Ginger Snaps

--Reviewed by Lindy Loo

This is in my list of Top 5 Favorite Horror Movies, so you probably don't even need to read any further to guess at my opinion of the movie. But in case you've never even heard of it and wanna be in the horror movie loop, read on...

Plotline: Dogs start turning up dead in the suburban neighborhood of Ginger and Brigette, two teenage sisters. What has been attacking them soon ends up attacking Ginger as well. The movie chronicles the transformation of Ginger into a werewolf (and sexualized teenager) as her younger sister struggles to find a remedy for her "curse."

Scariness factor: This movie is damn creepy and has some very good special fx--it has one of the few werewolves that has actually looked creepy and impressive, even in a close-up. There are many scenes that will make you jump, and if not, it will at least get under your skin.



Originality: I don't know the history of female werewolves in horror cinema, but I think the pickings are slim. And that is precisely what makes this movie interesting--the interweaving of the werewolf transformation with pubery/sexuality with strange fairy-tale like moments make it a really interesting trip. It is also a fantastic film to examine with a feminist eye, for precisely all the reasons just listed--in the movie, sexuality and puberty take the symbolic form of "lycanthropy." How cool and mind-blowing is that?

Complaints: I am hard-pressed to really think of any. The acting is bad from extraneous characters at times, but that is really just me trying to pick at something in order to fill up this space.

High Points: Mainly what I love about this film is how fiercely interesting it is on a feminist level. I would love to write a paper on the damn thing--one day. But if you could give or take feminist theory and "all that crap," the movie still has a lot to offer: decent acting (esp. from Emily Perkins who plays the main character), damn creepy special fx (Ginger's transformation into a werewolf, complete with a fleshy tale that she must tape to her leg and patches of unexplained "hair" which her guidance counselor tells her "is typical for girls her age," is excellent), and a really wickedly dark sense of humor. It also has a nice insightfulness into high school life, one quite similar to Carrie, providing a grittier and more realistic account of the the joyous cliques and ostracization of being a high school student rather than just offering up the typical horror movie stereotypes.



Overall: I heart this movie. It blew my mind the first time I saw it--it definitely has not gotten the media attention it deserves. I am amazed that it looks so shitty from the cover of the movie and (as far as I know) never made it to the big screen. This is a fantastically *INTERESTING* and creepy movie, and, as a horror movie fan, you *MUST* see this at some point otherwise, well, I suppose I'll just have to hunt you down and tear you apart with my teeth.

Grade: A