 Next you're checking out this movie review video. This is for the 2000 film ginger snaps, which in my opinion is one of the better Werewolf films. I know I've said actually, I don't know what order that they're coming out I might put ginger snaps review out first, but I also have a review for dog soldiers Which is also a pretty good one, but I said in the review for that one that you know There aren't a huge amount of werewolf films I like a good werewolf film and of the small amount of werewolf films out there There aren't that many that are actually all that good now dog soldiers a pretty solid one ginger snaps I think is even better this one. I'm a fan. I remember the first time I saw it Actually, this might only be like the second no might maybe the third time I've actually seen it But it's been a while since the last time so I actually forgot a bunch of stuff about the film So it was good to rewatch it, but when I'm putting up this review It's available available. Sorry available for streaming on the shutter service. So This was written and directed by John John Fawcett. Yes, like a faucet Mainly he's done shows directed shows some of the ones that people would know Xena warrior princess And I only put down Excuse me. I only put down ones where he did multiple episodes of so Xena Xena warrior princess Lost girl orphan black and the man in the high castle So mainly just done TV, but did gender snaps did a good job with it This was also he did a directing but also did some of the writing But the majority of the script writing and the story idea came from Karen Walton Who's written episodes for queer as folk and orphan black as well. So Catherine Isabelle plays ginger in this. I think she has the best performance of anyone in the film She had the most demanding role and she did an awesome awesome job with it Emily Perkins as Bridget did a good job as well but She's you know, I think in comparison to Catherine Isabelle She got kind of shown up a little bit unfortunately, but Emily Perkins did a did a pretty good job. She hasn't really done a whole lot since so I'm I didn't you know Put anything down for her But Catherine Isabelle has gone on to do a bunch of other horror To the horror stuff still fighting things. How long is this gonna last? I might have bronchitis. I don't know but anyway, so Catherine Isabelle was in disturbing behavior bones insomnia Freddie versus Jason American Mary which I still have yet to see Ceno evil to ginger snaps to unleashed and gender ginger snaps back Back to the beginning So as you can tell there are two sequels to this I have not seen the sequels. I don't know if I will I've not Excuse me. I've not heard that I particularly need to see them. So So this film actually had a budget of four point five million dollars and it only made five hundred and seventy two thousand seven hundred and eighty one dollars at the box office, so I'm assuming I mean the majority of the support for this film has been kind of like a cult following after the fact on DVD and Blu-ray actually doesn't even Doesn't have a Blu-ray. I hope it does because here's the thing The version that's on shutter doesn't look as good as you would think it would for a Blu-ray So I think it's still just DVD quality But tell me in the comments people if you know if there have been Blu-rays this I should probably buy this movie. This movie is good So Karen Walton was initially it's super reluctant to actually do the script and get involved The main reason being is she was aware of the kind of Trope in in the horror genre where you know female characters are typically kind of weak But John Fawcett said to her look we can do something totally different. We can make them much stronger characters. That's fine Let's do it So she agreed to do it for that reason and you can see it in the film that these are obviously much stronger characters Around the time the movie was being worked on They had the Columbine shooting and then there was also another school shooting in Alberta, Canada So that was kind of like a teen violence thing was was a big problem especially within schools and obviously this film has to do with some teen violence and in school in high school So there was a lot of backlash from people when they heard that this film was being made because it was kind of Tagged as a teen slasher film and people were like ooh bad timing. So that may have actually played into Sorry that may have actually played into the issue of it not doing all that well when it actually came out I'm sorry about this. I just This is all I have to put the reviews out. This is all I can do So Perkins was actually four years older than Isabelle But she ended up being cast as the younger sister She looks like she could be the younger sister like they look close enough in age that you could say you could go Either way with it, but I just think it's kind of funny that the one who is four years older than the other one gets Cast as the younger sister, but it worked. So I guess that's all that matters Ginger's metamorphosis involved seven hours to apply prosthetics and took an additional two hours after shooting to take off That is commitment as an actress that probably sucks terribly. Can you imagine just sitting there for seven hours? Having things applied to you you have to be pretty still And then two hours to take it all off Like I feel like when you're done with that after seeing through seven hours doing all the shooting you get to You need to take another two hours You probably just feel like you just want to start tearing it off and be like it there But you have to keep it intact because it's got to go back on So but that's just crazy. The soundtrack is a good one if you like metal or harder music I don't some of you wouldn't technically call metal. I don't think but some of the ones the better bands that I had Written down because there's some bands on there that I kind of don't like like saliva. I was like, yeah, but glass jaw soul fly fear factory and hate breed Pretty good. There's a good soundtrack So now to the actual events of the film itself the savagely mall dog in the beginning is a really strong way to start It let you let you know that there is something very very wrong going on in this suburban neighborhood and they do a good job of kind of establishing that it's definitely like a Typical ish suburban neighborhood and then they show the problem with the dead dog and it's kind of like, oh, no People aren't safe because it you know, it looks like oh, it should it's the suburbs It should be pretty safe and then there's something awry The girls look like they live in prison because they're living in the basement First of all, it makes sense for how death obsessed and how God they are that they're living in the basement Like they would choose to and they're even living in like it looks like it's a Unfinished portion of the basement too, even though they have a bathroom there, but the walls are like gross. It's very very dark I don't think there are any windows their beds look super uncomfortable. They literally look like prison beds So I just thought that was kind of interesting. It keeps things very dark, but it also seems weird I don't know I would I would assume that that was the sister's choice To live down there because they're so death obsessed and into like darkness in the macabre Their death photo shoot is actually a really awesome visual way to kind of show how death obsessed they are instead of just talking about it Or showing it in a different way or having dialogue between characters on it It's a visual way of telling a story and that's always better if you can do that So it's pretty cool. Got the point through they waste no time laying out all the crappy stuff that the Fitzgerald sisters end up having to put up with in school being objectified by guys because they're maturing Getting bullied by other girls girls getting kind of bullied by other guys And then also not really being appreciated by their teachers the whole thing with their photo shoot You know some of their peers see the value in what they were doing in the artistry of it, but then The teachers like I'm just disgusted. This is terrible instead of focusing on how much time it took and how good it looks And they could have approached it in a different way and kind of been like This is really good. You have very good skills. Maybe focus it a little bit differently You know instead of just being like i'm disgusted and this is terrible because that it's such a strong reaction It just repels the kids So it's no coincidence that ginger gets attacked by a werewolf as soon as she gets her period um And then I wrote here comes a very messed up and accelerated form of puberty in the form of lycanthropy So obviously this film really um kind of ties female puberty and and finally getting a period to lycanthropy and kind of that confusion That goes along with the body changing. It's like a very hyperbolic version of that of You know going through puberty. This is very much a coming of age film like that and it's it substitutes that which is also very interesting because sometimes There's this confusion of like what's going on here. It are some of her feelings or behaviors Attributable to her going through puberty or is it attributable to um The lycanthropy so and and ginger actually herself has those confusions as well So this is kind of a way to take it into the horror realm and show a girl going through her body changes And having a really hard time with it like really hard time with it at this point And even her sister because it impacts bridget as well as bridget watching this She kind of feels like she's being left behind because she hasn't gotten her period yet She certainly hasn't been bitten by the werewolf At least early on in it and yeah Which by the way spoilers in this if I didn't say that I didn't say that spoilers Uh all the spoilers in this one Ginger's resistance to going through puberty seems to spawn From not wanting male attention and fearing she'll become normal She looks around and sees at her high school how everyone else is reacting and she doesn't want to be that So when she gets her period, um, she really starts to feel fearful Because she thinks that maybe that might take her to where these people are because they even make a point of saying that Bridget and ginger are kind of behind in getting their periods So, um, they've had plenty of time to kind of see how everyone else goes through changes other girls And guys too and they don't like that. They don't like what those people have become So ginger's fear of of becoming those people is very very real to her because she's like, you know I don't know what's going on with my body. I don't know how this is going to affect how I feel and how I behave And I'm just afraid that I'm going to be that terrible person or that terrible person that I hate so much And bridge, it's afraid of that too because like I said, she's being left behind And she's just afraid that ginger's going to become one of those people. She actually Verbalizes to her that fear that fear at one point and very effectively So there's a lot going on here. It's very relationship based with the sisters and going through lots of changes both of them The classroom video about a foreign body taking over Um, a cell is actually a very clear for shadowing. I mean, it's kind of the parallel Of this is what's being shown in the video about a foreign body infecting someone and taking over meanwhile right next to to um Bridget her sister is starting to go through the changes of lycanthropy, which is like a foreign body So, yeah I mean it is a foreign body because it's more Looked at as an affliction and not just You know a monster situation. I'll talk a little bit more about that later Bridget isn't a bad spot Sorry because she's not just watching her sister change from lycanthropy, but also changing in social behavior and status She's losing her sister in multiple ways at this point And that's why she reacts so harshly and she seeks help and seeks help in the, you know, local drug dealer Sorry local drug dealer, dude. Um Crap, what is his name in this? Sorry, I don't even remember his name in this just drug dealer guy Um, but it's very surprising that he actually ends up being a good person It's not surprising that he ends up being smart because he's used to you know Kind of like botany. He's kind of into botany because he's growing all sorts of plants And I like the relationships that's that has forged between the drug dealer and Bridget. It's a cool one I like the Bridget watches Werewolf movies to try and figure things out. That is definitely what a high schooler in this situation would do because They didn't they wouldn't know what else to do What resources do you have available movies? The the flesh tail that ginger starts getting Especially when you first see it when um, Bridget kind of pulls her underwear back and she sees it and she's like, uh It looks really weird. It's kind of gross and creepy at the same time So very effective and then as it keeps growing and they're like the funny moment where they're like using electrical tape to tape it to her leg That's pretty funny Which actually that's very similar to when she was trying to hide her period the fact that she was bleeding down there Um It's kind of a parallel like hiding the tail hiding the fact that she has her period. It's very interesting She also seemed to be hiding the fact that she was getting larger breasts as well Even though it does get noticed, but she was wearing like baggier Um baggier clothing and in the beginning that that one dude mccarty who she ends up getting it on with Um and biting a lot a lot um He notices like at that moment. It's it's supposed to kind of signal that like they're started She specifically is starting to get noticed because she's going through her body changes because he notices he says Oh, man, she's got a rack now So she was obviously kind of trying to hide that as well um Ginger is so confused between her period and lycanthropy She said she thought her hunger was for sex, but it was actually to eat to bite to to potentially kill So like I was talking about before like she's so confused like what is The change the natural change in my body or the lycanthropy like she can't figure it out So, you know that goes along with her sister goes along a little bit with the audience So they do a good job of kind of letting the audience know these types of things I laughed when that dude mccarty started pissing blood his reaction to it was just really funny And that's the other thing is like there are comedic moments in this film Some of them that aren't supposed to be but they play well as being funny other ones That were supposed to be and they are funny. There's not a ton of comedy But when it is kind of comedic it lands well it does really well and it doesn't detract from the film It is interesting at this point though when he starts peeing blood because they're now kind of presenting lycanthropy as a sexually transmitted disease So they've now moved it to an std and you kind of see it with mccarty and the way he starts to change because he gets like all these sores all over his face And the peeing blood thing is is a very clear reference to an std And it was sexually transmitted even though she had bitten him as well. I assume she probably scratched him too Um, I don't remember if that's like specifically talked about but Yeah, but it's you know It's insinuated that they had sex too because he's like oh she rocked my world But in what way I like the twist of the drug dealer actually being helpful and being a solid guy I already talked about that, but it bears repeating. That was good. I love the moment Sorry, I love the moment Bridget asked her mom what guys want to distract her from seeing the dead body In the freezer. That was a really good funny moment It felt awkward, but it felt funny at the same time But like intentionally awkward like awkward for the characters not awkward with the way it was done That was a good moment Ginger's quote on categorization of females in our society was a really strong Statement. This is a really good quote. I wrote it down verbatim. She said a girl can only be a slut a bitch A tease or the virgin girl next door And she basically says we should play on that because otherwise, you know No one's going to suspect me of being a werewolf of being the one who's killing people or killing the dogs Because these are the only ways you get categorized, especially as a high school girl And for the most part that's pretty true. I feel like I mean that may have changed a little bit since 2000 And I feel like to a degree it has but at least when I was in high school Yeah, that's kind of how it was we as a society kind of have a problem with Wanting to categorize everything and every one just to make things easier For talking about them for thinking about them and it's not necessarily correct It's this kind of issue of people wanting everything to be a or b black or white But in reality, there's so much in between. There's so much gray matter Life in general is almost all gray matter everything in between Nothing is as neat as that is but we always want to try and boil it down to like one or two traits And they just call it that whether it's a person or a thing or a group of people or whatever And that's like that's one of the biggest issues with our society in my opinion Is the oversimplification of things when it shouldn't be simplified Ginger's gradual physical changes work well and they're actually paced extremely well Yeah, also her behavioral because her behavioral changes happen gradually along with her physical changes And I think they kind of mirror each other and it just works The greenhouse Sorry Sorry, so I'm very sorry for this the greenhouse is a cool shooting location I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure it really makes sense because How is it that this guy who's a drug dealer who's a high school student has access to this greenhouse and no one really knows about it And he's like growing weed there But it's a cool shooting location and it looks good, especially when they like dress it up for the halloween party It looks really cool. I just like that as a location The end portion in the house is pretty tense And the lichen throat looks quite good once ginger turns into it um This goes back to another thing and I say this during my dog soldiers review as well the Situation of being in a confined space being the house and it happens in dog soldiers as well It ups the stakes. It's ups the intensity of what's going on because there's only so far that you can go In this film in particular, it's up even more because of the fact that Um, oh sam. That's right. That's who the drug dealer is sam Sam and bridget are going after ginger. They're not trying to run away So it's even more dangerous and even if there's a point where You know in their mind it turns and they want to get out. It's going to be hard. So I just like that Bridget has also changed through this ordeal most strongly signaled when she says i'm not dying to ginger at the end When she's being about to be attacked She was obsessed with dying prior to that and that's kind of the moment where you see The biggest change in her in the beginning she talks about dying She's very death obsessed and at the end she basically sheds that and I view it kind of as She's matured, but she's also been forced through these traumatic events and through seeing her Sister go through all this stuff. She's been forced to grow up She's been forced to change her worldview and she's been forced to Literally face death head on In a few different ways and realize I don't think I want that for me so You potentially should have picked up on Something else going on when the mother puts the fingers in the fridge now when I was watching this I originally thought that it was going to add an extra twist at the end where the mom Was the werewolf who originally bit ginger And I think that would have been actually pretty cool to put in there and it would have worked And I say that because I feel like the track was laid for it Like when the mom finds the fingers and then she's like, oh, it's probably just you know The girl's doing their their death photos or whatever But then she puts them in a Tupperware container in the fridge Indicating that she thinks they're real fingers because otherwise why would she put them in the refrigerator? That doesn't make any sense Then she talks about oh, I feel like this is all my fault And then she talks about well, we can just blow up the house basically and run away and start a new life And she doesn't even want to take her husband with her So I feel like all those things indicate that she could have been the werewolf and that the Both the girls were going to turn into werewolves anyway and Ginger being attacked just accelerated the fact that she turned into a werewolf Now tell me what you think about that in the comments. Do you think that would have been good with the film? I kind of wanted it to go that way. It's still good the way it is I still quite like the film But I felt like that little extra bit could have been good or maybe that's maybe that happens in the second one I don't know. Like I said, I haven't seen it So I love the commitment in this film to practical effects I always love when people commit to practical effects when they have cg at their disposal It always looks better practical effects always look better, especially for Years decades down the road The script was very carefully crafted and that really really shows I think Karen Walton did an exceptional job with this. You can tell that she puts so much into this So much thought so many parallels that she puts in there. It's really It's a great script to be honest So I this is a coming-of-age film that uses the confusion and pain of lycanthropy as a substitute for puberty Although puberty is also happening Which like I was talking about before Creates that kind of confusion for everyone involved and including the audience of is this puberty Is this lycanthropy or are they kind of one in the same in this instance? So And then my final thing The use of the word lycanthrope in this instead of werewolf shows intent To paint those with it as afflicted and not just monsters Werewolf is the monster itself and the end result lycanthropy is an actual condition and it's even Kind of tied in like I was saying in the in the um when they're watching the video about the foreign body attacking cells in class Like it's drawing that parallel between lycanthropy and a foreign body So it's showing it as kind of a disease a condition and people who have it are afflicted It's not their fault whereas if they just focus on werewolf You're just focusing on the end result of the change of the disease the condition and it's just a monster So I thought that was very interesting that that was a very intentional choice To always say lycanthropy and not say werewolf so Just saying uh, and that's all I have for the film. I quite like this like I said It's not a perfect film. It's not the best film I've ever seen but it's I enjoy it So How many stars to give this out of five stars with half stars in play? I'm gonna go ahead and give this four stars Uh, I quite like it. I was between four and four and a half Uh, the directing is good in this too, which I forgot to say as well, but um, yeah I'm gonna give it a four. I was between four and four and a half if I did quarters I'd do 4.25, but I don't so I'm going four Really good rating. Um quite like this film recommended to everyone Like I said one of the best in my opinion werewolf films I love american werewolf in london like everyone does love the howling like everyone does dog soldiers is a good one I think ginger snaps is better. So Um, are there any other ones i'm missing? I don't like bad moon. I have a review for bad moon on my channel. So you can check that out I don't like it. There are some other ones. I haven't seen yet that I've heard good things about like wolfen I also haven't seen howl which that's coming to shutter. I know so put some comments down there Let's talk about this film. Let's talk about werewolf films in general. Give me your favorite werewolf films I want to know because if I haven't seen them, I should go looking for them Uh, and then please hit that subscribe button if you're not already subscribed That's your way to repay me for doing any of these videos if you like what i'm doing It's quick and painless for you means a lot for me. Uh, and if you're already subscribed Just hit that like button to let me know you're still watching and you want to Encourage me, but uh, thanks everyone for checking this out and until next time keep it brutal