The Ginger Snaps Trilogy (2000-2004) Important piece of Disruptive Art, vital as Teen Horror icon (Review)

As mentioned, the extras of this limited edition are plentiful, none more so than with the first and most iconic film. Three audio commentaries offer everything you could want to know about the film. Two are included from previous releases, one with director John Fawcett who comments on such details as the significance of killing dogs in cinema, the skull pendants worn by both girls and the consistent black electrical type. Fawcett’s delivery is engaging if a bit mono-tonal. More lively and humorous is writer Karen Walton, who points out the mirroring of particular scenes that demonstrate the changes of the girls, the film’s innovative inclusion of a boy ‘on the rag’, and the different responses that she has encountered, such as women talking about the tail and that, as a writer, she needed to make the emotional transition more prominent with the male characters because of the cinematic taboo around male nudity.

Another special feature from previous releases is ‘Ginger Snaps: Blood, Teeth and Fur’, a making of that includes interviews with Fawcett, Walton, editor Brett Sullivan and more, speaking about what the film explores as well as the joy and variety of horror. These different perspectives allow insights into the development of the story and the wider production. There is also behind the scenes footage of the animatronics used in the film entitled ‘The Creation of the Beast’, although this largely consists of prolonged takes on the various models with indistinct voices about what they want to do. Even outside of the film, the fully realised costume is quite impressive.

Other extras include trailers and TV spots, production design work, deleted scenes with optional commentaries from the writer and director, cast auditions and rehearsals as well as new interviews with director Fawcett, producer Steve Hoban and storyboard artist Vincenzo Natali (Cube). In addition to these creators’ views is a new audio commentary with Mary Beth McAndrews and Terry Mesnard, hosts of the Scarred For Life podcast. Recorded by Second Sight Films for this release, McAndrews and Mesnard provide many valuable insights, such as the girls’ rejection of femininity being a queer aspect of the film. The retrospective and critical look at the film continues with ‘Growing Pains: Puberty in Horror Films’, a panel discussion about this topic with academic, writer and filmmaker Rebekah McKendry, journalists Heidi Honeycutt and Kristy Jett, and filmmaker Axelle Carolyn. Their discussion covers such depictions of puberty in horror as Carrie, Martin, Teen Wolf, Teeth and more, mentioning that horror treats puberty viscerally. While this discussion starts rather formally, it quickly warms up into natural conversation, the speakers overlapping and responding to each other. Their insights include the taboo of female sexuality, that sexually active women are consistently portrayed as monstrous and indeed have been since early Greek and Christian mythology. The speakers mention their differing responses to their own puberties, the stereotype of women on their period being highly emotional, the inherent conservatism of the film but also the important legacy of Ginger Snaps.

The best of the extras is ‘Canadian Uncanny – Stacey Abbott on Ginger Snaps’, a video essay by horror scholar Stacey Abbott. An engaging speaker who makes academic theory and analysis accessible, Abbott draws attention to the town where Ginger Snaps takes place as a location of cold indifference that echoes John Carpenter’s Halloween while also providing an abject metaphor of the teenage experience. The Canadian identity of the film is also discussed, demonstrating the importance of collaboration and its distinctiveness from Hollywood icons. The treatment of lycanthropy as a virus – a trope more commonly associated with vampirism – echoes David Cronenberg’s reconfiguring of horror through science, especially when Abbott points out the parallel between Ginger’s transformation and that of Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) in The Fly. Abbott likens Ginger Snaps to other supernatural teenage girl narratives such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Craft, but describes this defiantly Canadian film as ‘angrier’.

The extras for the second disc/film include an audio commentary with director Brett Sullivan, executive producers John Fawcett and Noah Segal and producer Paula Devonshire. The interplay between the speakers is engaging and provides an excellent insight into the collaboration involved in filmmaking. Some highlights are anecdotes such as Emily Perkins filling a prop notebook with her own notes as well as their difficulties in casting the role of Ghost. This aspect is further illuminated in ‘Audition Tapes’, where Tatiana Maslany shows the precociousness as well as the soulfulness was there from the start. It is genuinely quite sweet to see her and Perkins auditioning with a wire bowl as a steering wheel. Other auditions are equally interesting: Janet Kidder’s demonstrates the effectiveness of a direct gaze while Eric Johnson’s indicates that his final performance was more toned down. There are various Behind the Scenes pieces, including ‘Fun On Set’ which is charming if not especially funny, storyboards and deleted scenes with optional director commentary.

More interesting are the retrospective extras. ‘Girl, Interrupted: a new Interview with director Brett Sullivan’ includes Sullivan’s experience as editor on the first film, the scientific explanation for lycanthropy as well as Ginger Snaps’ contribution to the wider conversation about menstruation. Interestingly, Sullivan emphasises the importance of female writers but does not address any similar discussion around the director, which somewhat dates these films as female directors have made strong contributions to horror in the years since.

In ‘The Bloody Lunar Cycle: a new interview with writer Megan Martin’, Martin recounts her time at the Canadian Film Centre, as well her keenness on the commercial aspect of the film in selling Canadian culture. Her respect for the horror genre as well as the difficult experience of getting into the project and receiving notes from producers make her a lively and engaging speaker, with some interesting anecdotes to share.

Disc Three comes with various behind the scenes on the making of Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning including Production Design, Costume Design, ‘Blood Guts and Fire’ that details how to create a great death scene, ‘Wolfboy’ on some of the makeup and prosthetics, as well as deleted scenes and Grant Harvey’s Video Diaries that provide further insights into the production. There is a commentary from director Grant Harvey, co-writer Steve Massicotte, editor Ken Filewych and also Frank Larette, who mention that this prequel started with the idea of Bridget with a sword. The interplay is again lively and the speakers supportive of each other’s points and discussion, and there is some self-deprecating humour when they mention the ‘heaving corset’. Harvey offers further details in a new interview, ‘Snap!’, highlighting the importance of talking to teenagers rather than down to them. He also mentions that his daughters as well as teachers love the original, and contextualises the poor box office of the original as it opened opposite A Knight’s Tale. The inclusion of his ancestors being in the Canadian fur trade provides a rather charming additional detail.

In ‘Girls on Film: New interview with producer Paula Devonshire’, Devonshire recounts that she was never a fan of horror but liked scary films that have something to say, and unsurprisingly loved the original. She provides further context by mentioning the outcry about the film in the aftermath of Columbine, and marvels that they managed to produce the two follow-up films with only two to three weeks between the end of production on GS2 and start of shooting on this prequel.

The cumulative effect of all this material is a detailed and granulated account of the filmmaking. The collection of responses, both from the time and retrospectively, demonstrates the significance this franchise holds for those involved and its continued cultural footprint. It is also a nice indication of cooperative filmmaking, as the different participants from the first film were brought back to fill different roles in the next instalments. And the boxset makes a great advertisement for the Canadian Film Centre! Furthermore, the different perspectives on the films’ exploration of female bodies and identities are testament to the enduring importance of this franchise. While the sequel and prequel are less clear in their exploration of these topics, the original has maintained its prominent place in teen horror cinema and indeed film in general that tells the stories of women. This boxset will likely continue that legacy, offering further insights and perhaps inspiration for the power of horror to explore that which is taboo.

Vincent’s Archive – Ginger Snaps