Ginger Snaps 4K
review by Bobby Blakey
I am a lover of all things’ werewolf. In 2000 a new breed of werewolf film came out of nowhere in the form of Ginger Snaps starring Katharine Isabelle, Emily Perkins, Kris Lemche and Mimi Rogers from director John Fawcett. The film spawned a trilogy with the sequel Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed and the prequel Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning both in 2004. Now the one that started it all is making its way onto 4K for the first time.
Ginger Snaps follows death-fixated teenage sisters Ginger and Brigitte, who are attacked one night by a creature drawn to Ginger’s first menstrual period. Bitten by the creature, Ginger soon exhibits sudden aggression and bizarre transformations that convince Brigitte her sister is turning into a werewolf…and that Ginger’s embrace of her liberating new condition may be terminal.
I remember discovering this film back when it first came to DVD and was instantly hooked. Even all these years later it still sits in the top five werewolf films for me and revisiting it with this new release nothing has changed. The story blends the typical teen drama with the horror world of the lycanthrope with a touch of death obsession to create something fresh a new for the genre. The film is fully carried by Isabelle and Perkins who share a strong bond that shines through in their performances. They aren’t the typical teens with their obsessed with death and planned suicide make it something different and uncomfortable right out the gate.
This focus on teen suicide and obsession with death as though it is meaningless other than to teach the world a lesson is sadly a real-world issue and for those that have dealt with this in any form might find some of this hard to watch. That being said, the opening montage of all their death photo
creations are both disturbing and fun to watch in all their graphic beauty. It’s such a small part of the movie, but visually impactful and smashes the obsession home to understand who they are.
They have a simple set up for the werewolf dangers that never gets a full explanation, nor does it need one. It just is and I love it for that. The use of all practical effects and man in suit for the werewolf add that charm to the film that I love and it all looks great. Sure, some might find some of it kind of cheesy, but I think that is why it works. The infusion of the terrors of the creature feature blending with real life issues such as assault, bullying, rape and everything in between leaves plenty of social commentary within this masterful werewolf feature like nothing else of the time.
I still love this film as much as I did when I first saw it. The 4K transfer looks great but thankfully doesn’t mess much with the gritty tone or visuals thanks to the practical effects. This film had a slow start before becoming the cult classic it is now and I hope this new release just pushes it into a whole new generation and maybe we can get some 4K releases of the prequel and sequel soon as well.
In addition to the film in high-def this release offers up legacy bonus content including commentary, trailer, TV spots, deleted scenes, featurettes and so much more. Grab your copy of Ginger Snaps when it transforms onto 4K available now for the first time from Vestron and Lionsgate.