Another 25th Annivesary

Ginger Snaps

2000

D: John Fawcett

**********

 

 

       Using monsters as a parable for puberty is a well-worn trope, but Ginger Snaps adds enough context to make it interesting, while possessing a clever title with serves the dual function of being a full clause describing the movie’s plot and a reference to a foodstuff that I don’t fully recall as making an appearance in said plot. 

       Morbidly goth sisters Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald (Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle) have made a childish agreement to escape their small-town life or commit suicide (possible spoilers: Ginger is the one who turns into a werewolf). When Ginger has her first period unexpectedly, the blood attracts a dog-like creature and she is bitten. Brigitte watches helplessly as she gradually transforms and loses control, experiencing the typical exaggerated manifestations of puberty. In an interesting departure from the usual mystique of a werewolf’s being haunted by the actions committed during the full moon (preferably with full memories thereof), Ginger begins to consciously fall in love with her newfound power and hedonism as she transforms into a grotesque creature. Despite the discovery of a cure, she is too far gone and she dies attacking Brigitte while the latter holds up a knife, but not before Ginger took out a few people on the way. 

         I can relate to the idea of relating to a person for a shared idiosyncrasy to the point of its being us against the world, only to watch that person succumb to the corruption that way lends itself to as they undergo maturation, especially when it involves animal people. Another such movie speaks to me thus, although it more directly relates to my situation as the corruption happened seemingly overnight behind one’s back, but Brigitte’s watching a fall she can’t stop has its appeal as well.

          The creature effects are pretty good, and well-shot for subtlety. Unlike most people, I don’t believe the ideal werewolf design to be a realistic furry; it’s too appealing for a beast that’s supposed to be a horrible monster, and we already have cynocephali and wulvers if you want a folklorish pretext for anthros. Then again I’m also not too big a fan of werewolves that look too much like normal wolves or hairy humans. My ideal werewolf design should be:

1.     A combination of human and wolve to some degree

2.     Hideous

3.     Still possessing of a muzzle since it needs reach for biting

The wolf design in Ginger Snaps is great for this. Off-puttingly naked and sporadically hairy with an unsettling combination of both species in a bulbous fashion reminiscent of a real-life abomination. The beginning of the movie features a creepy sneak-peak at part of its head, featured in an oblique in-universe photo.

         This is a female twist on a typical formula (with a few expendable males), but has enough going for it to make a worthy addition to the genre.