Ginger Snaps (2000)

☆ ☆ ☆

Ginger Snaps (2000) – J. Fawcett

It is perhaps too easy to be too hard on genre films, particularly if the genre is given to certain excesses as is the case with the teen horror film.  However, setting aside the inevitable descent into prosthetic creature masks and bloody messes, there is something different and interesting about this low budget Canadian film.  For one thing, the focus is squarely on two sisters, weird kids who don’t fit in with their peers and who have a suicide pact.  For another, the transformation into a werewolf is explicitly equated with the transformation of a girl to a woman. Yes, some of the blood on display is from menstruation. So, is this a tale of empowerment? Is female sexuality something being championed rather than shamed, exploited, or hidden away? I’m not sure the film is so clear on these points.  It may be better at representing the anxiety involved in the transition/transformation (and mother Mimi Rogers does a solid job at embarrassing the girls) than at making any political points.  (Of course, this is something that female viewers might judge better than me).  Thus, in keeping with werewolf films from the golden age, director John Fawcett (male) and screenwriter Karen Walton (female) don’t really aim for scares in the material but instead focus on the emotional experiences of the werewolf (Katharine Isabelle) and her sister who needs to stop her (Emily Perkins). Until the last 30 minutes when straight genre fans are placated (and one actress is replaced by a thing), the film actually had the makings of a weird high school flick (though not without some clichés of that genre too).  Worth a look?