GINGER SNAPS II: UNLEASHED (2004)
Starring Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle
If there ever was a horror film that did not need a sequel it was "Ginger Snaps," one of the greatest werewolf movies of all time. Filmed in Canada, "Ginger" didn't garner the respect and wide release it deserved in the United States, but it garnered a huge following stateside nonetheless. So a direct-to-video franchise was clearly in order.
Unfortunately, "Ginger Snaps II" doesn't have any of the cleverness or heart of the original. It's just a better- than-average direct-to-video fear film, a little too talky and not nearly as funny as Part 1. Pretty pointless.
The setting has now been switched to a clinic, where Brigitte (Emily Perkins) is being treated for what counselors believe is an addiction to drugs. In fact, the teenager is shooting an herb she hopes will prevent her from becoming a wolf woman like her late sister, Ginger (scream queen Katharine Isabelle), who now only appears in flashbacks and dream sequences. To get her into the movie as much as possible, Ginger frequently shows up as an imaginary companion eager to give advice to her surviving sister.
While the first film didn't have that much action, it didn't really need much. It was clever, in an "American Beauty" sort of way. Audiences laughed their asses off, and the ending was genuinely moving. It was honestly unlike any horror film ever made.
Hardcore fans of it will want to check out the sequel. It still has the two lead actresses in their respective roles (albeit one of them as a flashback phantom). But setting the film in a clinic took away much of the high-school edge of the original. Part 1 was a movie about growing up, and the potentially fatal perils that can go along with it. Part 2 is about ... whatever. Werewolves apparently. It tries to capture some of the same themes, but doesn't make it.
There is an interesting, imaginary masturbation sequence involving a class of troubled teen females. That was creative. Things also get somewhat interesting when the bodies start dropping, and a werewolf finally does show up. But it isn't Brigitte. So the mystery is: Who is the killer werewolf? The action moves out of the clinic after a break out, with Brigitte and another patient on the run. The flick works a hell of a lot better during this section. Ginger also doesn't have so many meaningless flashbacks after the action starts.
At this point, the film picks up quite a bit, and becomes a worthwhile watch. Have a little patience to get to this point. Ultimately, of course a sequel wasn't necessary. But as unnecessary sequels go, this one isn't so bad.
Director Brett Sullivan didn't helm the original, and hasn't done much other than GS2.