Ginger Snaps
Many filmmakers have found metaphors for sexual awakening in werewolf mythology, but director John Fawcett’s terrific Canadian horror comedy reimagines familiar genre tropes with spiky feminist claws and subversively dark humor. Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins play teenage sisters whose dull suburban existence is suddenly shattered when they begin reacting very oddly to the full moon, with menstruation and lycanthropy converging to very bloody effect. Karen Walton’s sharp-witted screenplay elevates GINGER SNAPS way beyond creature-feature trappings.
Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche
- Notes From Duke JohnsonA werewolf movie that subverts the typical metaphors of distinctly masculine primal urges and instead delivers a landmark of feminist horror. A coming-of-age story that focuses on female development, female empowerment and sisterly love. Also, it’s just a really badass werewolf movie! I’ve always admired the film’s depiction of goth teenagers. It feels well observed here, rather than a fashion trend or sexy stereotype. It captures what it’s like to be an adolescent outcast who feels different and alone and, in particular, drawn to the macabre. The Toronto suburbs make for a film that feels both novel and familiar to an American audience. When you don’t recognize anyone (with the exception of Mimi Rogers) or any location in a film, it always feels special.
