Father Geek here with a review from merry olde England of my favorite flick from this year's SXSW Film Festival back in March. I really hope this film makes it to the BIG screens here in the states, its the BEST "werewolf" sub-genre motion picture I've seen in many years and the images and sounds deserve the best possible presentation available...
Now on to Blue Lou's review...
First time I've sent in a review, as the States gets most flicks before the U.K. I'm glad to say that this weekend not 1, but 3, independent flicks were all unleashed on the fickle U.K. cinema market, albeit on limited release. Hopefully I'll see TAXI 2 and 'The Princess and the warrior' over the next few days.Onto the much heralded 'Ginger Snaps'.
I'm quite a cynical movie-goer, usually they don't match up to the hype, but this movie deserves all the buzz it is getting. A fine example of how horror movies can be at least partly self parody, and still be damn scary. This is the anthesis of such crap as 'valentine' and urban legend. With a fertile imagination a limited budget goes a long way.
Okay, here's a quick run down of the plot: Ginger and Bridget are 2 Canadian high school girls, aged 15 and 13. Trouble is, they're a couple of years late menstruating, and their main ambition is to commit suicide, hopefully by the age of 16. For a school project they fake their own deaths in a multitude of different ways.
One night they venture out to take a look at whatever has been killing all the neighbourhood dogs, and Ginger is scratched by...something. It is then run over and killed,
(no adherence to traditional werewolf remedies here, a long overdue snub to Hollywood perhaps?)
and the guy responsible helpfully classifies the roadkill as a Lycanthrope, in a slightly unbelievable leap of logic.
Ginger, however, has a new lust for life...
I won't reveal anymore of the plot, because you really should see it for yourself.
The performances: The girl who plays Ginger has a bright future. She is the definition of raw sexuality. Even at the end, in the party scene, despite looking slightly...different, I still had carnal thoughts.
Her sister is just as good. This is the most realistic depiction of teenage alienation I've ever seen. Head down, eyes burning. A font of misplaced rage indeed.
Mimi Rogers,as the helpful but clueless mom who only wants to explain 'what boys want', is very funny.
The other players have their moments, but it is the two sisters who shine.
The Effects:
The limited budget is extraordinarily well used. Thankfully, there are no fake CGI transformation scenes, unlike An American Werewolf in Paris. The changes Ginger undergoes are, up until the final act, gradual. More like symptoms of a disease. Imaginative camera angles complete the effect.
The Sound and score:
This is one of the most effective parts of the movie. It draws you in, envelopes you, and increases the tension, without being intrusive, unlike say the music in the haunting remake or I know what you did...etc. The DVD had better have 5.1 Dolby digital/DTS etc, the growling at the end is worth it alone.
To sum up, this is the most original, visceral, incisive, and flat out scary flicks I've seen in a long time. Funny as well, without descending into a mindless rip-off. It is also a brilliant illustration of the turbulence of adolescence.
Equal parts Heavenly Creatures, The Breakfast Club and An American Werewolf in London (NOT Paris), go see this film when it hits the states. In London it's showing at the UGC cinema Haymarket, next to Piccadilly. Coincidently where David in American Werewolf in London went on his final rampage. Horror comes full circle.
Apologies for rambling,
Blue_lou Boyle.
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