Review of Ginger Snaps (2000) by Craig S — 04 Dec 2007

Directed by: John Fawcett.

Starring: Katharine Isabelle, Emily Perkins, Mimi Rogers.

It is really great to see that there are filmmakers out there who actually love classics and keep in mind what made them so great....with Ginger Snaps, it blends genres and reinvents the werewolf genre that has gone downhill these past 10 years and also pays tribute at the same time.

The story follows two young sisters, Ginger and Bridget. They are outcasts in there local town and can be seen as 'freaks'. They staged fake deaths in there past time and make a pact about dying together. When the town has someone or something on the loose killing the locals dogs, they decide go out at night to stage a death for a dog belonging to one of the popular bitches at school that they hate. They soon find it to be a Werewolf, a Lycanthrope who bites Ginger and sees her going through stages to becoming a werewolf....or is it just her going through the stages to womanhood? The cover of this film when I first saw it in stores years ago made me think it was a cheap cliche straight-to-DVD flick, but I picked it up anyway and I am glad I did. The screenplay holds up strong and gives us a fresh new take on this genre. It successfully blends two ideas, both real and fantasy and uses the Werewolf mythology and idea as a metaphor for puberty. While being well-written and full of ideas and strong dialogue (with a touch of intentional cheese), it also references many great werewolf flicks and adds a touch of satire into the mix as well. John Fawcett's direction was a little strange to pinpoint at first, but you soon see a knowledge for this genre as he references different elements along the way while never being cliche on purpose and creating great tension. The female cast is strong, although Emily Perkins gives a slightly stiff performance at moments, thankfully it doesn't show a sign of bad acting, but instead a 'transformation (no pun intended) into something great and Katharine Isabelle has the skills to pull off the different elements of her character as she goes through the stages.

Whatever you do, do not overlook this film. A critically acclaimed, strangely unknown film from Canada that needs to be seen to be believed. A strong and very promising entry into the dying genre, it successfully melds tension, gore and thrills with thoughtful ideas, strong dialogue and real themes of everyday life. A 'biting' satire that shows respect to the classic genre.