Ginger Snaps II - review

[rejenerate]

I'm a big fan of the first one...loved the werewolf/puberty metaphor, the two leads, the cheeky humour combined with jumpy scares and gore, so I was looking forward to this one. I was not disappointed. The plot centres on Bridget (Emily Perkins), who was my favourite character from the first one, and Ginger appears as visions to her (since Bridget kills Ginger in the first one). Bridget has run away from home and is currently treating herself for her werewolfism, injecting herself with wolfsbane. She gets mistaken for a drug addict and ends up in a women's rehab centre, where she deals with a lecherous male worker and a weird younger girl nicknamed Ghost. When the werewolf reappears, she has to figure out how to protect herself.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot...it takes a lot of turns. Again, I adored Emily Perkins...she portrays the angsty goth'ish young woman really well and I have a soft spot for that. While this one had humour as well, it was definitely darker in tone (dealing with drug addiction, self-mutilation, sexual harassment/abuse, a spooky abandoned hospital etc.)...less light-hearted than a good part of the first one was. May be because this one had a different director and writer. There was one scene that made me wonder a bit about therapy...and it brilliantly illustrates an old wives' tale about a certain sexual act in a way that fits the plot. Things get turned really upside down for Bridget when she decides what she should do, and the ending is ambiguous...but from what I've read, the next film, being a prequel, doesn't tie it up.

So while I liked the tone of the first one better, the second one certainly does not ruin its good name at all, IMO. I enjoyed the different characteristics of both.

~jen

 

[torontobarfly]

is the first one available for rent???

i heard it was voted best horror flick by some "horror flick voting group".....umm, that's probably not what they call themselves but you get the idea......

 

[OTIS]

Man, with the first one, the whole shot in a Missisauga suburban basement thing kinda undermined it.. but then again.. I saw it in a theatre and you naturally have greater expectations when in front of a big screen.

I find it funny that a second one was made.

 

[Spinsah]

Originally posted by OTIS
Man, with the first one, the whole shot in a Missisauga suburban basement thing kinda undermined it.. but then again.. I saw it in a theatre and you naturally have greater expectations when in front of a big screen.

i saw in the theatre twice and loved it!

in fact, the whole accessible aspect of horror in (or of) suburbia thing totally made it for me. from the scenes in the cat walk, to the street hockey, to the minivan backing out of the garage (even some of the 'snug' wardrobes that were being sported); infused ginger snaps with an almost ironic canadiana.

the puppet approach to 'the beast in lieu of digital effects also seemed to be accordance with the canadian aesthetic that we have going on. yet at other times the lighting, camera movements and particularly the score and foley (a wise man once said that any good horror movie is 90% sound) really aspried to a suprisingly high standard for a canadian feature of this nature.

i loved the gruesome attacks that ginger unleashes upon the bitchy trina sinclair, creepy janitor and resident jockand the way they all cumulate to suggest that director fawcett is attempting to construct a film that appeals to the distraught pubescent female. this is not really a fresh approach if we keep in mind other films that singal the 'evil arrival' of menstruation such as 'carrie'. however, it is the 'ironic' prefix that i'd like to invoke again to describe ginger snaps' unique place within the reactionary breed of horror films

clearly, fawcett realized he is directing a film for the self-reflexive next generation of horror viewers. In the post-'scream' world of horror films, there is more room for maneuvering within the confines of a seemingly reactionary film.

i do somewhat take your point though, otis, that within the hollywood aesthetic anything that seems too familiar or close to home (that is to say 'real' ) is immediately rendered foreign or 'unreal' in the discerning eyes of a viewer in search of a big screen, a big sound and a big difference. still, i think fans of the genre can get past that (and for some of us even get off on) the eerily familiar suburban monster.

all this rambling and i haven't even seen part two.

 

[Hawk Eye]

Originally posted by torontobarfly
is the first one available for rent???

i heard it was voted best horror flick by some "horror flick voting group".....umm, that's probably not what they call themselves but you get the idea......

Yes it is

I've seen it about 3 times
I made my freinds watch it but I dont think they liked it.

I'm excited to see the 2nd one.
Even though i've never seen any commercials.

Thanks for the review

 

[rejenerate]

Originally posted by OTIS
Man, with the first one, the whole shot in a Missisauga suburban basement thing kinda undermined it.. but then again.. I saw it in a theatre and you naturally have greater expectations when in front of a big screen.

What Spinsah said...I don't think the "suburban basement" aspect undermined it at all. So many horror films are set in the woods/isolated countryside or nameless American small town...I thought it was an interesting setting. I can only imagine being "different" (both mentally and eventually physically) from all the other kids in a suburban high school...that's my nightmare right there!

And since the story revolved around two sisters, it makes sense to have it set in the space they shared...which was also a little isolated from their parents.

~jen

 

[Spinsah]

it was also perfect because it was such a self-imposed exile. mimi rogers surely would have preferred if the two girls had seperate rooms adorned with princess beds and bop cut-outs.

 

[seeker]

There is a review in Eye mag today

 

[Alita]

I saw this over the weekend and I quite liked it. It's hard to come across a horror movie that manages to steer clear of the cheeze factor, and Ginger Snaps 2 did that nicely. The camera work was cool too, artistic enough to give it a distincly Canadian feel and sketchy enough to make me a little dizzy - but curious. And the music was dope. Especially in the into.

 

[zoo]

Originally posted by Spinsah
i from the scenes in the cat walk, to the street hockey,

i heard this scene was filmed at my old highschool Chinguacousy in Brampton ...