Second Sight films bring us a new box-set Blu-Ray release of the three films in theGinger Snapstrilogy. I’ve long been a fan of the first film, called simplyGinger Snaps(2000), as it came along at a time when horror seemed to be retreading a lot of old ground (is that evernotthe case) and presented something new and refreshing.
Karen Walton penned the screenplay, and John Fawcett directed this tale of two sisters. The basic idea, as are all the best ideas, is simple: take a girl coming into puberty and starting her periods and so on, and align it with the idea of being bitten and turning into a werewolf for the first time. The loss of person, the unexpected mood swings, the personality changes, and of course the blood. It’s a beguilingly simple premise, and the film works extremely well to present the transformation that Ginger (Emily Perkins) goes through. Her sister Brigitte (Katharine Isabelle) does her best to try and help her sister, but both end up trapped in the cycle that can only really end with the death of Ginger in her wolfen form.
There’s so much to love about this film. The performances from the two leads are pitch-perfect, from Emily Perkins’ slow transformation from teen rebel to vamp to full-blown werewolf, to Katharine Isabelle’s sulky younger sister, missing out on all the ‘fun’ and ultimately needing to align with a local drug dealer to find a potential ‘cure’ for her sister.
The werewolf lore here is new, not following the established ‘transform at the full moon’, ‘silver bullets and wolfsbane’ type approach that many other films follow. We have a slow transformation which takes place over several days/weeks, and the idea that monk’s hood (a toxic plant) could provide the ‘cure’ for Ginger.
The effects are all well done, and the film is the goriest of the three, with many scenes of stomach-churning graphic gore. Wisely, the director seems to have realised that the weakest element was the actual full-size werewolf itself, and so it is edited around and never shown for too long. Although what you do see is quite effective.
It’s something of atour de forcefor the team behind it, and so there was no real surprise that a sequel came along in 2004.Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashedis curious in that it doesn’t really rely on the original film for its plot. The film reinterprets the ideas and Brigitte, after the events of the first film, ends up confined in a drug rehabilitation centre for women, where she tries to understand her life. Key to the film is a new character, Ghost (Tatiana Maslany), a 12-year-old child, who helps Brigitte. Brigitte is now turning into a werewolf herself (apparently because she drank some of Ginger’s blood in the first film) and is trying to work out how the Monk’s Hood can save her. But there’s more afoot, and Ghost, too, is not quite as she seems. There’s also the spirit of Ginger hanging around and talking with Brigitte.
It’s a more confused film thanGinger Snaps,and as it doesn’t really rely on the source for its plot and development, can be seen as stand alone. This time Megan Martin wrote the screenplay and it’s directed by Brett Sullivan. The standout performance here is fromTatiana Maslany, playing Ghost. As with her future barnstorming performance(s) inOrphan Black, Maslany immerses herself in the character and she’s intensely watchable and nuanced. It was a surprise to realise that Maslany was around 18 or 19 years old when she played the part, and yet she is utterly convincing as a 12 year old child.
Again the effects are well done, but the film is a little muddled and it doesn’t really work as a sequel, mainly becauseGinger Snapsset the bar so high that nothing could really reach it. It is a very enjoyable watch though.
The third part of the trilogy,Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning(2004) is another film with only a tenuuous connection to the original story. This time it’s a prequel, showing how the werewolf curse all started, and the film was made back to back withGinger Snaps 2: Unleashed.
Ginger and Brigitte are sisters in 1815, travelling the Canadian wilderness. They arrive at a fort which is beseiged by werewolves, and of course Ginger is bitten and begins her transformation. There are various comings and goings and werewolf attacks and we end with the two sisters escaping from the destroyed camp, and sharing blood together: the implication being that this creates the werewolf line which ultimately infects Ginger inGinger Snaps.
It’s another enjoyable film, and another for which you don’t really need to have seen the previous two. The two leads are played by the same actresses, and some of the cast here are the same asUnleashedas the films were made at the same time. The effects are excellent, and the plot, while again a little confused, with seers and predictions and native visions coming into play to try and give the piece more of a mythalogical footing.
Written by Stephen Massicote and Christina Ray, and directed by Grant Harvey, the film is another worthy look at the werewolf myth. It’s enjoyable and well made, and makes the most of the two leads.
Alongside the three films, the Second Sight release also contains a host of extras including many commentaries, interviews with the creative teams, deleted scenes and much more. It’s a great way to appreciate and enjoy these three cracking films.
Enjoy These Three Cracking Films
Movie title: Ginger Snaps Trilogy
Movie description: Second Sight films bring us a new box-set Blu-Ray release of the three films in theGinger Snapstrilogy.
Date published: June 24, 2026
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 48m
Summary
Alongside the three films, the Second Sight Films release also includes a host of extras, including many commentaries, interviews with the creative teams, deleted scenes and much more. It’s a great way to appreciate and enjoy these three cracking films.
David J Howe, is the author and co-author of numerous books about the TV Show “Doctor Who”, as well as being a freelance writer and Editorial Director of Telos Publishing Ltd.