jbmajzner-87228 As taken from: http://www.beyondvalwood.com/#!A-review-of-the-movie- Ginger-Snaps/c218b/5744d7480cf29ab9ec2c8270Hello readers,It was a typical Monday night. Hazel and I were bored and playing the usual "What would you like to do?" game while I procrastinated on writing my sequel to Beyond the Veil, A Veil of Stars."Do you want to watch a movie?" Hazel barked at me."Yes, but I want to watch something inspiring", I said. "Hey, maybe a werewolf movie, since I'm writing about werewolves!" And so folks, this is how we came to watch Ginger Snaps on Hulu last night. And OMG, do I wish I hadn't. Of all the inspiring movies we could have filled our eyeballs with last night, I chose this horrifyingly bad flick and I want my hour and forty eight minutes back. Think of all the amazing, awe inspiring words that I could have written today that may have been inspired from watching an amazing, awe inspiring werewolf movie (do any of those exist?)...but no. Instead you get this review :PNumerous problems abound with Ginger Snaps, including characterization, pacing, special effects, and the writing itself. Katharine Isabelle as Ginger seems to be trying to hold this entire film together herself, while the other actors are clearly struggling with their parts (with perhaps the exception of Kris Lemche as Sam). This unintentionally funny/horror movie does not know what it wants to be, and it suffers for it with a title that does not match the tone of the film. Hazel, being easily entertained, bless the little dog, gave this film 2 stars. I was not so kind, so it only receives a measly one star from me. Harrumph.This film follows the lives of sisters Brigitte and Ginger as they stage their own deaths and go to school. Things quickly take a darker turn when Ginger swiftly approaches puberty (and by that I mean she starts spewing blood at very inconvenient times) on their way to prank a snotty, popular chick. A werewolf, smelling her menstrual blood, attacks and she is bitten. We follow her journey into lycanthropy (and this could not be any more boring if this film tried, which it clearly didn't). Emo, expressionless and uninteresting Brigitte skulks throughout the entire film as she tries to hide her sister's "curse" and cure her. When we finally do see Ginger in her most glorious werewolf form, I was disappointed to see that she quite resembled the love child between a bat and a pig. And while most of the film is lacking in sufficient action, the ending is so gratuitous that it quickly loses steam into its very fitting, but altogether unsatisfying conclusion.The puberty=werewolfiness angle was bad enough. But the biggest problem Hazel and I had with this movie was the suspension of belief. I don't mean that I had trouble believing werewolves were really pig/bat mutants, but none of the actors would be believable in any setting except for Ginger. If you were thrown into the eviscerated remains of a dog you would be horrified, not merely humiliated and if you suspected your daughter of murder, you would not simply "light a match in the house, forget your husband, and start a new life with your kids!" It was moments like these, AKA bad writing, that pulled Hazel and I out of the story and prevented us from fully enjoying what I believe was a good story buried in the rubble. Somewhere.Now Hazel was not nearly as harsh on this movie as I was. The acting is alright, the cinematography solid, if not a bit bland, and the gradual transformation of Ginger was well done, if not a bit tedious. The adjusted score for this film is 1.5 stars.

Python Hyena Ginger Snaps (2000): Dir: John Fawcett / Cast: Emily Perkins, Katherine Isabelle, Mimi Rogers, Kris Lemche, Danielle Hampton: Graphic and gory werewolf movie that opens with the discovery of a dismembered dog in the backyard. The blame is pointed at two sisters with an obsession with suicide as depicted in their gory student films. A plan to kill a popular girl's dog ends with one of them attacked and nearly mangled by a very large creature that would be struck by a van. The wounded girl begins to grow hair where she shouldn't and a tail emerges. Her sister struggles to conceal the change and find answers. This concludes with loose ends and a lot of spilled blood. Director John Fawcett creates a unique bond between two girls. Emily Perkins and Katherine Isabelle create an unusual chemistry as one struggles to help the other who herself, doesn't want to be helped. Kris Lemche is effective as the guy whose van struck the original creature. Now he attempts to find a cure. Mimi Rogers as a parent is an unnecessary distraction that is never involved in the film. Danielle Hampton plays a bully whose dog ends up in dire possession of the psychotic sisters. The climax is scary but it is also unnecessary in its presentation of violence. It is extremely graphic and quite fatal to its principal characters. The symbolic play on puberty is clever but the gore will make certain viewers snap. Score: 6 ½ / 10

SnoopyStyle Sisters Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger Fitzgerald (Katharine Isabelle) live in the cookie-cutter suburbs of Bailey Downs where something is killing the dogs. They are obsessed with death and are outcasts in school. Ginger intends to hold Brigitte to their pact. "Out by 16 or dead on the scene but together forever." They love staging bizarre deaths. Brigitte is picked on by popular girl Trina Sinclair and the girls try to stage killing Trina's dog. Ginger finally has her first period at 15 but is attacked by a werewolf. Brigitte saves Ginger and drug dealer Sam runs over the wolf with his van. Soon Ginger starts turning and turning heads at school. Brigitte tries to find a cure for Ginger with the help of Sam.I love so much about this movie. Firstly I love both actresses. They have terrific sister chemistry. Katharine Isabelle does a great slow walk down the hall. Emily Perkins is a terrific disheveled nerd. That song is hauntingly beautiful. I love all the bizarre deaths staged by the sisters. This is such an unique take on the werewolf transformation weaving it into the sisters hormonal transformation. It's one of the reasons why the original Carrie was so great. There is great sly humor and Mimi Rogers is a good solid foundation at home. The gore is a bit amateurish but that's indie horror for you. What they lack in expertise, they make up for it in fun. Slipping on your own vomit is such a great way to die.

ersinkdotcom On the surface, "Ginger Snaps" is a wonderful addition to the werewolf sub- genre that is rarely toyed with. Dig deeper and you find commentary on the difficulties girls face as they journey into womanhood. It should be required viewing for every male so they can form a sense of empathy for their female friends and family.Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger Fitzgerald (Katharine Isabelle) are sisters and the best of friends. They're also the town outcasts and parade their obsession with death in front of their classmates, teachers, and family. As they walk home one evening, Ginger is attacked by a ravenous beast.Her wounds heal at an astounding rate and she soon realizes that her body is undergoing two very extraordinary changes. One is fairly normal for all teenage girls: the arrival of her menstrual cycle. The second change is an ever-accelerating transformation into a werewolf. Can Brigitte save Ginger from her insatiable bloodlust before she fully turns into a voracious creature of the night?The version of "Ginger Snaps" I'm reviewing is Unrated. There's a lot of graphic violence and gore in this fine example of a Lycanthropy-centered film. I would consider it to be "R" rated because of strong language, adult situations, and scenes of female werewolf nudity. Ginger's hairy upper torso makes a cameo appearance during the movie's exciting and emotional conclusion.Rarely does a horror movie come along that infuses such immense chills and thrills while so beautifully capturing the pain and awkwardness we all feel journeying from childhood to adulthood. In my humble (yeah, right) opinion, this is the wolf-woman equivalent of the touching-yet-disturbing vampire tale "Let the Right One In" if fused together with the wit of "Heathers."