Ginger Snaps Back - The Beginning (2004)

The red & the black - sisters in blood united forever!

The Ginger Snaps Trilogy is made up of Ginger Snaps, Ginger Snaps II:Unleashed, and Ginger Snaps Back:The Beginning. The pair of sisters are played by the same actresses here - Brigitte[Emily Perkins] and Ginger [Katharine Isabelle] reprise their roles in this prequel [though the last of the trilogy].

In this instalment, the year is 1815 and two sisters, Ginger and Brigitte find themselves orphaned after a shipwreck claims thel ives of their parents. They find themselves wandering around in a forest in wintertime, and meet a 'seer', an old woman who tells them "Kill the boy, or one sister will kill the other." After this prophecy, the pair of sisters find themselves being led to a remote trading outpost by a mysterious Native American, the Hunter [Nathaniel Arcand] where they are less than welcome. Turns out that many lives have been lost under mysterious circumstances - and later, the sisters find out that werewolves are stalking the remaining inhabitants of the outpost. When one of the sisters, Ginger, gets bit by a werewolf, both rally around each other trying to keep Ginger's affliction a secret whilst desperately seeking a cure - what happens forms the rest of the story, with some interesting twists.

The acting by the pair of sisters as in the first instalment, Ginger Snaps, is excellent. Both Emily Perkin's Brigitte and Katharine Isabelle's Ginger do a credible job of portraying a pair of devoted sisters who brave all kinds of peril in order to stay together, even in the most dire of circumstances. However, unlike Ginger Snaps, where Emily Perkin's Brigitte [yes, they retain the same names] seemed to be the sister more in control and protective over her sister, here there is a role reversal - despite being the one who is afflicted, Ginger [Katharine Isabelle] is the one who takes the lead and tries to protect her sister.

Of the three, I would rank Ginger Snaps as the best of the trilogy, followed by Ginger Snaps: The Beginning. The second in the series: Ginger Snaps II:Unleashed felt the weakest. Also, this third instalment [unlike the second] can be watched as a stand-alone.

Besides the well-paced narrative and good acting by the leads, the movie was also beautifully shot - the remote 19th century outpost, the creepy woods, and generally eerie atmosphere permeating the surroundings are vividly portrayed. What I did find wanting was the lack in character development of the other residents at the outpost - at about 1.5 hours long, there was not much time to flesh out most of the characters and the movie could have benefited from a longer running time.

All in all - Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning makes for a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and is definitely worth watching for fans of the genre. September 22, 2008

Great Movie

This was a long time fav for me when I first saw it.lol Im very picky about how I like my werewolves to look and this is how I LOVE them to look!^_^ I am very pleased with my order of this video that I am ordering the first Ginger Snaps and the second Ginger Snaps: Unleashed!!^_^ The actors are....well great actors and I am suprised not to see them in more movies. June 14, 2008

Back From The Future...

The Fitzgerald sisters (Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle) are back, WAY back! Set in the 1800s, GINGER SNAPS BACK: THE BEGINNING, takes the girls into the deep woods where magic and terror abound. Seeking refuge at an isolated fort, Bridgette and Ginger must face the hardened occupants who do not seem to appreciate their company. Fear grips the men (there are no other women), and the Fitzgeralds soon find themselves in a battle for survival against hordes of night-beasts! Ginger discovers a dark secret that alters her entire life, leading to one more test of the sisters' ultimate love for each other. This one also has a crazy preacher to dole out the fire and brimstone! He's a one-man hoot-a-thon! Can the gals survive his superstitious insanity? I love all three GS movies and hope there's a fourth (and fifth)! As long as Ms. Perkins and Ms. Isabelle are in them, I'd watch just about anything! They are a great modern horror team. Highly recommended... April 6, 2008

A historical prelude that comes short of the first film

This film may confuse some. It is the third film in the Ginger Snaps story/franchise, but it is essentially a historical prelude. Set in the early 19th century north American frontier (possibly a provice of Canada), the story follows two sisters who come across a cursed and almost abandoned fort (the North Legion Trading Company). The story mimics the basic plot of the first film, but in a historical context. Unlike the original, the sisters believe that if they kill a certain child, they'll be spared or cured of the curse of lycanthropy. The acting is good if not excellent and the mood is certainly creepy and with an air of sinister portent. The lead actresses manage to keep the adolescent angst of the first film, but in the context of 19th century frontier isolation the acting seems a bit anachronistic. Similarly, anachronisms like Ginger boxing with a guard are not in keeping with mores of how women behaved during this time period. Ultimately, the finale seems rushed and inconclusive (perhaps editing to shorten the film). The DVD offers alot of extras and deleted scenes which really make the film better appreciated when viewed. It also offers commentary from the creators. Definitely a good purchase if you are a fan of the Ginger Snaps films. February 28, 2008

Great visuals!

A rare thing for a sequel to be as good as the first one. Involving story, interesting characters, and some snappy dialogue "Our parents drowned?" "Yes, it was quick, they didn't feel a thing"

Heavy in a gothic atmosphere, I thought it was cool that they used an opening sequence from a song called "Spider" from an English Darkwave band called Faithful Dawn. Only a keen ear could determine the song as it is woven into the dream sequence with the old seer in her tent. Creepy indeed!

The only draw back I saw was Emily Perkin's hair. In this film, she is absolutly beautiful with rich, dark cascading hair. But sometimes in the same scene...her hair will go from curly to flat to almost straight to back to a tight curl.

October 29, 2007

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