Review of Ginger Snaps

Introduction

"Oh no, not another teen horror" I hear you cry. Well thankfully, this is not another in that long line of I Know What Scary Movie You Screamed at Last Summer type of film. Although the high school setting and some of the "pretty little rich kid" characters might suggest otherwise, this film tries its best to break free from all that nonsense.

Instead of a man or woman with a rubber mask, fish hook, black cloak or long raincoat, we have a beast that is terrorising Bailey Downs and its residents. The Fitzgerald sisters get caught up in this in more ways than one.

This film also gives us another refreshing change, in that we have two relative unknowns in the lead roles, instead of some of the current crop of over-hyped Hollywood starlets. Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins are probably both unknown to you unless you watch a lot of Canadian TV shows. Spookily enough they both appeared in different episodes of the fifth season of The X Files. Their on-screen mother Mimi Rogers also made her first appearance on that show in the very same season!

Video

A fantastic 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer and I don`t think I remember seeing a single flaw on it. This is how all films (and particularly recent ones) should be presented on DVD. The technical quality (contrast, detail, colours) is spot on.

As for the visuals themselves, you`ll get plenty of what you might expect given the subject matter, as well as some surprises. An excellent title sequence (and I hardly ever mention those in my reviews) sets the standard for what is to come.

If it`s blood`n`guts your after, you`ll find plenty of that too, from a trail of dead animals to the innovative school project that those lovely Fitzgerald sisters present to their class.

Audio

A DD5.1 soundtrack which pushes all the right buttons for a horror/thriller. Plenty of bass to try and make you jump out of your seat and some nice directional sounds to get you looking over your shoulder. Some of the music used fits the film very well too.

My one complaint is that some of the dialogue sounded a bit over compressed and had a distorted and slightly tinny sound. Thankfully it`s not like this all the way through, but it does happen enough to be noticable.

Features

Oh dear. And it was all going so well until we got to this bit. You see, whilst this disk does have extras, they pale in comparison to the Canadian R1 edition of this disc which has 2 commentaries (1 by the writer, 1 by the director), 15 deleted scenes (with commentaries), a photo gallery and design artwork, on top of what we get here.

So what do we get? Well, before I mention that, the first thing to mention is the presentation of the extras. They are *all* presented in a window inside the extras screen, similar to some photo galleries on other discs. This is a tad annoying as you get a fair bit less picture to look at.

Ok, here`s what you actually get. First we have 2 featurettes, with the emphasis strictly on the "ette", as they run for about 2 minutes and 5 minutes, and therefore don`t tell you very much about the film.

Probably the best extra is the screen test feature, where you can watch actual footage of the two leads during their screen tests. This is interesting, and it also hints at those deleted scenes on the R1 discs, since there`s some dialogue that`s not in the main film.

You`ll also find the usual production notes, bibliographies and the trailer.

Also included in the DVD box is a short booklet which outlines the chapters, but is also meant to be Brigitte`s diary (a bit different from that other Bridget who kept a diary recently). This shows you some stills along with some text - probably best to avoid it until you`ve watched the film though.

Conclusion

I was thoroughly impressed with Ginger Snaps, and it`s one of the best films that I`ve watched this year. An interesting premise, interesting characters, good script (although not without its faults) and some great delivery and timing from the two leads. I even liked Mimi Rogers` performance as the slightly off-the-wall mum. And I can`t remember the last time I praised a performance by Mimi Rogers.

The disc itself is perfectly acceptable if you`re going to rent this one, with excellent picture, good sound (although the dialogue problems are a slight worry), and a few extras to watch before you take it back.

If you`re looking to buy this disc (and I think quite a few of you will want to), then you must, must, must go and get the Canadian R1 edition due to the superior extras.

Very highly recommended for rental - but look to Canada if you want to buy.