by: KFear
Posted on 12.26.09 in All Horror Films > Werewolf
Release Date: 2000

It seems as if the days of the “teen horror film” have finally pasted.  In 1996, Scream came out and it dazzled not only horror fans, but fans of multiple film genres.    Scream was followed by its tolerable sequels and the I Know What You Did Last Summer trilogy, which was far less fun and imaginative than anything that Craven had ever produced, along with other stretches of sub-par teen drama nightmares that only seemed to briefly flicker at local theaters.  The films that followed in Craven’s footsteps were countless, and they never really made much of an impact on an already dying sub-genre of horror.  In their place, we have films that are constantly trying out-horrify it’s audiences.   If the new horror film in theaters still stars mostly young, hip, and beautiful people, you better believe that they are going to be covered in blood and their limbs will be severed.  There are no more narrow escapes and long chases through the woods; these days, our lovely teen actors are captured, tortured, and slain.

In 2000, A film came to video called Ginger Snaps.  At first look, it’s a film about two young sisters, and one night, one of them is bitten by a furious werewolf.  Coincidentally, it sounds like something that should be easily passed off as a safe watch for your 14 year old, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.  It’s not a “teen drama” horror film, by any means.  Ginger Snaps’s themes run too deep and the film’s characters demand much more attention than any character Wes Craven has ever written into even his earliest films.  But, the theme is werewolfs…right?  Well, yes…but underneath the films furry skin lies a metaphor, and it’s this that makes Ginger Snaps stand out, as what I believe to be, one of the best films this sub-genre has to offer, if not, the best.  I mean it!

The sisters are both at that time in their lives where puberty begins to show it’s ugly face.  Within the movie, and while they are both going through these bodily changes, we’re given a chance to explore the lives and the relationship that these two sisters share with one another.  They are gothic, outcasts in school, and seen as “troubled” by their parents.  What they do in their lives, they do together.  They don’t find themselves in much trouble, but then again, they don’t seek out trouble or any other kinds of public display.  It’s the writers intent to closely examine these siblings and to have the audience see them as if they are going through some kind of an adolescent phase.   This phase, puberty and all, then coincides with werewolfism.  Luckily, at the surface, Ginger Snaps is a werewolf film that has all the necessary ingredients that can lead to an outstanding genre based film, but what makes it so very much unlike any other werewolf film is the fact that it explores werewolfism hand and hand with the transformation of a girl, to a woman.

With everything aside, Ginger Snaps has a lot of good scares.  The blood continues to flow throughout the entire film and the beasts themselves look incredibly fierce and much more lifelike than many other film that has tried to portray a proper looking werewolf.  This film is an entertaining ride from start to finish.  The script is dead on and never stops at capturing the right dialog that you’ll swear came right out of your old junior-high hallways.   Also, enough can’t be said about every actor in the film.  The family, of which the two sisters belong to, are fitting in a way that is almost too satire, but still welcoming in the sense that the film’s main focus is to entertain as well as horrify it’s audience.  In the end, that’s what makes Ginger Snaps so enjoyable.  It’s fully entertaining as a high school satire, but it’s also a damn good werewolf film.  The fact that the film ties these two genres of film so seamlessly, while still weaving in the other previously mentioned themes, is extraordinary, to say the least.

Ginger Snaps is a horror film for everyone and it is a must see for any werewolf film fanatic.  Don’t be fooled by the simple synopsis on the back of the DVD cover.  This production is much much more than any other WB horror film.  For one, it doesn’t star Freddie Prince Junior.  So there ya go!

• ★★★★★

  Acting:

• ★★★★★

  Blood:

• ★★★★★

  Violence:

• ★★★★★

  Partying:

• ★★★★★

  Language:

• ★★★★★

  Humor:

• ★★★★★

  Predictable:

• ★★★★★

  Girls:

• ★★★★★

  Gore:

• ★★★★★

  Sexuality:

• ★★★★★

  Torture:

• ★★★★★

  Overall:

Decent werewolf films are so hard to come by...it's a shame that Hollywood doesn't take these beloved movie monsters more seriously. There's a wealth of material here that is ripe for the picking. Giner Snaps is one such example. It succeeds because it humanizes its werewolves, portraying them as sympathetic creatures that are victims of something beyond their control.