Discovering that the “cure” for lycanthropy actually only delays it, Brigitte (Emily Perkins), who caught the disease from her now dead sister, Ginger (Katherine Isabelle), is on the run from a male werewolf and shooting up progressively more of the poisonous monkshood. An unfortunate series of events gets Brigitte locked up in a drug treatment facility. While desperately trying to get the drug which will keep her human, she meets Ghost (Tatiana Maslany), a younger girl who becomes obsessed with her, and Jeremy (Brendan Fletcher), who trades drugs for various sexual favors.
Following the cult favorite, Ginger Snaps, Ginger Snaps: Unleashed doesn’t fall into the sequel trap of being a retread, nor does it damage the integrity or mythology of the first. This is a new movie with its own story, its own theme, and its own voice, while never forgetting its roots. This is what a sequel should be.
While Brigitte was the lead in Ginger Snaps, Ginger was close. This one is all Brigitte, and Emily Perkins caries it off beautifully. It takes only a few moments for us to see that Brigitte is lonely and in pain, but determined to survive.
Theme and metaphor are big to the makers of this series. The first was about the pain and uncertainty of growing up with lycanthropy acting as the metaphor. I can’t say I was thrilled with the message, which suggested that repression, or avoidance of passion, was the way to go, but that was then. Now, lycanthropy is a metaphor for drug addiction but the message is how the world is a much more complicated place when seen through adult eyes. This is a film without anyone being all good or bad. There’re no strict heroes and villains, and that includes Brigitte. Ghost, who is kindly, innocent, and helpful, also has a dark side. Jeremy, who would be a mustache-twirling villain in a lesser film, will go out of his way to help. Nothing’s simple.
This is a more stressful film than its predecessor, and a more leisurely one, though it’s at least as bloody. There is very little plot. It’s all character development. I thought that there was a lot less humor as well, until the end, when I found out that there was a very dark joke in play for a long time.
Ginger Snaps: Unleashed is a more compelling work than Ginger Snaps, and more fulfilling for the viewer, with plenty to think about when it’s over. But it’s also less fun, and not as repeatable.
It was followed by a prequel, Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.