The Ginger Snaps Trilogy (18) |Home Ents Review
Cast: Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, Tatiana Maslany, Mimi Rogers
Review by Colin Dibben
Ginger Snaps is set in the suburban Canadian town of Bailey Downs, where a pair of goofy, gothy teens, sisters Brigitte (Perkins) and Ginger (Isabelle), Fitzgerald obsess over high school and faking their own deaths. On the night of Ginger’s first period, she is savagely attacked by a wild creature. Her injuries miraculously heal, but she’s left with a newfound desire to devour and only Brigitte can save her from turning into a werewolf.
Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed follows directly on from the first film. Brigitte is living in a care facility and trying to stop herself from turning werewolf. She is befriended by a very creepy girl called Ghost (Maslany) and the two set about escaping.
Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning takes the story back to the ancestors of Brigitte and Ginger, in 19th century Canada. Two orphan teens turn up at a fort that is being besieged by a strange sort of wild animal. Can they make it out alive or will they succumb to a lycanthropic life?
The first film now looks like it fits right in with a small but influential tradition of smart and attitudey, female led high school horror from Buffy to Jennifer’s Body. It totally delivers; but it’s the second film that takes the story in a surprising and refreshing direction. And Perkins and Maslany make a truly disturbing double act.
The third film is less convincing but worth a watch too.
Special features include:
Canadian Uncanny: Stacey Abbott on Ginger Snaps
A Blood Red Moon: a new interview with director John Fawcett
What Are You Wereing?: a new interview with producer Steve Hoban
The Art of Horror: a new interview with Storyboard Artist Vincenzo Natali
Ginger Snaps: Blood, Teeth and Fur
Growing Pains: Puberty in Horror Films
112-page book with new essays by Meredith Borders, Kat Hughes, Dr Rachel Knightley, Mikel J Koven, Jolene Richardson, Zoë Rose Smith and Caelum Vatnsdal
5 collectors’ art cards
The Ginger Snaps Trilogy Limited Edition Box Set Blu-ray is out on 30 October from Second Sight Films.
