Plot
This film uses werewolfism as a metaphor for puberty. One of the Fitzgerald sisters, suburban goth girl outcasts, gets bitten by something in the woods (and it ain't a neighborhood dog).
Storyline Is becoming a woman analogous, in some deep psychological way, to becoming a werewolf? Ginger is 16, edgy, tough, and, with her younger sister, into staging and photographing scenes of death. They've made a pact about dying together. In early October, on the night she has her first period, which is also the night of a full moon, a werewolf bites Ginger. Within a few days, some serious changes happen to her body and her temperament. Her sister Brigitte, 15, tries to find a cure with the help of Sam, a local doper. As Brigitte races against the clock, Halloween and another full moon approach, Ginger gets scarier, and it isn't just local dogs that begin to die.
Writers: Karen Walton, John Fawcett
Cast: Emily Perkins
-
Brigitte
Katharine Isabelle
-
Ginger
Kris Lemche
-
Sam
Mimi Rogers
-
Pamela
Jesse Moss
-
Jason
Danielle Hampton
-
Trina
John Bourgeois
-
Henry
Peter Keleghan
-
Mr. Wayne
Christopher Redman
-
Ben
Jimmy MacInnis
-
Tim
Lindsay Leese
-
Nurse Ferry
Wendii Fulford
-
Ms. Sykes
Ann Baggley
-
Mother
Graeme Robertson
-
Toddler
Maxwell Robertson
-
Toddler
Opening Weekend: £27,049
(UK)
(1 July 2001)
(17 Screens)
Gross: $2,554
(USA)
(1 November 2001)
Technical Specs
Runtime:|
Argentina:
(Mar del Plata Film Festival)
Did You Know?
Trivia: Karen Walton was apprehensive about being screenwriter because of the horror genres reputation of negatively portraying women. Director John Fawcett convinced Walton that the film would break these cliches and Walton took the role of screenwriter.
Goofs:
Continuity:
In every scene that Sam is smoking he takes a drag but when the camera changes angle no smoke comes back out of his mouth.
Quotes: Ginger:
You swore we'd go together, one way or another. Brigitte:
When we were eight.
User Review
Ginger snapped alright!
Rating:
Somehow I had missed catching up with this almost "underground" flick
although I had it mentally logged as one to check-out. (sorry, check
'oat'....it's Canadian) Addressed that problem yesterday when I picked up
the dvd from a $5.95 bargain bin!
I'll keep it simple. This is, if not the best horror film I have ever
seen...pretty damn close to it! It is the ONLY horror film that has ever
"touched me" emotionally and that it achieved this is quite extraordinary.
As a werewolf film it is simply outstanding - blows digitised crap like
UNDERWORLD out of the water. The very budgetary constraints of the film
HELPED ultimately - the director having to rely on old-fashioned "acting"
to
hold up viewer credibility. Although Isabelle is the "Ginger" of the title
and she is soo damned good, it is Perkins as Brigitte that commands
respect
for her effort.
The Fitzgerald sisters with their fascination for 'staged horror' find
themselves very much on the outer in the school social hierarchy. It is
not
until Ginger is bitten by a werewolf, in what is undoubtedly the most
graphic and realistic lycanthropic savaging ever filmed...that they are
forced even further into social isolation. What neither the sisters OR the
film ever lose sight of however is their sisterly bond, itself consummated
by a blood-pact at childhood.
There is nothing predictable or unoriginal about this film, from the
script
to the camera angles, right up to the heartfelt tragedy itself of Ginger's
condition. And that is why this film leaves most other horror films in its
wake - it is multi-dimensional with strong characterizations. Mimi Rogers
even, in a smallish part as the girls' mother is spot on hitting the exact
right note as a frustrated mother and increasingly unfulfilled
wife.
The film weaves brilliantly the coming-of-age pains with the physical
transformation brought on by the lycanthropic condition. Marvellous
imagery
of menstrual blood at critical moments.
Mention should also be made of Kris Lemche's role as Sam, the school
druggie
and the only friend they have, not that Ginger is interested. Somewhat
Christian Slaterish in mannerisms, he contributes strongly to the film's
success.
Superbly handled conclusion with both excellent werewolf effects and the
saddest of photographic recollections....nothing one would expect to see
in
formula horror flicks devoted to this subject matter. The very last scene
is
both moving and inspired.
Obviously I am not alone in this perception. The film carries one of the
highest rankings for its genre. I would personally nudge it up to a 7.5
but
thats neither here nor there.
Why it received such limited theatrical release worldwide I cannot begin
to
imagine, but the production teams behind SCREAM, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID....,
CABIN FEVER, TCM, DOG SOLDIERS and myriad other clones, should take a long
hard look at this and find out HOW to make (and stage) a horror film with
pretty much no money!
I would have considered that $19.95 for the dvd was money well
spent!
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