This Canadian teen horror film played some festivals in the States, but never got any true theatrical release. The film went straight-to-video in 2001 and has slowly garnered a cult following thanks to the Internet. There is a good reason for this; it's the very smart horror film.
The story follows the Fitzgerald sisters – Brigitte (Emily Perkins, IT) and Ginger (Katharine Isabelle, FREDDY VS. JASON) – whose fascination with death has led them to become outcasts in their community. They stage gruesome death photos and disavow anything girly. They are even late in getting their periods and dread the day they come, thinking they will change into everything they hate. Recently, dogs of their town have been turning up mauled to death. One night, the girls find the culprit – a werewolf, which attacks Ginger. Slowly, the teen starts to go through a transformation, unleashing the animal inside. The original werewolf was smashed by a van, driven by a young drug dealer named Sam (Kris Lemche, EXISTENZ). As Ginger strikes up a relationship with a punk kid named Jason (TV’s NOAH), Brigitte talks with Sam about the werewolf and how to cure someone who has been bitten. Rounding out the cast is the girls’ clueless, caring, but ultimately kooky mother Pamela (Mimi Rogers, GUNG HO).
What makes the film heads above most recent horror films is that it has real pathos and allows time to build tension instead of going for cheap scares every five minutes. You care about Brigitte and Ginger. The whole werewolf issue is like an extreme version of the true turmoil of puberty. The film weaves in sly humor and subversive parody. It takes its subject matter seriously and plays it out as logically as it can. The slow build of the film brings the audience to an on-the-edge-of-your-seat ending. The acting is credible, especially for the horror genre.
The only flaws occur at the end when it holds its final note way too long, adding too many new obstacles. It also muddles Brigitte’s motivations to the point where you really can’t tell what see is thinking. Though the final missteps weaken the overall effect, they don’t doom the entire film.
Big budget horror films are about body counts and box office receipts and indie horror films are about characters put in really emotionally terrifying experiences. A good horror film can mirror the fears and flaws of us all. That’s what makes this film so good. Along with MAY, it’s the best horror film I’ve seen in nearly a decade.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
