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Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning |
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Thursday, 08 July 2004 |
  Ginger Snaps Back, which follows Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, places our gloomy heroines in 19th century Canada. For those unfamiliar with the series, lovely young Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) is bitten by a werewolf in Ginger Snaps. Her budding lycanthropy plays out as an analogy to the onset of womanhood, a neat little twist on the standard werewolf tale. Eventually her primal side takes over completely and her sister Brigitte (Emily Perkins) is forced to put her down. Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed follows Brigitte's trials as she is stalked by a male werewolf and aided by Ginger's ghost. It lacks the subtext of the original, but manages to keep itself interesting with a couple of unexpected twists. With Ginger Snaps Back, the story backtracks to the Canadian wilderness of nearly two centuries ago.
Ginger and Brigitte (I suppose one of them is the ancestor of their modern-day counterparts) barely escape an accident that claims the lives of their parents. They may be alive, but they're not safe; for the woods echo with the howling of hungry wolves. They come upon a ravaged Indian village where the only survivor is an old woman who frightens them with ominous visions. Eventually they make their way to a trader's fort. But the fort is no haven. The traders are a hostile bunch, an attitude that may have something to do with the fresh graves that dot the fort compound. Only the commander is sympathetic towards the girls, but he has secrets and his authority hangs by a thread. It isn't long before Ginger and Brigitte discover what's going on: werewolves prowl the forest, ripping apart unwary men. The fort inhabitants are beseiged and with their food supplies dwindling, are in a desperate situation. As fate would have it, Ginger is soon bitten by one of the creatures. How long can her love for her sister hold off the inevitable?
The plot of Ginger Snaps Back is your basic "group of isolated people fighting off monsters" tale (see Aliens, Deep Blue Sea, etc.), but the almost-novel setting (those who've seen Ravenous will know what I mean) saves the film from being just another mediocre sequel. The wild and wintry locale, better-than-average supporting cast, and budget-belying production design also help to raise the film a notch above average. Director Grant Harvey spruces up the proceedings with some artsy camerawork and a generous helping of gore. The only real debits are a dubious plot revelation and some anachronistic dialogue.
I say bring on another sequel. (I want to see what happens after Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, dammit!)
Starring: Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, Nathaniel Arcand, JR Bourne, Hugh Dillon.
Director: Grant Harvey
Studio: Lions Gate Flms
Rated: R
Running Time: 94 mins
Release: 2004
Reviewer: Steve Gonzales |
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