Review of Ginger Snaps (2000) by Galaxy Quest P — 19 Apr 2012

Even boasting a great lead performance from a young but already massively talented Katharine Isabelle isn't enough to save this rather ploddy and melodramatic werewolf horror that uses the idea of lycanthropy as a metaphor for puberty to the extreme.

Two out cast sisters with an unhealthy death obsession run into a canine savaging beastie which lands it's claws in Isabelle's titular Ginger. Pretty soon Ginger is undergoing an attitude and body adjustment, much to the horror of her younger sister Bridgette (Emily Perkins) who is desperate to find a cure for her.

The film focuses heavily on the physical change that occurs within Ginger. This isn't a howl at the moon once a month type scenario but a full on metamorphosis. The idea being that up until her encounter Ginger has been a late developer and now coming into her own is played out excellently by Katharine Isabelle. She contrasts the Ginger of before, awkward and surly, with her new Ginger, confident and brash, very well. And when it comes to the blood shedding, going mental scenes, Isabelle shows why she has become a popular name in horror and fantasy movies over the last decade.

Emily Perkins doesn't get to have quite so much fun but she has a believable chemistry with Isabelle, even if she is a bit too much of an emo style stereotype.

Despite strong performances from its two female leads, Ginger Snaps manages to fumble it with a slow pace and a bunch of plot twists which don't really make a whole lot of sense or seem relevant. The finale feels very flat. There's a hell of a lot of blood splashed about but the film seems to forget to tie itself up, ending very abruptly without providing any sort of resolution, apart from a climax which feels a bit of a cop out.

Ginger Snaps is a gritty horror movie with emphasis on character rather than killing but it can't help but leave you with the feeling that it lacks a bit of bite.