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Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004) More at IMDbPro »

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89 comments in total

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21 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Watchable, but shallow, 6 September 2005

Author: matt-1252 from United States

What made the original Ginger Snaps a classic horror movie is the way it used the genre to explore universal themes. It offered a unique take on sibling rivalry, death, suicide, puberty, feminism, sexuality and love. Most poignantly, it gave us Ginger, a complex character with a genuine hatred of herself and everything around her.

Ginger Snaps also introduced Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins, two talented, beautiful and utterly believable actresses. So while I was a bit put off by the premise of Ginger Snaps Back, I was excited for the chance to watch the girls reprise their roles.

Ginger Snaps Back is a very watchable movie. It re-imagines the sisters in a different era, which is interesting. It's creepy. The special effects are much better than in the original. The climax is very cool. And the sisters are both perfectly portrayed. Unfortunately, when it was over, I wasn't thinking about my own mortality. I was just thinking, "Hey, cool werewolves."

I was also irritated by the dialog. Most of the time, the characters speak in stilted sentences appropriate to the era. But occasionally, Ginger drops a pithy one liner or a curse word which seems completely out of place.

The supporting cast was filled with stereotypes. The harsh minister and the sage native American hunter were especially flat.

Ginger Snaps Back gives you two things. An entertaining werewolf movie. And an excuse to watch two talented actresses portray Ginger and Brigitte. But it doesn't give you anything beyond that.

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18 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
A great movie in its own right, 19 May 2005

Author: rob30316 from United States

Neither sequel has been nearly as good as the original, but considering how brilliant "Ginger Snaps" was, no one could reasonably expect that. Actually, my main disappointment with both sequels is that I wanted what GS had--horror, humor, hipness, irony. But anytime there's a sequel that tries to be the original, it fails because it tried to emulate the first installment. Both sequels have completely different story lines and character. The only real continuity is in the characterization and the themes. And that's a brilliant decision. I probably liked "The Beginning" better than "Unleashed," but I just finished watching the former, so I can't be objective. It is, in its own right, a really terrific film. All of the films have had their fair share of visual panache, but this one is so beautiful it reminded me of "Sleepy Hollow" at times. I almost wish they'd been released under completely different titles--I can't help but compare the sequels to the original, and they're not really sequels. They all feature the same two leading actress; they're all about werewolves; "Unleashed" even picks up after the first left off. But you could watch "Unleashed" without having seen "Ginger Snaps" and still know what's going on, and since the third starts close to 200 years before the first, you obviously don't have to see the others. They're separate films connected by actresses and themes, as I see it. Speaking of the actresses--Emily Perkins and Isabelle Katherine are, of course, beyond reproach. Their direction is wrong; they don't fit in to the milieu they're put in, but I think that's a director error. Or the director's way of maintaining the integrity of the characters we know from the first two movies. Ginger and Bridget can't exactly be Puritans, can they? Next to the drop-dead brilliant score Mike Shields composed for the original, this soundtrack doesn't stand a chance. But it works very, very well with the setting and the action. I had to watch one scene towards the end (the fire) twice only because of the music. One thing I absolutely loved, though found a bit campy--Ginger spends half the movie dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, though her hood, and the rest of her clothes, are black...It makes for some stunning cinematography, though. So basically, after "Ginger Snaps," it's a bit of a letdown. But not taking the original into account, it's an incredible film that you shouldn't miss.

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19 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Beginning of a Curse, 16 September 2005

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In 1815, in Canada, the sisters Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins) survive to a boat sinking, where her parents die. Alone and lost in the forest, they meet an old clairvoyant Indian that foresees their fate. Later, they are guided by the Indian The Hunter (Nathaniel Arcand) to a fort, and they seek for shelter with the men of the Northern Legion Trading Company. They note that the place is under siege of "Wendigos", a sort of werewolf that has killed most of the dwellers of the place, and the survivals are very afraid. Their lives are put in danger by the deranged locals and by the surrounding beasts.

I usually hate sequels and remakes, but "Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning" is a great movie and I liked it more than the cult "Ginger Snaps". The cold cinematography is very sad and beautiful. The good story try to explain the curse of the two sisters, but is completely different from "Ginger Snaps" and "Ginger Snaps: Unleashed". It uses only the characters of Ginger and Brigitte, and werewolves of course, taking place in different time and situations. The costumes of the sisters, specially the dark "Little Red Riding Hood" clothes of Ginger, are scary and complete the atmosphere imposing a sort of fear. The make-up of the werewolves is excellent. The DVD is full of Extras. Therefore, I liked this film a lot and highly recommend it to the fans of these cult characters. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Possuída – O Início" ("Possessed – The Beginning")

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18 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
Somewhat Disappointing, 23 June 2004

Author: Gafke from United States

This prequel concerns the sisters, Ginger and Brigitte, making their way through 19th century Canada in what one can assume to be a previous incarnation.

Having lost their parents, the orphaned girls trek alone through the wilderness during a cold, harsh winter. They stumble upon the remains of an Indian village, which looks to have been ripped apart by some great beast. One of the few survivors, an old wise woman, warns them that they must "kill the boy" or "one sister will kill the other." When Brigitte accidentally steps into a bear trap a short time later, the two girls are rescued and assisted by a handsome Indian man known only as The Hunter, who leads the girls to nearby Bailey Fort...perhaps the very fort around which the future suburban community of Bailey Downs will spring. The fort is in poor shape. The men are suspicious, the atmosphere is bleak and the supplies are running low. It seems that the men who were sent for winter provisions several months before never returned...at least, not in human form. Indeed, several strange and vicious beasts seem to be stalking the woods just beyond the fort...and there may be one within as well!

This 3rd installment in the imaginative and intelligent Ginger Snaps series lacks the black humor and witty script of the previous two. The girls are lovely and convincing, the setting of a snowbound fort is both creepy and beautiful, and the new character of The Hunter is intriguing and nice to look at, but this film takes itself far too seriously. I also had a hard time accepting the fact that a young girl in the 19th century would utter a phrase like: "These people are f-cked." Such instances of modern dialogue inserted into a setting of 100+ years past is disconcerting at best...but maybe I'm the only one it would bother.

The beasts are highly visible in the final scenes of the film, and are pretty impressive looking. Other than that, the films gets a little weighted down by the gloomy atmosphere, with nary a joke to be found. The religious metaphors and Native American mysticism seem to have been pulled right out of "The Crucible," "The Scarlet Letter" and "Thunderheart" and seem to have been used for set dressing rather than as crucial plot devices. Still, there's a good amount of blood and gore to please most splatter enthusiasts, and an open ending which seems both to resolve the second film and bring us right back around to the first.

It's not a terrible movie by any means, but since I'd come to expect a certain amount of smart black comedy and found none here, it was just a little disappointing. The girls do a great job with their characters, as they always do, but they had far less to work with this time around. I give this a 6 on a scale of 10, whereas the first two each get a 9.

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12 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Assault On Fort 13, 28 September 2004
Author: (mdsmith101@hotmail.com) from Stockton, UK

Well, here we are, the last (or first) offering in the Ginger Snaps saga. A well made tale of the macabre that certainly doesn't skip on gore or blood. Two sisters Ginger & Bridgette Fitzgerald are wondering lost in the wild lands of Canada (they were supposed to be with their parents but they drowned in an accident or something), when they stumble upon a small Indian camp that has been wiped out by werewolves. After some cryptic advice from an old Indian woman (who gives them both distinctive necklaces' with birds skulls on them). The girls end up with an Indian Hunter who takes them to yonder fort and things get going.

Characters include the overly-done Religious Priest, the overly-done Macho Soldier, the overly-kindly Commanding Officer etc. Into the midst of those characters are the sisters trying to survive in a place where danger lurks at every turn (from inside and out).

Unfortunately Ginger is bitten by something not quite human and the race is on to brake a spell that'll save Ginger - as compared to dooming her to a furry existence.

The acting honors yet again go to Ms. Isabelle and Ms. Perkins who effortlessly play off each other with a touching and believable chemistry that makes the film(s) work so well. Some of the other actors are also very good (I can't remember their names, sorry!). The FX are fantastic as well, with a slew of lycanthrope nightmares wondering around and snacking off unlucky individuals.

Yes, it does have aspects of Night of the Living Dead, Dog Soldiers and Ravenous, but it's all fun in the end and with this film you might just howl at the end!

Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning: 4/5

The last camera shot in the film is stunning!

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11 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Lost Its Bite, 28 December 2004

Author: arabesuku from Norfolk, England

Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed were very clever movies. This one, Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning however lacks the dark humor and brains that the first two had. Although it is interesting to see this situation, as Ginger and Brigitte face the whole werewolf problem in the 19th century, without the benefits of the time ahead of them.

Ginger Fitzgerald (Katherine Isabelle) doesn't have the full attitude the Ginger from the first movie had. The sisters don't have that mysterious darkness that they had before, which is quite disappointing as it is what attracts you to the movie in the first place. The speech is strange... they will talk in a sort of old fashioned way, then start talking more modernly, and sometimes will swear, which makes it slightly less believable.

Although there are some great scenes this film, its only good if you are a fan of the Ginger Snaps series really. Otherwise this may seem just a long and boring hour and a half of snow, blood and one big fort. *6*

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
The Trilogy?, 19 May 2006

Author: general_castor_troy from United States

I was reading these comments and i was kind of perturbed to find that no one wanted to really try to make sense of the fact that the third Ginger Snaps was ... a bit far-fetched and unlinked from the other two. I first saw the original Ginger Snaps back about 5 years ago, on HBO. and the thing that got me to look away from my computer and watch the movie that was playing on the TV was the Slide Show in the beginning. The music by Michael Sheilds got me to look over, and the slide show play to my morbid humor. after that it was the awesome script and oddly humorous situations. The Second one in which i finally watched last year , proverbially knocked me off my feet. That movie not only followed the sad tragic truth of the downward spiral of infected Brigette after Ginger Fitzgerald, but had twisted that messed with you. I loved the Second one Just as much as the first. The Third is an awesome film ( i just recently watched that for the first time about 4 days ago) but with both of the Fitz's before the curse.. in the 19th century is out of place and doesn't really tie in with the other two. Now depending on how creative you are you can look at this two different ways. 1) that its just a different way so telling the Ginger Snaps story... or 2) [ this is how i look at it ] Since it is suppose to be the beginning of their curse I feel that this movie is trying to portray the fact that Ginger and Bridgette were actually Cursed in or before the 19th century and then, Their Damnation is that they relive life over and over again only to be infected and die once more. This may be because [ this is my reasoning from the prequel] there was a set destiny for the girls and their pact and love for one another ( To be together no matter what ) disrupted the flow of destiny that was suppose to set everything right.. and now they are damned.. and they will never change their way .. Their pact is their curse. If the third movie portrayed this .. These movies would be very very deep and imaginative.. and i throughly believe they are leaning toward this Story line... And if thats the case .. their could be a fourth...fifth .. This could be the equal to The Lord of the Rings .. The Dark Tower... In its own respected Field mind you . I'm partial to these movies to start with tho. Watch them all at least once.. you wont be disappointed

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly entertaining, 8 January 2006

Author: Mitoska from United Kingdom

I watched this after seeing both previous movies (Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps- The Sequel) so I knew what to expect. You have to realise that even though this film has werewolves in it, its main theme is unbreakable sisterly loyalty. I have to say that I'm a fan so a bit biased, but as in the previous films the best thing in this one is the atmosphere- menacing and charged and the setting (dark winter woods) is just perfect! Another thing that made me come back is the two main characters. They are played with so much conviction that you really believe they could overcome anything as long as they trust each other enough. The only problem was the werewolf story itself- just a bit too predictable. Other than that I was entertained throughout and I will watch this film again!

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
A beautiful horror film, 20 June 2006

Author: daveroth from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This film , the third part in the Ginger Snaps series, is very much in the vein of Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves which deals with many similar themes. It has a dark almost fairytale feel to it brimming with unused sexuality. It is very much a film for grown ups securing an 18 rating in the UK and a R in America,this is for the unsettling imagery and a little light gore. This isn't a gorehounds film but more in the line of Dracula and Frankenstein it is wonderfully shot with many haunting images that will stay stuck in the back of your mind for years to come .A new Gothic horror classic which will thrill titillate and in the greatest traditions of Gothic horror,chill you to the bone

davidroth

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Atmospheric, Romantic, Dark, Under-rated,, 11 December 2006

Author: Ryan Freeman (the_entombed25@hotmail.com) from home, town

After watching the first Ginger Snaps movie when I was baked out of my tree, really made me LOVE the film, because the tongue and cheek aspect of it totally made it so worth while. In my eyes, it's an instant classic of it's own. By far the best damn Tongue-in-cheek horror movie I have EVER seen. The second film? definitely not as good, but I loved how it focused on Bridgette. Though in my eyes, I really don't see why it should have had a sequel to it, and most likely should have just been left alone. Though the sequel was good in it's own intentions- it's feeling/mood, and total derangement of it made it seem so interesting.

As for the prequel? well, it's really no different; not MEANT to be made if you look at it in the view of the first, but it's cool that they did. Now, if I were to pick a favorite of them, I wouldn't know what to chose. Most likely the first movie because it's the movie that started the birth of the sequel, and this movie, too. However, the first IS without a doubt THE BEST, but just because it's the best, does not mean I favor it. Personally, I think I might just go with THIS movie, because this is the only Ginger Snaps movie that I have any intention on reviewing. Exactly how often do I review movies? Not very often. Could it be that I don't have the time? no, I have all the time in the world, it's just that I never choose to do such a thing. As for this, since I was SO intrigued by it, I figure I might as well.

Now all these movies have different't feels to them; the first being a real tongue-in-cheek horror movie with cheap gore aimed at horror fans and teens. The second movie? much more dark, extremely serious aimed at teens, and most probable, fans of the first movie. The third taking a much more Gothic, atmospheric, romantic direction. That's why it's hard to pick, but I LOVE Gothic, atmospheric, and romance anyways, which is probably why I loved this one so much. Also because I had a much more lower expectation since what I heard, nor did I realize it at the time.

Personally, something that I absolutely came to love was how in my perspective, the star of the movie was NOT Ginger, but Bridgette. The camera just seemed so drawn to her. Possibly could be because she's such a beautiful person, and a favorite actress of my own, thanks to IT. Don't get me wrong though, Katharine is ALSO a very beautiful actress, but she seems more like eye candy. There's something about Emily that I find totally beautiful, could be the life, and the spirit she brings to the film.

There also was a little something about the movie I absolutely loved, and that was the romance in it. Lots may not notice it, and I believe that the romance in the film was NOT to be directly shown, but to be more pointed out by the viewers. Yes I know that Bridgette and Ginger are sisters in the movie, now not to sound like a pig, because it's not about that, but in it's own way, they seemed to have a love for each other, and NOT just in a sister way. It was more like romance, and because of that, the way it's portrayed, was BEAUTIFULLY done if you appreciate it's much more subtle objective (if that was the intention.) There is something I would love to know why I loved this movie so much and to this day I cannot figure it out. All I am going to say, is that I am more than glad that this movie got negative feedback from viewers, and more than proud to say that I love this movie. Better than the first? NO WAY! totally different territories, totally different meanings, and just different movies in general. I loved that all of them were different from each other. Ginger Snaps Back has Dark atmosphere, Beauty, Romance, and in it's own spirit, love. Perhaps it's message is Love Is Thicker Than Blood.

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