Lost Gem: Ginger Snaps Unleashed (part 2)

:you can read part 1 here:

Trying to compare Ginger Snaps to Ginger Snaps Unleashed (released in the U.S. as Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed) is like trying to decide between Alien or Aliens: they are both good, but different. Ginger Snaps Unleashed picks up where the first left off. And no, there are no silly gimmicks, there really is continuity between the two (even the same actresses return).

SPOILER ALERT for Ginger Snaps, skip paragraph

At the end of Ginger Snaps, Brigitte mixed her blood with Ginger and as a result, she’s slowly transforming, despite the monkshood “cure” she developed in the first film. When Brigitte is found passed out in the snow, she’s taken to a rehab/intensive care facility where she meets Ghost, a pre-teen albino who flutters around the rehab center while her grandmother recovers from massive burns across her body. The pair team up to keep Brigitte’s lycanthropy problem in check.

SPOILER ALERT OVER

Where the first film was about sisterhood and werewolf transformation as metaphor for female puberty, the second film tackles the drug abuse metaphor (Brigitte needs her monkshood injection “fix” to stay normal) and sexual awakening (there’s a male werewolf stalking Brigitte; male orderly, Tyler, is trading sex for drugs).

The original Ginger Snaps was a character driven story, with the dialogue between the sisters establishing their authenticity.  In Ginger Snaps 2 the story becomes slightly more plot driven.  We’re still engaged with Brigitte’s battles and the tensions between her, Ghost, and Tyler.  However, since Brigitte was well established in the first film, we’re more curious about the new werewolf stalking her and how she’s going to get out of the rehab center.

Though sequels to horror films are rightfully viewed with disdain (Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan anybody?), Ginger Snaps Unleashed is surprisingly good and might even be better than the first. A sequel to a horror film that (possibly) outdoes the original is damn near unheard of, but Ginger Snaps Unleashed fits the bill.*

I cannot say anything beyond the aforementioned items without spoiling, so for the sake of watching something you can’t predict, PLEASE have a look. As someone who has turned watching films into his job, a film that leaves me floored is a good sign for you, dear Film Fan.

*The only other horror sequel that (possibly) bests the original that I can think of is Evil Dead II and that’s arguable. Fright Night Part II might have come close to the original.  Any others that should be up here?

Read part 3 here.