Allegories are nothing new to the horror genre, or fiction in general, but oftentimes they're rather forced and/or unimaginative. There are of course some good examples, like X-Men, but often, especially in horror, it's painfully obvious what the allusion is meant to be and what the film makers want to say with it. It ain't exactly subtle, is what I'm saying. Which is why it's often better to not even attempt to be subtle and make the painfully obvious allegory slash symbolism work for you.
Such is the case of Ginger Snaps. Two sisters, Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) are hilariously alternative teenagers. They're into goths, suicides, the colour purple and living in the most dungeon-like basement I've seen in a while. Yet it doesn't feel fake, but just the right amount of over the top. But everything takes a turn for the worse when one of them changes. Both into a woman and a werewolf. Suddenly she's all about blood and lust and mating and bitching at people, leaving her poor virginal sister behind. I said the allegory was painfully obvious, didn't I. But, it works because the film is honest about it. It plays it off as a joke, with tongue firmly in cheek, which turns a groan-worthy B-movie shlock into quite hilarious horror parody, which is still works as a straight horror film as well. Almost like Stephen King's Carrie meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
It also helps that the two main leads are both fantastic. Isabelle is the more typical horror heroine with the looks and the lines, which makes her a great partner for Perkins, whose portrayal of a wallflower shut-in Brigitte is one of the better ones I've seen. She's shy and the oddball in school, but she has character and smarts to make her more than a stereotype.
The movie's only real fault is the third act, which is rather predictable and clichéd as far as monster horror movies go. There are some good twists, but it does drag quite badly and the ending is not worthy of the buildup. It's not really even all that awful, but it is disappointing when compared to the tone and promise of the two previous acts.
Still, Ginger Snaps is a great movie to check out if you're into campy horror movies that know not to take themselves too seriously.
Such is the case of Ginger Snaps. Two sisters, Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) are hilariously alternative teenagers. They're into goths, suicides, the colour purple and living in the most dungeon-like basement I've seen in a while. Yet it doesn't feel fake, but just the right amount of over the top. But everything takes a turn for the worse when one of them changes. Both into a woman and a werewolf. Suddenly she's all about blood and lust and mating and bitching at people, leaving her poor virginal sister behind. I said the allegory was painfully obvious, didn't I. But, it works because the film is honest about it. It plays it off as a joke, with tongue firmly in cheek, which turns a groan-worthy B-movie shlock into quite hilarious horror parody, which is still works as a straight horror film as well. Almost like Stephen King's Carrie meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
It also helps that the two main leads are both fantastic. Isabelle is the more typical horror heroine with the looks and the lines, which makes her a great partner for Perkins, whose portrayal of a wallflower shut-in Brigitte is one of the better ones I've seen. She's shy and the oddball in school, but she has character and smarts to make her more than a stereotype.
The movie's only real fault is the third act, which is rather predictable and clichéd as far as monster horror movies go. There are some good twists, but it does drag quite badly and the ending is not worthy of the buildup. It's not really even all that awful, but it is disappointing when compared to the tone and promise of the two previous acts.
Still, Ginger Snaps is a great movie to check out if you're into campy horror movies that know not to take themselves too seriously.
