Horror Movie Review: Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snaps

Starring: Katherine Isabelle, Emily Perkins, and Kris Lemche

Directed by: John Fawcett

Written by: Karen Walton and John Fawcett

Release Date: August 1, 2000

Awards: Best Canadian Feature Film - Special Jury Citation, 2000 Toronto International Film Festival; Best Special Effects, Best Film, and Best Actress, 2001 Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema; IHG Award - Best Movie, 2002 International Horror Guild; Canadian Comedy Award, 2002 Canadian Comedy Awards; Saturn Award - Best DVD Release, 2002 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA

Ginger Snaps follows Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald, two outcast teenage sisters obsessed with death.

Death preoccupies all of Bailey Downs, where Ginger and Brigitte both live, as pets keep turning up mutilated by something being called the Beast of Bailey Downs.

Ginger comes up with a plan to get back at one of the Fitzgerald sisters' rivals by taking Trina's dog so that she thinks it's the most recent victim of the Beast. They strike out on their mission on a night lit brightly by a full moon. Ominously, Ginger's period begins. Shortly thereafter, Ginger is attacked by the Beast of Bailey Downs. Brigitte manages to rescue Ginger from the Beast, but as they flee narrowly miss getting hit by Sam. The Beast isn't as lucky as Sam hits and kills it.

Soon the clse relationship between the two sisters begins to strain as Ginger begins to change; dressing to appear more attractive, flirting and going out with boys, and smoking marijuana. Can Brigitte save her sister from the curse of the werewolf and save their relationship?

Clearly, Ginger Snaps is an allegory using werewolfism to represent puberty in girls. Like Will Randall in Wolf, many of Ginger's problems from becoming a werewolf mirror troubles experienced in teenage girls: cramps, a change in how men view them, increased sexuality, experimentation with drugs, and feelings of isolation. To make sure we get the analogy, Ginger even calls her period "the Curse", a term often used to refer to the curse of lycanthopy in werewolf films.

Ginger Snaps, however, presents the troubles of Ginger lightheartedly akin to the teen dramedies of the 80s such as The Breakfast Club mixing humor and teenage stereotypes with the serious story of teenagers learning to come to grips with their changing roles and bodies. The mix creates a homogenous, realistic look at a teenage girl, any teenage girl, as her life turns upside down during puberty...but with werewolves.

Related Videos

Blood: A Butcher's Tale

Emily Perkins, who played Brigitte Fitzgerald, will appear in the upcoming Blood: A Butcher's Tale. A lonely butcher sets out to destroy a family of vampires after his fiancé is infected by bloodlust.

Freddy vs. Jason

Katharine Isabelle starred with horror icons Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger is Freddy vs. Jason. Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize the teenage population. Except this time, they're out to get each other, too.

Ginger Snaps 2 - Unleashed

Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins returned as the Fitzgerald sisters in Ginger Snaps 2 - Unleashed. The late Ginger's sister Brigitte, now a werewolf herself, must try to find a cure for her blood lust before the next full moon while hiding from a relentless werewolf in a rehab clinic.

Final Destination 3

Kris Lemche, who played Sam, also stars in Final Destination 3. A student's premonition of a deadly rollercoaster ride saves her life and a lucky few, but not from death itself which seeks out those who escaped their fate.