B Plus Movies

Today being All Hallows Eve, it was really tempting to review The Power Rangers Movie or Pokemon: MewTwo Strikes Back. It would satisfy my perverse sense of irony and contrast. But no, on this day of the year, horror is king and shall be given it’s proper due. And still satisfy my perverse sense of irony and contrast.I’d like to discuss Ginger Snaps.

Ginger Snaps is, without a doubt, the best coming of age/goth girl/werewolf movie in existence. Admittedly, I think it’s the only one, but even the theatres were glutted with films like this one, Ginger Snaps would stand out. The werewolf movie has always been kind of the rude, awkward brother of the vampire film. Whereas vampires can be evil, murderous and still look cool, werewolves look like werewolves. The sub-genre is about the fear of what one is becoming, the beast within and sudden changes that cause you to lash out at the world.

Much like puberty.

Ginger Snaps starts with a pair of sisters, Bridgette and Ginger, who are strange and fixated on death. They meet up with something furry and violent in the night that bites Ginger. From here, standard werewolf movie things start happening, but in very non-standard ways. The focus of the movie is about the relationship of the sisters as much as it is about Ginger going all Lon Chaney. Lycanthropy is used as a metaphor for the separation and angst that can happen within family when interests and perspectives begin to change. While this is still a horror movie and there is still blood and violence, the picture evokes pathos more often than startled jumps in your seat. There are moments between Bridgette and the furrier side of Ginger that are, frankly, touching.

If the film has any points against it, they come at the end. The film’s conclusion felt like it lacked something, perhaps something that was to be found in the sequels. It spawned two, and while I can’t speak for their quality, I can point them out as a testament to how much this movie is liked. Part of that may be because it doesn’t feel familiar, even though it’s following a well trod cinematic pattern thorough the suburbia we all know and shop in. The performances by Katharine Isabelle (Ginger) and Emily Perkins (Bridgette) feel very genuine. We get to see a couple of kids we instantly recognize but barely know, trying to understand them as they try to grasp their situation

Ginger Snaps is a solid B+. It’s strange and wonderful, surprising and tender with heart rending scenes woven with moments of hearts actually being rent. And most importantly, it’s unexpected, pushing the bounds of what we usually associate with this kind of flick.

If you’re playing movies in the background as you dole out Snickers to the neighborhood goblins, I recommend including this one in the queue. Just make sure that when they get to the scene where Ginger is half transformed and half naked, you’ve got the door at least half closed.

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