Director – John Fawcett (Orphan Black, The Dresden Files)
Starring – Emily Perkins (IT, Supernatural), Katharine Isabelle (Freddy Vs Jason, American Mary), and Kris Lemche (Final Destination 3, Goosebumps)
Release Date – 2000
Rating – 4/5
UHD Release – 4/5
I was in elementary school when my grandmother introduced me to Tom Savini’s remake of Night of the Living Dead. We followed that viewing up with the original Romero classic which would solidify me as a horror fiend. My middle school years were spent moving from being a cinephile to a horror junkie and my high school years were fundamental to shaping my taste in horror. The early 2000s were crucial with some seriously amazing genre films hitting shelves like Romero’s Land of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Dagon, Bubba Ho-Tep, Jeepers Creepers, 28 Days Later, High Tension, Versus, and so much more.
Controversy aside, early 2000s horror really made me the person that I am today and one of those films that I would often watch over and over again is the John Fawcett film Ginger Snaps. I was well into my DVD collecting at this stage but I had found the movie super cheap on VHS and couldn’t pass it up. I kept that for years before upgrading to DVD when I found all three of the Ginger Snaps movies dirt cheap. It would be the first time I had the chance to see the sequels and I would hold on to them for years.
A few weeks back I was sent the brand new 4K release of the first Ginger Snaps film from Vestron Video. I had just revisited the trilogy at the end of last year but will never pass up a reason to watch these films. I want to thank Vestron for sending this one along for review.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows the Fitzgerald sister, Brigitte (Perkins) and Ginger (Isabelle), are two young teens in high school who are obsessed with death and gore. They are outcasts and find themselves the butt of most jokes and school pranks. That is until Ginger is bitten by something late at night. As the month goes on, she finds herself becoming more attracted to the boys in her school while dressing more provocative. Her mother suspects that it’s because she’s starting her period but Brigitte suspects that her sister may suffer from lycanthropy. She tries to help Ginger but she refuses to listen at first blaming her sister of jealously but turns to her help when things turn bloody. **Spoiler Alert**
It would be a lie to say that Ginger Snaps is a polarizing film because it’s not. It has it’s fans and those that don’t like it really hate it but it’s not an even number across both groups. The number of those that love this film is substantially higher but I still feel as if this one is a severely underrated werewolf flick. Most guys I know skip over it because of how it focuses more on the female biology while intertwining it with the standard lore of werewolves. Honestly, I love it and think most genre fans would dig this gritty werewolf flick if they gave it a chance.
The acting in this one is great. The film’s leads, Emily Perkins and Katherine Isabelle, are names that most genre fans were already familiar with prior to this 2000 release. Perkins appeared in the first adaptation of Stephen King’s IT and and episode of The X-Files while Isabelle was in episodes of Goosebumps and The X-Files. Both had spent years in front of the camera by this point and deliver what I would consider to be the best performances of their careers. They work so well together here and I’ve watched this one so many times over the years that I have to remind myself that they are not actually sisters. The supporting cast is just as good as well. Mimi Rogers and Kris Lemche do a wonderful job in their supporting roles.
The story for this one is not something overly complex or confusing to follow. We have two teenage girls, one of which was bitten by a werewolf, who find themselves going through menstrual cycles, being bullied, and killing a werewolf. Honestly, it feels like a more age appropriate spin on an episode of Big Wolf on Campus. It’s so damn simple yet brilliant. Hell, the movie doesn’t really do anything to date itself either and still holds up almost 30 years later.
Finally, the film features some great practical effects, as well as, great make-up effects. We don’t have a big body count here but the few deaths we get look great and so does the werewolf. The werewolf is not one that will stand out among genre fans but it fits the film very well and works. Overall, Ginger Snaps is one of the many great horror titles to come out of the early 2000s but I feel that it doesn’t get the love that it truly deserves. I can’t recommend this UHD release from Vestron Video enough. Check it out.
Special Features:
Legacy Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Director John Fawcett
Audio Commentary with Writer Karen Walton
“Ginger Snaps: Blood, Teeth, and Fur” Featurette
“Growing Pains: Puberty in Horror Films” Featurette
“Making of” Featurette
Cast Auditions and Rehearsals
Creation of the Beast
Being John Fawcett
Production Design Artwork
Deleted Scenes
TV Spots
Theatrical Trailers
Lionsgate Limited Extra:
The Pact: Ginger Snaps Forever
