Ginger Snaps

REVIEW
Ginger and Brigitte, or the Fitzgerald sisters as they're commonly called, are trapped in high school hell, a "mindless little breeders machine" that is located slightly north of the numbing suburban landscape of American Beauty. Both are obsessed with death, and either one makes Morticia Addams seem giddy by comparison. Quite predictably, they are the school outcasts. However, what happens to them when they taste a little too much of the macabre is anything but predictable in this scintillating comic horror/thriller that plays like Heathers meets An American Werewolf in London. Isabelle is Ginger, the eldest sister, who is attacked one night by a mysterious beast and soon gets in touch with her animal instincts. Perkins is a revelation as her younger sister, a Goth-in-training who surprises no one more than herself when she takes on the dark side. Director Fawcett and writer Karen Walton creatively capture the nuance of being an outsider and the growing terror of the unknown, setting in motion a cutthroat vision of community that is underscored by some truly chilling moments of lycanthrope activity. Good special effects and well-rounded characterizations only add to the pleasure of this subversive little gem. (Sequel: Ginger Snaps 2)