rating:
Summary: Bloody (in more ways than one), but not bad
Review: The title is a stupid pun (Her name is Ginger, and she's a werewolf! Get it? Har, har!), but this is still a pretty good entry in the werewolf movie genre. Ginger and her sister Brigitte are sisters who are wrapped up in the whole "goth" lifestyle. They like to take pictures of each other posing as messy corpses. In an excellent scene, which perfectly captures the girls' terror, confusion, and love for each other, Ginger is attacked by a werewolf. A gradual transformation follows as she becomes more agressive in nature, shedding her black rags in favor of sexy clothes, causing the resentment of Brigitte and turning many heads at school.
The chemistry between the actresses playing the sisters is solid and emotional. The only real weak link in the cast is Mimi Rogers as their simpering mother. The script is edgy and fairly economical. The werewolf effects are far from stellar, but the movie should get some sort of acknowledgement for giving us perhaps the UGLIEST werewolf ever seen on screen. The ending is sad but predictable, as Ginger spirals towards her inevitable transformation and has a showdown with both some creeps at school and, more effectively, her terrified but beloved sister.
The biggest complaint I have about the movie is that it makes Ginger's menstruation a graphic plot point. I'm not one of those squeamish, stupid males who thinks that women's periods are "gross", but what is the movie trying to do with this information? The metaphor that puberty brings out "the animal" in a teen is not only transparent and trite, but a tad offensive, too. A movie that has many good things going for it shouldn't need to waste time on throwaway, trifling scenes like Ginger dripping blood from between her legs onto the bathroom floor, especially when the contribution of this scene to the plot is questionable. What's the point? Puberty can make siblings grow apart? Sure. But turning into a werewolf can't? I guess I don't get it. But those scenes aren't much of a distraction, so maybe I'll just shut up about it.
All in all, a pretty good werewolf movie. Certainly way better than trash like "Darkwolf."

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic werewolf film!
Review: I don't know how they did this. Ginger Snaps is a very atypical werewolf film... and it's low-budget to boot. Yet the film makers managed to produce a quirky, scary, funny, clever, original, and engrossing flick which uses werewolfism as a metaphor for puberty! (Or is that the other way around...?)

Ginger Snaps is not for everyone. You need to have a taste for horror movies, and strange ones at that. But for a select few, this movie surges head-and-shoulders over almost any other werewolf film out there. (A tip on buying the DVD, however: the American version of the DVD is simply terrible. Go to Amazon.com Canada in order to get the wonderfully well-done Canadian version of this fantastic movie's DVD incarnation.)

And do you know what makes this diamond-in-the-rough still more remarkable...? Its sequel, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, is even better than the first!

Rating:
Summary: One Of My favorites!!! This movie RULES!!!
Review: It sure is HARD to find a decent horror movie nowadays, but this one more than satisfies.I bought this one day for real cheap at Wal Mart I think around Halloween time a couple years ago and I tell you, it was one of the coolest horror movies I have ever seen. It wasn't corny, the acting was great and it had younger actors in it yet it wasn't one of those cliche'd "teen" movies you see WAYYY to often. And it was a "B" film with "A" film appeal. I love a good movie with a good underground feel to it. Not to mention sexy enough, but not over the top so as to take away from the quality of the film. For any fan of horror movies, especially werewolf flicks, I recommend this as a must own...And I just found out there's a sequel with the original cast and I'm buying it as soon as I'm done writing this... Adios Kiddies!!!

Rating:
Summary: refreashing for the genre
Review: This was a refreashing movie for a difficult genre. There has been a few decent movies of late; Wolf and Dog Solider most notably.

But before that it was a very questionable batch, some of the Howling movies come to mind, the series that just got worse as time went on.

They take a different twist on the genre with this movie. Based on two morbid sisters living in a small Canadian town. They are outcasts and seemingly love it. They use their morbid fixation to attack the people around them. Which they see as an example of a life that they would rather die than enter. Their dysfunctional mother and father, their peers, and teachers that can't seem to understand them. So they work on visual projects involving suicide while sneering at everyone outside their world.

This continues until one night Ginger(Katherine Isabell), is attacked by something in the woods. They don't get a good look at it, but it is animal like and doesn't appear to be normal. They manage to run off though Ginger is badly wounded. She heals rapidly but starts to show strange symptoms. As well as an increasingly feral and aggressive attitude.

This movie was a perfect example of how you don't need a big budget to make a good movie. It was also pairing the girls transformation into a werewolf with her sexual awakening and movement into being a woman with her first period.

It isn't a horror movie in the strictest sense. It is more of a dark comedy exploring the relationship between two misfit sisters. Their dark attitude contrasted with the overly cheerful and strange attitude of their mother. Whom is overbearing and the dominating figure in their life(and in her marriage) but almost sickeningly sweet and traditional. This character is wonderfully played by Mimi Rogers.

I feel this movie is breathing life into the werewolf genre. Which has mostly lain dormant since Wolf, and was suffering even before that, watch it just for that. Or the fact that they don't let the werewolf aspect overpower the story, it is more about the bond that the sisters shared. The way they faced a seemingly opressive and foreboding world together until suddenly that bond is broken and the friendship is all but abandoned. That is what really drives the movie. The aspect of lycanthropy is just a bonus :)

Rating:
Summary: GINGER SNAPS
Review: i have only seen Emily Perkins in "It" so thats one of the reasons i got this dvd out. it was a really good movie. it's about 2 sisters..well im 14. can't explain it as well as other ppl i guess but yeah just watch it u might like it if u like...unusual movies. this is kind of unusual. but really good aswell.

Rating:
Summary: Howling good horror movie fun!
Review: Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and her sister Brigitte (Emily Perkins) are a pair of morbid, gothic high school girls who do everything together. Including being treated as "freaks" by most at their school, and staging their deaths while at home. They make a pact that they will go face death together no matter what, and little do they know that they will have to face it sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, while the girls go about their dark lives, some unseen monster is killing the town's dogs. One day while at school, Ginger and Brigitte are taunted by another girl. They decide to take revenge on this girl by staging her dog's death. When the pair sets out to do so, the town's dog-killing monster attacks Ginger. Her wounds heal rather quickly, and then stranger things begin to happen (i.e.-she grows radical amounts of hair and sprouts a tail). While Ginger tries to deal with this whole new world she's now encountering, Brigitte seeks help in hopes of finding some kind of cure, and their sisterly bond is tested.

This incredible Canadian horror film manages to do a great job of turning lycanthropy into a metaphor for pubescence. The acting is excellent, especially when you consider that this was a fairly low-budget film. The only character that I found to be a little unrealistic is the overwhelmingly understanding mother, who never second-guesses her daughter. The score is outstanding. The lighting and effects were also incredible. Overall, this is a great edition to anyone's horror library. There aren't many werewolf films out there that can be pulled off without being too cheesy, and this is one of them (as is the sequel)! There is buzz of a third film, a prequel, being made, and I definitely look forward to that as well!

Also recommended: "Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed" and "The Curse."