Lost in Translation(But Still Cool): Ginger Snaps Back

Happy Canada Day!

Our neighbors from the North have given us many good Horror Films, but none in the last 20 years than Ginger Snaps.

The Sequels- less so.  Let me cover, well, the Cover.

Instead of the normal one, how about a nice, Foreign one?

Neat...but a bit confusing.

The whole Theme of the Films is Sisterhood, so you only put one of them on the Cover?  Weird.

Regardless, a neat idea for a Poster.

Furry Ladies: Ginger Snaps Back

With Ginger dead and Bridgette the pet of some freaky little girl, what were the producers to do in order to get even more money from this series?  Why, a prequel, of course!  How else did you think that they were going to get both actresses back again?  The film, as my teaser said, takes place in 19th Century Canada.  The whole thing is centered around a trading post that is set in the middle of the woods and only gets supplies once a year.  Unfortunately for them, supplies don't show up- but the sisters do.  This brings up a couple serious issues right from the get-go.  If these are supposed to be the ancestors of Ginger and Bridget, why do they look exactly alike?  Not only that, but why do they also share the same names?  I could be wrong, but I'm fairly sure that I don't have an uncle that is my exact twin (or I'm his) and is also named Alec.  The odds of this happening are about 1,000,000 to 1 (made up number)...which is perfectly fine for the makers of this movie.  Aside from that giant reality gap, is this movie decent?  Find out in my review of...

The film begins with a really long and ponderous bit of narration.  This three to four minute scene explains how the post is stuck waiting for supplies and how their is some sort of werewolf curse in the area.  The whole thing revolves around a girl in red and girl in black.  To make matters worse, it's overlaid over the credits and these ridiculous drawings on old-timey paper.  After the 'this is important' opening, we get to see our two heroines riding on a horse together.  Bridgette complains- big surprise- and Ginger tries to be the strong, older sister who can console.  After some weird editing, the girls see some creature out in the woods.  The pair's day goes from bad to worse when Bridgette gets her foot stuck in a bear trap.  A figure appears in the clearing and Ginger tries to shoo him away...only to get a bola thrown at her...that wraps around her mouth.  That's...kind of a strange weapon, but okay.  The figure is a young Indian who gets the girl's leg out of the trap and takes the pair to the fort.  Oddly, this trap designed to debilitate a bear only cause the girl to limp for the next three scenes.  There is some resistance to the girls being let in, but they refuse to say why.  Oh well, I'm sure it's safe in there...

The fort is full of some bizarre characters that include a Quebecois fur trader, the man's Indian wife and a 'fire & brimstone' preacher that blames the fort's luck on the man's in-breeding with the natives.  Yeah, that makes you an appealing character who I definitely don't want to see die.  The fort's leader is a stoic man who has lost both his wife (also an Indian) and son to some sort of illness, but has no problem letting our heroines wear his dead wife's clothes to dinner.  After that awkward scene, Ginger gets up in the middle of the night and runs afoul of a little werewolf.  Aren't you just the most adorable little lycanthrope?  Just like in the first Ginger Snaps movie, she gets bitten by the thing and begins to transform.  As time goes by, her wound does not heal and begins to grow hair out of the wound.  Gee, I can't see where this is going!  Speaking of repetition, Bridgette helps hide the effects of the transformation from the others and lies about the truth.  It's a good thing because we finally figure out what is going on.  Apparently the fort is surrounded by werewolves and they are blamed for the supplies not getting there.  By the way, if you want to actually see these things, you'll have to wait.  The movie has decided that you aren't allowed to yet and only shows people firing at them from the fort walls- lame.

Things escalate when one of the men comes back in the fort with a wound & goes to see the doctor.  The man thinks that the wound is from a werewolf, so he puts a leech on the man...which explodes!  The doctor ignores that whole Oath thing and shoots him in the head, leading our heroines to not reveal the truth.  Eventually, after more death, they learn about Ginger's bite and try to kill her.  The fort's leader protects her though, since the pair know about his non-dead werewolf son.  After a bunch of deaths, our heroines leave the fort and run into the nearby Indians.  During their trip, however, Ginger and Bridgette get separated in the woods.  Bridgette is given some Indian magic potion and sees 'the future.'  She learns that she has to kill Ginger to save everyone's lives, but she's not happy about it.  She and the young Indian go back to the fort, just before Ginger arrives with a werewolf army.  I love how you mimic both the first and second movies there, guys!  After all of this build-up, the werewolf fighting is actually pretty good, although the things run like apes...which is silly.  The Indian kicks lots of ass and the Preacher is stabbed by the fort leader, who is in turn bitten and commits suicide.  Eventually, life imitates the vision and Ginger is confronted by a knife-wielding Bridgette.  In a Vince Russo-like swerve, however, she stabs the Indian and goes off with the sister.  They parrot the 'together forever' line from the first film too.

This movie is really not that good.  There are some good ideas here, but they're executed in a pretty dumb way.  The isolation of the fort works well for a story like this and there is a pretty big cast on display here.  However, the bulk of them are one-dimensional characters who are just there to get killed.  I mean, what's the point of that Preacher besides setting up a guy you want to see get killed in a bloody manner?  The make-up effects here on par with the previous films for the most part.  The werewolves you see in full-frame are pretty good, but their movement is pretty stiff.  In defense of the movie, it does deliver on the premise that it promises you...even if it's only so-so.  Aside from the giant logic gap of this being a prequel that doesn't set up the first film (the lycanthropy is not a family curse), it's pretty good.  I have to nitpick a few things still though.  The ending of the movie references the first film, but doesn't really make any sense.  In that film, Bridgette kills Ginger.  In this film, she doesn't.  How do these things compare again, movie?  Secondly, why does this qualify as a prequel?  Isn't this just a remake set in the past?  Ultimately, there's one thing to know about this movie- it's not as good as Ravenous.  Everything about it will make you think about that movie (aside from the werewolves) and make you realize how good that one is.  Watch Ravenous instead.

Up next, Blockbuster Trash brings you the sequel to Boogeyman.  Will it be as dull as the last film or find different ways to suck?  Stay tuned...

Furry Ladies: Ginger Snaps 2- Unleashed

Four years after the surprise success of the original film, a studio decided that more money could be made.  As a result, they said 'Hey lady who plays Bridgette- you get a starring film!'  I mean, let's ignore the obvious thing: the movie was called Ginger Snaps and this film does not star Ginger.  I suppose there is some 'snapping' involved here and something is 'unleashed' at some point.  If you're asking for more of an explanation, you're looking at the wrong film series, mister!  The story focuses on Bridgette trying to survive in the wake of all that happened to her with her sister and all that.  That's good enough, but the movie finds a way to mess that up.  How?  Well, I'll let you see for yourself in my review of...

The film begins with a fairly-short recap of the first film told in narration.  What- you didn't feel like spending five minutes doing it?  Wait- why am I complaining about that?  Anyhow, the first major 'screw you' to the audience comes from Bridgette, who explains that wolfsbane does not actually cure lycanthropy.  Okay, so that means that the Ginger's boyfriend is still out there killing people?  Thanks a lot, Bridgette!  We see Bridgette holed up in a motel Leaving Las Vegas-style, cutting her forearm and measuring how quickly the cuts heal.  This is apparently how she tracks her rate of transformation, but this bites her in the ass.  It's also amazing to see how organized a 19-year old who is living out on her own with no money can be!  By the way, they never really explain where her parents are here either.  The second middle finger to the audience comes in the form of Ginger, who appears to Bridgette as a ghost...or something.  All I know is that she randomly appears, says something negative and then vanishes.  You are the worst person they could have gotten for a remake of Quantum Leap!  After this depressing state of events, we see Bridgette try to check out a bunch of books on magic, but get denied for owing too much to the library- thrilling!  Back at her hotel, she injects more of the poisonous plant and her body reacts badly.  Fortunately for her, the library worker shows up to help.  Unfortunately for him, a werewolf shows up and kills him.  That's a lesson for you, Bob- don't help junkies!

Our heroine wakes up in a rehab clinic, which seems kind of obvious.  The track marks on her arm (they don't heal, apparently) and the cuts on her wrist are misinterpreted by them as signs of her junkie issue.  The problem is that they won't let her take her 'non-cure' which means that she is going to transform into a werewolf at some point.  In her first therapy session, she learns that the head woman has a previous history of drug use, still smokes and has tattoos.  She warns the woman that 'people will die' if they don't let her go, which gets her locked up.  By the way, this interesting character disappears after this scene and only shows up at the end- hurray?  She runs afoul of a group of young women that are also in rehab, although they really don't have any interesting traits.  I guess they were trying to replicate the 'bitchy blond girl' from the first film...and they fail.  Bridgette has one scene where she punches a girl for blocking the television and never really interacts with them again.  This does, however, set up a story arc with her and a strange girl that hangs out at the place.  She's apparently related to the young man who is the main worker at the facility...who's played by that guy from Flash Gordon.  He's a bad dude, trading sexual favors for drugs.  You're still employed, how again?  Speaking of ridiculous, Bridgette has a dream sequence where she imagines a therapist teaching a class to masturbate...which ends with Bridgette pulling her hand out of her pants in a transformed state.  Big-Lipped Alligator Moment?

I suppose you're wondering what all that stuff in the beginning with the werewolf chasing her is about, huh?  As Bridgette explains to the little girl, the creature is apparently after her and wants to mate with her.  Yeah, that's why he did nothing after he killed the librarian, huh?  The girl is kind of crazy, who is obsessed with comic books and is there due to her aunt being burned in an 'accident.'  When dogs near the building start to die (including the girl's), she believes Bridgette and helps her escape, leading to a mildly-thrilling chase scene.  They get away and hide out at the aunt's house, which is well-stocked with supplies and not full of homeless people.  The girl sets up a scarecrow with a bunch of chemicals that will ignite in order to kill the beast...but this actually kills a deer...which Bridgette begins to eat.  Your plan was fool-proof.  Eventually, 'Flash' shows up and tries to help, which doesn't end well.  The little girl accuses him of attacking her, so Bridgette leaves him outside for the male werewolf to kill him.  This turns out not to be true, as our heroine grills her about the truth.  The female counselor shows up (I told you so!) and helps them fend off the beast.  After all of the build-up, this guy goes down easy!  The little girl kills the counselor with a hammer and locks Bridgette in the basement to finish turning.  The End.

Wow, you really should have left well-enough alone!  This film tries to capture the magic of the original by getting the cast back...and fails.  Ginger shows up in imaginary bits, while Bridgette mopes...but as an adult.  Seriously, what was the point in having the character of Ginger show up at all?  I mean, besides you trying to make the film seem relevant and so you can bill the actress as being in the film.  In defense of the actress playing Bridgette, she is the best thing about the movie.  She is much easier to relate to here, if only because everyone else in the film is so bizarre!  For example, 'Flash' complains about being suspended when the girls escape the facility.  Dude, you were getting a B.J. from a girl in exchange for giving her cocaine!!!  The plot of this movie is just plain ridiculous, trying to mix a werewolf movie with Girl Interrupted!   The whole thing hinges upon you believing that authority figures are stupid and that nobody ever checks into things that are easy to notice.  Bridgette, for example, figures out the girl's lie about the aunt 'smoking in bed' when the fire started by looking at a little homemade sign about not smoking in the house.  Did the police never check this thing?  Let's not forget the bullshit they throw in like retconning the idea of the 'cure.'  My biggest gripe is a little one in the grand scheme of things: why the hell is that male wolf that's chasing her?  Unless I mentally-blocked it out, they never say!  I guess having partial lycanthrope traits is like Axe body spray for male werewolves and they just stalk girls for miles and miles.  With the exception of a few bits, this movie just plain sucks.

Up next, with our series' characters written into a corner, what is a movie studio to do?  Why make a prequel set in 19th Century Canada, of course!  Stay tuned...

Furry Ladies: Ginger Snaps

It's hard to break out and really impress people in today's horror market.  The market is so saturated with big budget films, as well as numerous low-budget ones.  Everyone with a camera, some food coloring and some friends can make a horror film.  Let's flashback to ten years ago when a little Canadian horror film managed to do just that.  It didn't have a lot of money.  It didn't really have any stars per say.  What it had, however, was a unique concept and some effective, low-fi effects.  It tells the tale of two sisters (not to be confused with A Tale of Two Sisters) who run across a monster and it effects their lives pretty adversely.  The tale got a lot of attention for making a not-so-subtle parallel between the transformation into a monster and the transformation into a young woman.  By the way, this is not a tale that is exactly aimed for a male market.  Even so, can a stud like me get some enjoyment out of this soon-to-be cult classic?  Find out in my hairy review of...

The film begins by introducing us to our heroines- a pair of sad, mopey girls.  They're the kind of girls that wear full coats and boots when the other kids are wearing shorts...which actually happens.  Either they're the only smart ones in the school or they exist in a parallel dimension located on Hoth.  During the credits, we see our heroines doing their art project, which involves posing themselves in different scenarios of death.  Oh, so you're the kids from my High School that actually owned Faces of Death!  At school, the girls don't fit in, since Ginger is a shy bitch, while Bridgette (the younger one) just always looks like someone is holding dog poo right under her nose.  Things get worse when the popular kids pick on them during a game of field hockey.  By the way, if you doubt that this is really a Canadian film, they freaking play field hockey!  The girls' neighborhood is also experiencing a weird rash of dogs being killed around the neighborhood.  Our heroines discover a fresh kill and plan to take it when a P.O.V. monster drags Ginger off.  The sister runs after her, while the sister continues to get mauled in some awkwardly-edited sequences.  Bridgette finally catches up to the monster tearing into her sister and...awkwardly stares at the scene.  Thanks, honey!  The pair finally break away and run, escaping only when a truck driven by the creepy guy from Final Destination 3 hits the werewolf.  Okay then.

In the aftermath of this event, things are a bit weird in the house and at school.  Ginger- being the older sister- has begun to enter menstruation, which is actually a theory offered up by Bridgette for why the beast attacked her.  Why did it really attack her?  Um, they never say- get used to that in the series!  Ginger begins to go through some changes that don't relate to the horrible curse of becoming a woman (aren't I caring?).  These include her wounds mysteriously healing and growing hair in certain places that she shouldn't.  I suppose it's a weird thing that blond hairs are growing out of her cut marks, huh?  At school, Final Destination 3 guy follows Bridgette around trying to talk to her about what happened.  Naturally, she just sulks and walks around with that stink-face look.  You have to try to be this awkward and goth!  This gets the ire of the lead, blond bitch at school, so she picks a fight with Bridgette during a field hockey game...again.  Is this movie revolving around itself now?  This time, Ginger gets a little more assertive and takes it to the girl.  Speaking of being assertive, she also gets pretty aggressive when it comes to the lady's boyfriend.  In driving terms, her libido goes from 0 to 60,000!  Between these spurts, however, some awkward stuff comes up too.  How can I ignore the scene where the completely naive guidance counselor gives the girls condoms and assures them that everything is normal?  I can't- that's how.

Things get even worse as Ginger gets the one thing that no girl wants: a tail.  The movie continues to try and keep things serious though, so I will too.  Ha ha- you've got a tail.  Anyhow, the personality and physical changes keep coming and never slow down.  At  certain point, Bridgette realizes that she needs to cure her sister, so she joins forces with the creepy guy.  They end up discovering that wolfsbane could be a cure for the disease, which is good when you consider that Ginger has turned the boyfriend from earlier into a lycanthrope too.  In the big showdown, they stab him with a needle full of the diluted plant and...he wanders off like he doesn't know where he is.  This is actually a key plot point for the sequel, so remember this.  Things get bad again when the blond bitch threatens our heroines in their home and ends up being shot.  The one benefit to doing a project where you pretend to die- it's easy to pass off dead bodies as art!  Try it, kids at home!  Ginger proves elusive and aggressive, choosing to kill the school's Japanese janitor for supposedly looking at her too much.  Her transformation eventually turns her into Stirba from The Howling II.  Bridgette lures her away from a costume party, but ends up trapped in a house with her and the creepy guy.  Armed with a needle full of the cure, our heroine fails to save the guy, but eventually...stabs her fully-transformed sister with a knife.  Um, okay.  The End.

Is this movie as good as its long history of indy hype has made it to be?  Well, yes and no.  For me, I didn't connect with the characters as much as I was supposed to.  Mind you, there is a gender issue here and I fully understand that.  Ultimately though, I thought that neither of the girls was all that likable to begin with, so I didn't care a great deal for their traumas.  As far as the parallels between menstruation and lycanthropy, they were much more direct than I thought they would be.  It's not really a parable if you tell me how they're alike every ten minutes!  On the positive side of things, the acting conveys most of the emotions and tones of the story well, even if some of the people are pretty stock here.  It's clearly more of a star-making performance for the actress playing Ginger than the one playing Bridgette.  Don't worry- she gets her try soon enough.  The make-up effects are actually quite good here and the lycanthrope effects that appear on camera work well enough.  So, let's summarize: a lot of hype, a blunt narrative and a well-put together production.  It's never going to replace An American Werewolf in London or The Howling, but it's worth a rental to any werewolf fan who still hasn't seen it.  Enjoy some tail, dear readers.

Next up, we get a sequel to the film.  Will it surprise people and actually not suck?  Stay tuned...