GINGERSNAPS

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The movie Gingersnaps is successful in presenting itself as a horror story because number one, gore dominates the movie and number two, there is an element of an ominous and unknown element. In the beginning of the movie, the Fitzgerald sisters were revealed as fans of death and anything that is violent. They would take pictures of fake, bloody deaths as their hobby. When Ginger was also captured in the woods by the creepy creature, it revealed a brutal encounter. When Ginger tends to have episodes, she also tends to slay her victims to the bone. Indeed, ig wounds, dripping blood and a vicious killer are usually what comprises of a usual horror film. Evidently, this is an excellent kind of body horror.

Another reason why it’s a good horror film is that the film also gave way for an unknown element. As dicussed in class, this element would also be regarded as “weird” not because it acts in a different way (well yes, this beast is and looks different) but it does not belong in this world. Is it a werewolf? Is it an alien? It is a crossbreed between a werewolf and an alien? Whatever it is, I am sure that the element of the unknown gave rise to the horror element of the film. Although the film did not engage the class in shrieks and screams provided by cheap thrills, I think this movie is well done. This is sort of like a horror movie excellent for toddlers who are easily lured into doing good in fear of the werewolf/alien/beast hunting them to sleep. I am not saying that the movie is not good for adults. It’s just adults easily assume that horror movies are all about ghosts, mystery killings etc. But if adults can find a way to see that this is in fact a legitimate horror film then I think that they can appreciate more conventional horror movies in the future.

What I also like about Gingersnaps is that it’s not too focused on scaring its audience. For one, there is an element of humor. The class actually gathered in laughter as we saw how ridiculous Ginger and her sister is in thinking that menstruation is a curse. Their mother, who seems to be trying hard in being close to them is also a very funny character in the movie.

We can also see that there is an element of teenage drama. We can see the typical scene where the popular girl bullies the “freak”, the group of attractive guys are to be fought over by girls and so on. But most especially, as strong as the horror elements lies the theme of love for family. The sisters were a solid team in the movie. They supported each other in having a weird hobby, they protected each other against the bitchy, popular girl. And even though they go through the worst situations, they always have each other which was evident in the beginning and at the end of the movie. Maybe this movie is all about Brigitte still keeping her promise even after Ginger snaps.