Review of Ginger Snaps (2000) by Nathan H — 24 Jan 2009

I think I know exactly how to create a "cult horror favorite." All you have to do is imagine a protagonist who is socially awkward, morbid, and obsessed with death and horror (which is pretty much the standard characterization for most horror movie fans, too). Oh, and if you make the protagonist a female, and you make her hot, the kids will love that, too.

And now you know how "Ginger Snaps" has become so popular after an inauspicious release back in 2000.

Actually, "Ginger Snaps" is a movie that I'd been hoping to see for awhile, and it has a lot of fun with its dark and demented sibling protagonists; much of the film, I'd say, is a pretty successful black comedy. And werewolf films are an under-utilized vehicle for black comedy and teenage angst...too often filmmakers rush to the vampire genre, but there's some good stuff to be done with werewolves.

The movie, though, didn't quite blow me away. It forsakes its comedy in the final act, and becomes so dark that it almost feels like it's trying to make a statement: that a horror movie can be funny and have a tragic, unhappy ending, too (unlike the "Scream" franchise). Unfortunately, the tonal shift is the film's undoing, and while it was an interesting picture, it's definitely not a classic.