Werewolves have been in film history for so many years, in some cases they are vicious and to the throat and
in very bad cases they fight sparkly vampires in the woods. Ever so often there comes one that does make an impact on the genre and changes the rules. Ginger Snaps is by far one of those. I originally ran across this film back in 2001 if I remember right and I was instantly hooked. I had not seen anything quite like it at the time especially during a time when a slew of bad horror films were being released. Sadly when I was able to track down the DVD it was only in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio and no special features. Nonetheless this one has stuck with me for awhile, lets sink our teeth into this autopsy!
Ginger Snaps follows a pair of sisters who are obsessed with death and the darker side of life. One night on the way to pull a prank on a bully Ginger is attacked by a creature. After barely getting away in one piece she starts to notice changes in her body. With the help from her sister Bridget they both struggle to find a cure for her "curse" before the next full moon.Will Ginger give into the animalistic lust building up inside of her, or will she conquer the "curse"?!
This film has so much going for it and goes beyond just being another horror film and has firmly made it's spot in the annals of horror history. From the awesome cast that has Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle as Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald to the great writing and fantastic gore and creature effects there is practically nothing that Ginger Snaps does bad. Emily and Katherine do such a fantastic job at making us care about the characters and above all the chemistry between them cannot be beat. They both work off one another well and make it seem as if they are actually sisters, I oddly got that alot when they were more disagreeing with one another. As you may already know about this film it does tackle the topic of puberty and in particular female puberty which has been covered in the classic film "Carrie". For some this may make them cringe, which when I first saw this film I probably did. Nowadays not in the slightest.
If you were impressed by the werewolf effects in the classic "An American Werewolf In London" or the modern classic "Dog Soldiers" then you will enjoy what Ginger Snaps has to offer. Sadly there is no mind-blowing transformation from human to creature, but there is still some good old practical effects that are done fantastically. Along with the creature effects they do quite the job at the make-up on Ginger as she progresses into the werewolf. Overall if you a fan of werewolf films, horror, or films in general then I say give this one a shot! You won't regret it!
Like I stated before the original DVD that I owned of this film was in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio with no special features so when I found out that Scream Factory would be releasing a blu-ray edition packed with special features I was ecstatic! I could finally see an HD version of this film also with some special features. Scream Factory did not let me down with this killer collector's edition release! The picture and audio quality are top notch and are quite pleasing to a fan of this film. Time to throw away those old DVD copies and pick this release up! I could only hope they get ahold of the 2 sequels and release them on blu as well!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: John Fawcett
Lead Actor/Actress: Emily Perkins & Katharine Isabelle
Genre: Horror
Blu-ray Release Year: 2014
Theatrical Release Year: 2000
Time Length: 108 mins.
Rating: Unrated
Region Code: Region A
Release Company: Scream Factory
Website: www.shoutfactory.com
