GINGER SNAPS
(2000)
Dir - John Fawcett
Overall: GOOD
Lycanthropian metaphors take center stage in director John Fawcett and screenwriter Karen Walton's Ginger Snaps; the Canadian, feminist, teenage werewolf movie to dwarf all others. The utilization of rebellious teenagers, aww shucks parents and school bullies in a coming of age scenario is hardly anything new, yet the story here one-ups such cliches by focusing on codependent, social outcast sisters who are at odds with each other due to blossoming womanhood, raging hormones, and full moon monster shenanigans. While the humor occasionally falls flat, (mostly due to Mimi Rogers' aloof mom and Jesse Moss' total scumbag character), the complex dynamic between Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle's Fitzgerald sisters is sincere and compelling. Visually it gives off Lifetime movie vibes, but the gore and makeup effects are strong enough to compensate for the modest budget. Lastly, the film says a lot about self-imposed expectations of women, something that gives their monstrous transformation a sense of attractive empowerment.
(2004)
Dir - Brett Sullivan
Overall: MEH
Whereas the first Ginger Snaps was an intelligently made, heavily lauded Canadian horror outing and one of the very best to deal metaphorically with puberty and teenage sexuality, its sequel Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed is a mess that is not entirely clear at what it is trying to pull off. For the second go round, there is a lot of sloppy and blatant subtext involving drug abuse and mental illness, all of which is mixed with an unclear story structure that leaves several elements dangling in the wind. The movie especially abandons ship for its third act and then drops a twist on us when one was not at all necessary. Up until that point, some awkward performances and tedious pacing do not help, plus Katharine Isabelle's handful of scenes are uninspired and her presence was clearly shoehorned in there, both to give Emily Perkins someone else to sadly talk to and to get fans of the first movie on board since Isabelle has since become a Canadian scream queen. This leaves poor Perkins on her own to look even more miserable and exhausted than she did in the first installment. The movie's intention to deepen its mythology and go somewhere genuinely different than it did before, (which it actually does), is admirable, but for only the second time at bat, all creative parties hit a wall with their fresh yet lame crop of ideas.
(2004)
Dir - Grant Harvey
Overall: MEH
Though just as unnecessary as the other Ginger Snaps sequel, (which was shot back-to-back with this one, though each boasted a different creative team), Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning fares comparatively better than the aforementioned Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed. A period piece set in a winter-torn, early 19th century Hudson Bay, Katherine Isabelle and Emily Perkins portray their ancestors who inexplicably have the exact same names as their early 2000's teenage counterparts and speak in a modern vernacular at times that comes off as silly despite the sincere tone. Television director Grant Harvey concocts a stylistically formulaic experience with jump scares, low-humming music, and actors delivering hackneyed dialog about curses, god's vengeance, and "there is no other way" fate proclamations. While it is nice to see the Fitzgerald sisters interacting with pilgrims and indigenous folk instead of douchebag high school students and clueless parents, the plot line here wields no surprises and the schlocky presentation has none of the clever feminist, teen-angst, or coming-of-age metaphors present in John Fawcett and Karen Walton's wonderful original. It certainly could have been worse as far as redundant, cash-grab franchise installments go, (again, see Ginger Snaps 2), but it is harmless, grim fun for those whose demands are minimal.
No comments:
Post a Comment