Teenaged Werewolf

Even though I should have reached this post a long time ago, it is time again for a favorite movie of mine. Things have slowed down a lot for me the last couple of month, so I hope that I turn that around for the push to the end of the year. For this post, my 550th post, I wanted to pick a favorite film that was going to help me out on my 999 Challenge. When I was looking over which films I had already selected, one stood out as an easy pick, Ginger Snaps (2000). Before I start talking about why this is a favorite film of mine though, a quick update on how my challenge is going so far: 9 of 9 Mad Doctors/Scientists, 2 of 9 Hammer Films, 5 of 9 Haunted Houses, 3 of 9 Killing Children Films, 1 of 9 Masters Of Horror, 5 of 9 Remakes, 6 of 9 Universal Classics, 3 of 9 Werewolves, 0 of 9 Linnea Quigley Films (coming soon, I promise). That makes a total of 31 films so far. I'm a little behind, since I'm past the halfway mark for the year, but not in films. I think I can still pull this off though. With 50 films to go yet, I'm sure I can work them over the coming months.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about Ginger Snaps. This is a film that I first watched when I was around the two lead actresses' ages. In the film, Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) are around the ages of 14 and 16. Actually Ginger is about to be 16, but close enough. Even though they are into things I wasn't, they are loners pretty much that are very into death. It was still easy for me to identify with them. I thought that them being into death so much was a bit weird, which was the point of it. But it was cool at the same time. Going to all the trouble of doing gore makeup to make themselves look dead was a nice touch. I guess before I go any further, I should explain the plot to those that haven't watched this film yet. Something has been killing dogs in the neighborhood that Ginger and Brigitte, or B for short, live in. They are sisters that stick by each other no matter what. Neither seems interested in boys yet, just death. Ginger, being the older of the two, is going through some changes though. After a scuffle at school with another girl, the sisters decide to play a prank on her. On their way there, they come across another dead dog. Since it is the same type of dog that this girl they hate has, they decide to use the body to fool her. This is when Ginger gets her first period. Just seconds later, they hear a noise, and then something attacks Ginger. We soon learn that it is a werewolf that is attacking Ginger. She manages to get away, and we all know what that means.

One of the things that bothered me a little, was how late they were getting their first periods. I'm not going to say when I first got mine, but I was younger than 14. I know some girls have them later, but it still surprised me. For Ginger, becoming a werewolf gave her added sex appeal. It wasn't that it changed her body to become sexier, but it gave her more confidence in herself, and her body. Things I identified with in both girls actually, were their being a little different than other girls (things they were into were not the same for me I should say), being a bit of a loner, being noticed by boys, and finding some of the other girls a little jealous of them (but not really understanding why). Any film that you can place yourself into one of the characters makes it a much better film, than others of its kind. I have to give a lot of credit to Emily and Katharine for their acting in Ginger Snaps, and their sequels. While some saw it as over acting, I thought they found the right balance for each character. Mimi Rogers was a nice surprise as the not so clueless mother.

The only thing I didn't care for about Ginger Snaps was some of the werewolf special effects. Director John Fawcett didn't want to use CGI effects, which I thank him for. On the other hand, this was a low budget film, so the effects didn't always look great. Personally, I didn't care for how the werewolf ended up looking. But since it isn't shown a lot, it doesn't bother me that much. We mostly see it in the last 15 minutes of the film, and not all the time. They also changed the rules a little bit. Instead of looking normal right up until the full moon, Ginger slowly changes over the course of the month. The full transformation takes place on the full moon, but you can notice changes over the month. Finger nails grow longer and pointed, her teeth change as well as her face, and something else that could have been very noticeable. Not all of the effects look bad, but the werewolf is the most important one.

Ginger Snaps isn't a film I have watched over and over again, but I have always enjoyed watching it. Tonight was no different. I caught a couple of things I didn't remember seeing before. I'm not sure if I would call this my all time favorite werewolf film, but I'm sure it comes close to it. Along with liking the main characters so much, I also like the way this films ends. Even though it ends on a sad note, I wouldn't have had it any other way. There is also some dark comedy thrown in that really adds a lot to the film. I know not everyone likes this film as much as I do, but that is fine with me. It became a favorite of mine on first viewing, and remains so today.