Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed
It only dies if you do.
Year of Release: 2004
Genre: Horror
Rated: R
Running Time: 94 minutes (1:34)
Director: Brett Sullivan
Cast:
Emily Perkins ... Brigitte
Tatiana Maslany ... Ghost
Eric Johnson ... Tyler
Katharine Isabelle ... Ginger
Janet Kidder ... Alice
Jake McKinnon ... The Beast
Summary:
Brigitte is an addict. After mixing blood with her late sister Ginger in an attempt to learn more about the condition, she has been infected with: "the curse." Each day the curse in her grows stronger and she must increase her dosage of injections. When she is found laying face down in the snow after a near-escape from another beast, she is thrown into drug rehabilitation - locked behind doors without her life-saving antidote.
Review:
Ginger Snaps 2, remindin' us that when the goin' gets tough, the tough pop their dislocated patella back into the socket an get their hineys movin'. Those Canadian girls're tougher'n a $2 steak aren't they? I think that's just the traditional Canadian upbringin' though cause by about age 3 the parents take the kids out into the backyard where they've got a regulation hockey goal set up an after they stick 'em in front of the net they proceed to fire off pucks at 'em til they can actually catch the puck between their teeth. It's really somethin', the parents bring in talent scouts an everything to see if their kid has what it takes to be a professional someday, but ultimately as long as the kid can take a few in the gourd without bein' knocked completely unconscious they're initiated into adulthood on the spot an the parents are given the coveted "badass on board" bumper sticker for their snow mobiles. A lotta people from the states get upset when they hear about this for the first time but that's just cause this country's into your sissier sports like baseball where they try outlawin' the home plate collision an throw players outta the league forever for piddly little things like takin' their bat out to the pitcher's mound an tryin' to pound the guy into the ground like in a Wile E. Coyote cartoon. I don't think we're even CAPABLE of understandin' just what hockey means to Canada, an for that reason I think everybody south of Minnesota needs to just mind their own business. I don't mean to sound unpatriotic but we don't exactly have the moral high ground here considerin' we used to hunt Indians just cause they made fun of us when we tried doin' the rain dance. Ever seen a white guy try a rain dance? No rhythm at all, even the noble Indians couldn't keep a straight face watchin' that nonsense, someday we're all gonna have to quit takin' ourselves so seriously.
Sorry about that, sometimes I forget there're people listenin' to me an I just keep talkin' an the things I say just get progressively worse, it's kinda like what happens when they take the shock collar offa Joe Biden. Seriously though, I wanted to talk about movie taglines for a minute cause this one's really screwed the pooch. I've got a couple really simple, well reasoned rules that movies need to follow so they don't embarrass themselves years later on the IMDB when their cute little one liner is no longer considered trendy. Now the subtitle on this one is "Unleashed." "Unleashed" is like a really bad joke I'd make when runnin' down the movie's plot, it's not clever, it's not funny, an it's not appropriate for a serious horror movie. That's not to say that you can't use funny one liners for a tagline if the movie is a horror/comedy (You are What They Eat - Critters 3) or if it's funny as a depressing acknowledgement of the situation in the movie (The Picnic is Ruined - Ants). That's not even considerin' that "Unleashed" is one of the most cliched subtitles in movie history, right up there with "Return," "Revenge," "Reloaded," or "Resurrection." We're talkin' about one of the very few decent horror series of the new millennium an you pukes got lazy on us. An while I realize it's strictly a DVD one liner, the fuggin' box reads "The Curse is Back!" Taken in context of what "the curse" meant in the original movie, you peckerwads might as well've made it "It's That Time of the Month Again!" This is almost as lame as the tactic of comparin' a movie to other movies an declarin' its superiority (which was without exception bullshit) like they used to do back in the 80s. For example, here's one they used when advertisin' Venom back in 1981; "The mystery of 'The Birds', the danger of 'Psycho', the evil of 'The Omen', the terror of 'Jaws', now, the ultimate in suspense." That's some monumental asshattery right there. Not only is every one of those movies superior to Venom, but it reminds you of your douchey name droppin' friend that won't stop talkin' about that one time when they got to briefly meet Metallica back stage while they were on their way to bang their roadies, it's completely pathetic. Serious horror movies need SERIOUS taglines and subtitles. Serious movie is serious, god damnit, I do not wanna have to mention this again.
Alright, well I've rambled most of my monologue away with impotent whinin' about stuff nobody but me cares about again, so lets run down a few of the more essential bits of wisdom Ginger Snaps 2 has to offer. First, though werewolves may pursue you for months on end for matin' purposes, their code of ethics seems to forbid 'em from mountin' you while you're passed out face first in a snow bank. If congress had that kinda moral compass we'd prolly be in a lot better shape right now. Seriously though, mutilatin' somebody so bad that they have to be identified by the brand of chewin' gum stuck to the bottom of their shoe is one thing, but gettin' put on the sex offender registry's just not somethin' you risk. Second, any man that pretends to be into bloodlettin' an is willin' to risk his career as a librarian just for a shot at datin' somebody is the kinda guy that's prolly gonna end up chewed up an spit out one way or another. An third, even if what you're injectin' into yourself ain't illegal you can still be held against your will in the cuckoo's nest without so much as a phone call. So shootin' up somethin' that ain't even a drug gets you branded suicidal an locked up in drug rehab with Rob Ford but stuffin' away quarter pounders at McDonald's everyday is okay? What is it, the syringe? If we filled the needle with pink slime an injected it directly into an artery would that be goin' too far? Yeesh.
Now lets talk about blackmail here for a minute. Blackmail has a proud an storied tradition, stretchin' clear back to the days before Jesus, when your neighbor'd come over unexpectedly an catch you receivin' oral sex from a farm animal that couldn't figure out why the teat wasn't givin' up the milk. But based upon some of the behavior in this movie I think that some people just don't have a firm grasp on the value of the information they're holdin' over other people. In the movie, we've actually got a character that's bein' whipped into submission cause she's afraid the warden at the dope show's gonna find out about 'er comic book collection. Despite the fact that the guy threatenin' 'er is bangin' all the suicide girls in exchange for drugs while they're in DRUG REHAB THERAPY. Okay, maybe she's a little young and naive, so lets consult the Nintendementia Blue Book values for the various types of injurious info (with 1 being the most valuable).
Knowin' about...
10) Somebody important's bigotry towards Whites/Asians/Indians/All non Christian religions, the regiftin' of Aunt Enid's hand knitted Christmas sweater, what was takin' your brother so long in the bathroom.
9) A woman bangin' somebody from a position of power/authority, the hit and run in the post office parkin' lot, what's in pink slime.
8) Celebrity criminal activity, politicians takin' bribes, who that passive-aggressive Facebook post was directed at.
7) Where the stolen Pokemon cards are hidden, your friend's contempt for his wife's meat loaf, somebody snortin' cocaine off a hooker's ass.
6) Faith healers cuttin' in the "healed" for a percentage if they'll pretend to be an invalid for the performance, somebody fakin' the flu to avoid visitin' the in-laws, what really happened when the dog "ran away."
5) A fraudulent workman's compensation case, where the pictures of a celebrity without make up are kept, somebody gettin' so drunk at a party that they poop in the hamper.
4) A man bangin' somebody from a position of power/authority (less priests, they're not all that valuable at this point), where your loser of a brother keeps his RealDoll, somebody snortin' Ajax off a hooker's ass.
3) A secret abortion, your friend hookin' up with the fat girl from the bar, why those southern siblings moved away briefly and returned with an "adopted" child.
2) Somebody important's bigotry towards Blacks/Hispanics/Gays/Christians, somebody cryin' during the spaghetti scene in Lady and the Tramp, a member of a boy band spendin' all his spare time in the closet.
1) Where the bodies are buried, a fellow dude bro selectin' hos before bros, why you never see Angela Merkel and Gary Busey in the same place at the same time.
So, as you can see, the male sexin' the females from a position of authority is not only ranked at a respectable #4 on the list, but havin' a secret stash of mildly offensive comic books doesn't even warrant a listing. An these days, with the economy in the toilet an with no hope of it ever bein' tossed a life preserver, it's more important than ever to know the value of the information stationed in your retirement portfolio. You may even wanna start carryin' that list around just just for posterity's sake, and always remember; you can't take advantage without havin' the advantage.
The movie begins with Brigitte (if you dunno who that is then go read the first movie's review ya dyslexic derp) tryin' to check out some literature about places you can cut yourself without passin' out like a graveyard shift employee at Sunday mornin' mass amid the relentless onslaught of awkward come-ons from this wimp librarian that looks like Jack Osbourne. Unfortunately, she's got an overdue fine an zero cash so she has to slink away while the guy's tryin' to come up with a smooth line about comin' to an arrangement regardin' the bill. When she gets back to 'er hotel room she starts examinin' 'er arm where she's been playin' the wrist violin with a razor to see how quick 'er wounds're closin' an document it in 'er Five Star notebook so she can keep track of how long it'll be before she's bein' swatted for gettin' into the garbage can. She's also got Ginger showin' up in 'er head now like Gazoo from The Flintstones an Ginger tells 'er that she's only delayin' the inevitable by shootin' up with 'er serum an about that time there's a sudden thud on the front porch like there's a narcoleptic mailman outside an Ginger tells 'er he's found 'er again an that she'd better make like a donkey rancher an haul ass outta there. Only when Brigitte answers the door it's the wimp librarian bringin' 'er the books she wanted an pretty quick she's floppin' around on the ground like a landed marlin after 'er serum starts kickin' in an the guy hauls 'er into his car to take 'er to the hospital. Then the "he" that Ginger had alluded to shows up an yanks the guy outta the car an proceeds to tear 'im apart like Hulk Hogan in a t-shirt factory while Brigitte runs as far as she can before passin' out in a snow bank. When she wakes up she's locked in a room inside a drug therapy clinic an after she gets the warden's attention they draw some blood from 'er and take an exposition walk. But once Brigitte realizes she may have to share a room with Lindsay Lohan she takes off like Jesse Owens an pretty quick the air raid siren goes off an she's corralled by the orderlies. Next thing we see she's in group therapy where about a dozen dysfunctional girls sit in a room an disrespect the instructor for a couple hours a day an the instructor asks Brigitte what 'er "best case scenario" is. To which 'er response is; turnin' into Jo Jo the dog-faced boy, sniffin' everybody in embarrassin' places, bein' forced to eat nothin' but Purina dog chow, an bein' tied to a tree an shot like Old Yeller. So then the warden starts askin' 'er about what was in the syringe they found on 'er an why she's keepin' a time trial spreadsheet of 'er wrist carvins an Brigitte tells 'er that if she don't turn 'er loose like right now there's gonna be more dead junkies up in here than a Russian krokodil house.
The warden don't take kindly to threats, so she has the orderlies throw Brigitte back in the brig an once she's alone she uses the glass from the picture frame she swiped in the warden's office to draw a map of Edmonton on 'er leg to chew back the werewolf urges. Elsewhere, the warden's gettin' the low down on the blood they drew outta Brigitte, an much to 'er chagrin there's no sign of anything illegal. So, realizin' the cops might be a little bit P.O.'d if they found out she was holdin' 'er there for no reason they decide she's usin' the wolfsbane serum to kill 'erself, in case anybody asks any questions. Just outside the door eavesdroppin' is this obnoxious teenage girl (Ghost) that seems to subsist entirely on gossip an once the conversation concludes she heads back to 'er grandmother's room where Gramma immediately goes for the Life Alert button. She can't get there though cause she's been burned up like a Texan that tried deep fryin' their turkey an once Ghost scoots the nurse's button outta reach she pulls 'er stash of werewolf comics outta the air duct an starts doin' the math. That night, one of the orderlies (Tyler) comes to Brigitte's room with 'er serum, only he's sleezier'n Herschell Gordon Lewis an Heidi Fleiss combined an he wants to poke 'er with the syringe down in 'er naughty bits an Brigitte decides to say no to drugs an yes to gettin' his skeevy ass outta there. The next day in the activity room, Ghost is readin' 'er comics on a coffee table when the head she-bitch from group starts peltin' 'er with all the pennies she made whorin' 'erself out to the janitor til she steps in front of Brigitte an blocks 'er view of the TV an Brigitte has to get up an twist 'er arm around an mash 'er head into the wall a few times til she leaves a buncha bitchface shrapnel in the plaster coating. The next day, Ghost is helpin' the orderlies bring lunch to all the inmates, I guess cause just havin' to eat the food here ain't depressin' enough, an when they come to Brigitte's room she starts tellin' 'er all about how she an Tyler are bros an that the other girls always enjoy his visits, all the while she's got this look on 'er face like Mark Rolston in the "we all need friends in here" scene from Shawshank Redemption. But that gets broken up when she notices Brigitte's ears're startin' to look like Spock's an Brigitte has to scream at 'er like the crazy lady out in front of the K-Mart to get 'er outta there so she can Mike Tyson the pointy part of 'er ear off. Later that night, Ghost sneaks back into the walled off section of the buildin' an watches Tyler havin' a conjugal visit with one of the junkies for a few minutes til she's sure he'll last at least another 30 seconds an give 'er enough time to swipe Brigitte's serum outta his bag of tricks. They call it that cause the junkies'll turn 'em in exchange for whats inside.
So Ghost burgles the serum an pitches it under the door to the stall where Brigitte's markin' 'er territory, only about that time Tyler shows up an threatens to tell the warden about Ghost's horror comics if she don't keep outta his mack it racket. Yeah, cause when the judge hears about this they're gonna think; "well, I was gonna lock you up for prostitution but now that I know the informant had a hidden stash of comics we'll commute your sentence an throw the book at her instead." But anyway, once Ghost slinks away like a frat guy that woke up next to a fat chick, Tyler whips the stall door open, snags the vial an squirts it onto the floor. Course the joke's on him cause Brigitte's gotten used to lappin' up all 'er fluids with 'er tongue now that she's part canine. Then all the crack whores get rounded up for group again, only this time they're all spread out on yoga mats an Brigitte starts hallucinatin' that the counselor's teachin' advanced masturbation techniques an pretty quick the whole room's squirmin' an squealin' like middle aged women at a Josh Groban concert when he sings Remember When it Rained. At least now we know the sound of one hand fapping. Eventually the hallucination loses some of its sexiness when she pulls 'er paw out of 'er drawers to reveal a hairy clawed palm an she ends up runnin' outta there like she just realized 'er yoga pants were made by Lululemon. Once she's back in 'er room she notices 'er ears're gettin' a bit too far into elven territory again an after considerin' usin' the glass shard on 'er carotid she ends up blubberin' on the floor like somebody made 'er watch the Octomom masturbation video. Later on, she goes to the front desk lookin' more defeated than a Wal Mart door greeter an tells Tyler she's willin' to endure his company if he'll bring 'er hair of the dog by later an then he makes 'er pretend like she likes 'im, the way your Gramma always did before she'd give you the $5 bill she'd brought with 'er. So after a while Tyler decides there's always room for one more in his crack house of whores an sticks the syringe in Brigitte's hoo-ha artery an all the sudden she starts sniffin' 'im like the girls in those Axe body spray commercials. The next mornin', Brigitte heads into the laundry room where Ghost's waitin' with a severed dog's head wrapped up in a blanket like the mafia's tryin' to scare 'er into repayin' the money she owes 'em an accuses Brigitte of goin' all Hungry Like the Wolf on the dog. Then Brigitte gets this look on 'er face like she just realized Tyler didn't sterilize the needle the night before an starts makin' plans to bust out before the beast shows up an turns the place into Mawshank Detention.
Ghost claims she can get 'er out, but in exchange she has to bring 'er along, an after a few hours of millin' over whether it's worth bein' stuck with Malibu Barbie to get outta the heroine den of iniquity she agrees an makes ready. So later that evening Brigitte starts drawin' a bath to cover 'er noise an climbs into the air ducts an starts crawlin' around like James Bond til she drops down into the abandoned portion of the building an runs into the really whiny girl from group therapy who's just taken a snowball from Tyler in exchange for some snow. Fortunately, the hairy scary monster shows up an eats 'er like a bowl of kibble an drags the rest of 'er off to bury for later. Then Ghost shows up an they start headin' for the exit, only before they can make it outta there the Pound Puppy grabs a hold of Brigitte an slings 'er into a wall an snaps 'er leg in the wrong direction like Anderson Silva. Only Brigitte's a lot tougher'n he is so she just snaps the leg back into place an plays dead while the beast sniffs 'er like a Japanese guy with a pair of vending machine fresh underpants. So now Ghost has to start shakin' 'er keys around so the beast'll get distracted thinkin' it's gonna get to go for a car ride an while it's frothin' all excited-like they escape through the hole in the back of the building an take off in the company vehicle. But pretty quick Brigitte starts havin' a Big Mac attack cause she ain't had 'er break today an Ghost produces 'er serum, only she ain't got a syringe. After they've checked with Keith Richards, Charlie Sheen and Ozzy Osbourne an come up empty they decide to head over to Ghost's Gramma's house to look around an Brigitte ends up havin' to use an eyedropper. So while she's givin' 'erself the world's most painful eyeball dilatation, Ghost asks 'er why the beast is followin' 'er an she has to explain that the wolfsbane is bad but the wolfsbang is even worse. The next mornin', Brigitte gets up an finds Muham-Mad the radical Islamic scarecrow attached to trip wires on the front porch rigged up to explode if anything comes inside their perimeter an eventually finds Ghost in the attic playin' with 'er comic book super hero collages where she makes 'er own fan-fic an tells 'er she's gotta leave before she goes full Lon Chaney Jr. or Stan Lee finds out about the collages an sues 'er back to the stone age. Kids these days never listen though, so later that night when the Al-Qaeda scarecrow goes off, Brigitte heads outside to see how much bang they got for their straw canuck an... oh deer. They didn't even have a doe tag. So Brigitte starts tryin' to dispose of the animal's body by eatin' it, only the dang thing's still alive an she has to snap its neck like an overzealous chiropractor.
That's prolly not a good sign, so they drive to a mechanic station an call Tyler from a pay phone to try tradin' the company vehicle for the rest of 'er serum an en route Ghost has to tell Brigitte she's got blood on 'er face, the big disgrace, sproutin' coarse hair all over the place. So while they wait for Tyler to show up Brigitte heads inside to ask the mechanic if he's got any Nair an finds 'im downstairs with all his inside parts on the outside an has to book it back to the car an peel outta there a few seconds after Tyler shows up, an they head back to Grammas house. By this point Tyler's kinda bummed cause when Alice found out about Brigitte's prison break she suspended 'im without poon, but because his Hippocratic oath kinda requires 'im to make sure werewolf ladies get their vaccinations he figured he'd better come help out before he got into any more trouble. Only once he injects 'er with the serum 'er arm swells up like a blowfish, goes necrotic an starts gyratin' like an anaconda havin' a seizure an Tyler has to pick 'er up an haul 'er off to a bed while he calls Alice for help. Unfortunately, Ghost heads upstairs an eavesdrops on the conversation an then Brigitte starts grabbin' Tyler an tryin' to make puppies with 'im til Ginger walks outta the shadows an makes 'er feel all self conscious an go bipolar on 'im. This was so much easier when he just gave the girl 'er drugs an socked it to 'er, this relationship nonsense's for the birds. So then he goes upstairs to make sure he an Ghost're still buds an a little while later Brigitte gets up to find 'im in the kitchen with cat scratch fever claimin' Ghost's a psycho an when she goes upstairs to check on 'er she's bruised up an half nekkid an Brigitte gets this look on 'er face like somebody just took the last tampon. So since 'er spaniel senses're tingin' an she knows the beast isn't far off, she plays dumb an sends Tyler outside to gas up the generator an when he gets about half way to the garage... hey... HEY... WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? Will cut it here cause this one's got an exceptional ending.
Alrighty, well, it's hard to say why it took four years to get a sequel to Ginger Snaps, and harder still to guess how it was able to secure such a hefty budget when they knew full well it wasn't going to play on all that many screens, but it's a pretty decent follow up. It was filmed back to back with Ginger Snaps: The Beginning, which is probably the reason Katharine Isabelle is in the movie at all when you take the ending of the original movie into account. Isabelle was an integral part of The Beginning, but realistically, they could have easily made Ginger Snaps 2 without her. The thing is, since she's on the set anyway, there's really no reason not to work her into the movie, such as you're able to under the conditions of the plot. Hopefully that makes sense, I'm trying not to spoil the ending of the original. For that reason, I left out a few of the scenes from this one in the plot section that feature Isabelle, due to the fact that her role in this movie is really not that important. It's just extra credit points for including her. I was rather concerned when I noticed that not only was this movie made four years after the original (that sort of thing often screams cash grab), but more importantly, that the original director wasn't tied to it in any way. Reason being, the original director had decreed that there would be no CGI in Ginger Snaps, and so there wasn't. It seemed highly likely that a sequel filmed four years after the fact, without the original director's involvement would probably be loaded with it. But the crew appears to have stayed true to the standards which were put forward in the original movie, and fortunately, there are zero CGI effects that I could see. I won't swear to it because I'm often taking notes, but I didn't see any, which is a huge victory. That's something that, to me at least, is utterly necessary for the movie to even have a chance at being decent, because nothing takes you out of a movie quicker than a bad special effect, regardless of whether it's conventional or computer generated. The difference is, for me at least, all computer generated effects look fake, the only difference is the degree to which they fail to convince, and how significant they were in relation to the movie's overall plot scheme. So, since it's not been completely gelded by rotten special effects and officially has a chance to be enjoyable, lets move on.
The plot is pretty decent and a logical step forward in the evolution of the story, having picked up approximately a month after the original movie. That's my guess anyway, the original ended on Halloween and here we can see a lot of snow and a house with Christmas lights on it. The writing isn't quite as good here and the interaction between the two lead characters doesn't have the authentic feel that it did in the first movie, but it's still decent. The clever one liners are definitely missing in this one, but these things happen when the writers change. It's still not bad, and while I'm not about to spoil the ending, I will say that it does make up for some of the deficiencies it suffered from up to that point. The acting is alright as well, though with the fantastic chemistry between Isabelle and Perkins being shrunk into practically nothing, it's no longer something special. Additionally, Eric Johnson's character is another one of those characters that's just too screwed up to root for when they show up later attempting be a positive force. Admittedly, a few characters are written to be perceived with a certain degree of suspicion, and that's fine, but by the end of the movie there's no chance for that character to redeem himself even if that is the intention. And I get that these days writers tend to make characters more "realistic" so they're not so cut and dry good or bad, but I don't much care for it. Here's who matters and why: Emily Perkins (Blood: A Butchers Tale, Ginger Snaps, Ginger Snaps: The Beginning, Stephen King's IT), Katharine Isabelle (Torment 2013, Vampire 2011, 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, Hard Ride to Hell, Ogre, Ginger Snaps, Ginger Snaps: The Beginning, Freddy vs. Jason, Carrie 2002, Bones, Disturbing Behavior), Brendan Fletcher (Bloodrayne 2 & 3, Ogre, Alone in the Dark 2005, Ginger Snaps: The Beginning, Freddy vs. Jason), Tatiana Maslany (Diary of the Dead, Stir of Echos 2), Janet Kidder (Bride of Chucky), Pascale Hutton (Behemoth), Eric Johnson (Meteor Storm, Anonymous Rex), Patricia Idlette (Amerika), Shaun Johnson (Screamers: The Hunting, The Hitcher II, Blood Clan), Jake McKinnon (Halloween II 2009, Land of the Dead, Ginger Snaps: The Beginning, House of 1000 Corpses, Wishmaster, From Dusk Till Dawn, Puppet Master 4 & 5, Trancers 4, Mandroid 1 & 2), Stephanie Wahlstrom (Decoys 2). I'm afraid we've got a serious TV actor infestation on our hands with this one, too. Way too many normal people're likely to recognize some of these people an that's almost never a good thing. Michelle Beaudoin would be recognizable for her role of Jenny Kelly on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Eric Johnson for portraying both Flash Gordon in the 2007 series reboot and Whitney Fordman from Smallville, Patricia Idlette who was Kiffany from Dead Like Me, and Shaun Johnson who was Jack Bartlette from Heartland. Meanwhile they can't be bothered to bring in a single Steve Railsback or Brad Dourif for the horror crowd, the jerks.
The special effects aren't quite as good as the ones in the first movie, though they're still pretty good. While there's not a thing wrong with the new werewolf model for this movie, I prefer the one used in the original. Though there is one really pitiful shot of it bein' thrown backwards in this movie that just reeks of plush toy. It's only one shot and it's pretty short, but it's pretty bad. The severed dog's head was fair, and other than that you've got the patella relocation scene, an eviscerated librarian, disemboweled mechanic, beheaded crackwhore, a stuffed moose that's referred to in the movie as a deer, and some heavy werewolf makeup on Emily Perkins. Not as bloody or graphic as the first movie either, but still respectable. The shooting locations for this one are exceptional. Any time a film crew can find something like an abandoned mental hospital to shoot in, you've got immeasurable atmosphere with extremely minimal effort put forth to achieve it. Huge props for the location scouts on this one, this run down hospital that looks like it barely works is phenomenal, and that's made all the more important by the fact that about 60% of the movie takes place in that one location. The middle of nowhere auto repair shop and Gramma's house are pretty decent as well. Particularly Gramma's house, which had to have a couple rooms that were seriously wrecked due to some plot devices I didn't make any real mention of to allow for an element of surprise. Really good though, the shooting locations are probably the biggest positive of all the categories I look at on a movie. The soundtrack is good, but not as good as the original. Seems like they were going for something a little grittier here, which still works really well in conjunction with the mental hospital. It looks gritty, and it sounds gritty as well. There was only one short usage of the opening theme from the original Ginger Snaps, which is a little disappointing in that that particular track is good enough that it's something they really should have used more often, like a trademark track. A textbook example of this would be the "Hello Zepp" track from Saw which is not only spectacular, but is also used in every movie, near the end, when the twist has just been revealed. Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Jaws, Poltergeist, Hellraiser, Phantasm, and Puppet Master are all series which also make use of that one iconic track they all use in each movie, so they kinda missed the boat on this one in my opinion. But generally speaking the soundtrack works well with the content and the visuals and that's all that really matters. Overall, a worthy sequel, but a sequel none the less, which generally means not quite as good as the original. Check it out anyway.
Rating: 72%