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Bilbeau loses it for GINGER SNAPS at SIFF
Hey folks, Harry here... Why doesn't this film have distribution in the United States yet? Rumors that I've heard attribute a Blockbuster Video exclusive in the U.S. as being the chief culprit, but doesn't Blockbuster know that with a theatrical release, their investment in this film will soar? This film must be released. Here is yet another praising look...
call me bilbeau.
Saw GS at SIFF last night. Holy Jesus Harry, this was the best movie i've
seen this year. Seriously, it really is the tightest, most well put
together film i have seen since january 1st.
You've heard about it before, I just want to weigh in too. The special
effects are as good as one would expect from any major film, so all I have
to say is why do films cost $80 million dollars, when you can do something
like this for $3mil. The creature effects are better than I've seen in
forever, and quite frankly, other than Jurassic Park and Planet of the Apes,
good model and physical f/x work seems to be a lost art. This movie
delivers there.
The script is so tight, only a woman could write such razor sharp female
characters with Ginger and Bridgette, and even surprisingly Mimi Rogers as
their mom who is fucking great. Katherine whatever, who plays Ginger, will
be popping up all over the place six months from now if there is any justice
at all. i must have her now. Preferably with her blond streaked wolf hair
(but without the extra nipples. No shit). The other girl, Bridgette, won't
be seen too much, cuz she's not pretty enough, but God, I knew so many
people growing up who hated the world, who were obsessed with death, and one
of them looked just like her. That really resonated with me.
I have never seen a 'horror' movie that made me laugh as hard as this
(scream 2 came close), I don't know if it was my sick sense of humor, or if
it was the canadian influence or what, but parts of the film approach satire
in it's view of suburbia, from the opening frame to about three quarters of
the way through, the film occasionally serves up another dig at the life so
many of us take for granted. God bless 'em i say. Brought to mind such
things as Edward Scissorhands, but less weighty.
This may sound a smidge extreme, but I have never seen a better horror
movie. Never. I wish Blair Witch grosses upon the film, unlikely as that
may seem, without the back lash. You will fall in love with the girls, feel
their pain, understand their bond, and the end will stay with you for a long
time. I have rarely seen such complete emotional journeys in films of late
(seen Pearl Harbor recently?), let alone in a 'horror' film and a monster
flick at that, but this is genius. Superb. Enter hyperbole. Go see this
movie, give it a distribution deal, for christ's sake give the selective
audience members something decent to see this summer. Please. Lion's Gate,
you helped produce this, America needs to see it.
Everyone who was involved in this deserves a pat on the back and a fat
check. Am I gushing? damn straight. See this movie and you'll understand
why.
thanks harry. you're doing the good work, man.
bilbeau
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Cool. This comes out in the UK in two weeks. About time too. Also, American Werewolf in London, what a fucking classic. Had a proper nightmare after watching it on sunday night. What is Werewolf By Night by the way? Is that a comic?
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I never really had a reason to hate Canada, until they hoarded this movie all to themselves. Now, I hate them all. I'm going to eat them...eat 'em 'til they're dead. Rar. (More tender) Please, though, won't you let us see this? Please?
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Yeah I live in Vancouver Canada and saw it about a month ago... Really good. Katherine Isabelle is amazing on screen and though all plain janed Emily Perkins does a great job (she's cute...just not in this movie) The girls were down here for a signing (which I couldn't attend) and sent a friend of mine in my stead to pick up the poster for the flick. It's story board art from the film, and I gotta tell you, even right down to the BOARDS this film kix ass...amazing art!
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Once again, I must tell you all that Ginger Snaps is playing in the UK from June 29th. In July, the UPP in Oxford will be showing it for a fortnight. s.marham@virgin.net for more details...
I have a press-screener video of Ginger Snaps at home, and have watched it three times. And thoroughly enjoyed it on each occasion. But now, it has to go back...
Last night, I caught The Boys Club on digital TV... John Fawcett is certainly showing promise - but Karen Walton clearly played a major part in Snaps.
What's next, Mr. Fawcett, Ms. Walton? -
SEE THIS MOVIE.
It's been out on VIDEO here in australia for months! In an interview on this site not long ago the director complained about the distributor screwing him and the film over. This is true. Australia recieved only a shitty little video distribution through blockbuster with zero fanfare or marketing and a shitty cover that made it look like the fucking lowest teen slasher fuck up of the low, but this movie is excellent and I urge everyone to go see it with as many other friends as possible in a packed cinema. FUCK I cannot state in words alone (I am using some serious hand gestures here) how good this movie is. SEE it NOW!! (and if you can't, suck shit.) -
As you can see I was really hopped up on cheap speed.
good movie though -
Believe me - Lion's Gate would sell the souls of each of its executive's mothers to get distribution in the States - what? do you think they are figuring "hmmmm, there's just way too much Canadian content in the US - we'll let this one slide" - my best guess is to blame Blockbuster. But forget that - why not just accept that this could be one of those small gems that only you and a few other people know about - and when you go see the next stupid slasher movie you can say - "this aint nothing compared to Ginger Snaps" and one guy three rows back will say "did you see that?" and you'll say "yeah - great fuckin movie" and he'll say "yeah - I fuckin loved it" and your friends will say "what movie are you talking about" and you can smile and smugly say "oh, just some little Canadian film that fuckin rocked" and it can be that little secret film that you've always wanted to have - and you can go to the video store one day - wanting to rent a horror film and people will be suggesting "get Scream so we can see it for the 73rd time!!" "I wanna see Jennifer Love Hewitt's boobs again!! Get I know What You Did The Summer Before That Summer That Was The Worst Summer Ever!!" and you'll say "you guys wanna see a great film?" - and you'll show them Ginger Snaps and they'll say "huh?" "wha?" "snu?" and you'll say "trust me" and they will and they'll be scared shitless and you'll be a hero forever. Isn't that what being a fanboy is all about?
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there's a free preview in London on 21st June at the UGC Haymarket. Time Out mag is giving away 100 pairs of tickets for the screening. Check this week's issue for details.
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Come on, that was the best thing about the movie! Hehe. I must be one of the few people who didn't love this. Sorry, it was just nothing extraordinary. And please, the creature FX aren't that great either. Ok, they're decent but calling them the best in forever is kind of far-fetched.
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A few weeks ago, just a few days after the movie premiered in Canada, "The Toronto Star" had a lengthy article about how the movie failed to attract audiences. (On its first weekend, it only grossed $150,000 on 84 screens.) Dan Lyon, head of TVA International (the Canadian distributor) is quoted as saying, "There's no denying I'm disappointed...the take is under half of what we were projecting." He went on to say that though he hoped the movie would take $1 million (in Canada) during its first run, it looked like they would cancel plans for a wider release. (Which seems to be what happened; in fact, the movie opened in two theaters in my city, and it was completely gone in two weeks.) He did hold hope for its video release, however.
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With as much enthusiasm that is swirling around this film here at AICN and at other movie sites, I have to agree in that I dont think it would do that well in the box office. I think it would make its money back, at least, but all of the shit horror films that have come out in the last 7 years have pretty much killed any chance a decent horror movie will have, unless its disguised as a "thriller" like The Sixth Sense. People just arent ready for a resurgence of old school horror yet.
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Ginger Snaps is officially the most overhyped movie of the year. It's an Ok film, at the very best. The past five years of stale horror has simply led to people praising this thing for more than it's worth. First of all, the movie is prudish as hell. Sure, it's really gruesome, but the whole werewolf thing is a puberty metaphor where this Ginger girl has to be killed because she's having sex. The two girls are reprehensible and one-dimensional. It's very silly, despite taking itself too seriously and is clumsily photographed save for a brilliant final shot. A lot of people reading this site are going to be disappointed that Ginger Snaps just isn't that great.
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I actually saw the film. It was still being presented here, till last week in Montreal and I have to say I wasnt expecting much...however I was really surprised this movie is a smart horror flick with genuine understanding of what being a teenager in a suburbian environment is like. Mimi Rogers was really funny, and both girls play their roles very well.
True Katharine Isabelle should definately get more attention cuz she's really hot, but she's not the better actor in this movie Emily Perkins get my vote for best actress in this film, and I hope she gets the attention she deserves. -
Jun 06, 2001 10:01:53 AM CDT
yeah, dont blame us Canadians, man...i saw Ginger a few weeks ba
by johnny filmmaker
I was very pleased with Ginger Snaps, because it was a pretty fresh movie. In a sea of shitty "teen horror slasher" flicks, this was a welcome change. True, the main characters were teenagers, but this movie still doesnt fall into the "teen" horror catagory. And i was also pleasentaly surprised to see that they didnt hide the fact it was a Canadian movie. As we all know, tons of movies are filmed here in Canada (i've been through Xavier's mansion in X-Men twice before..its 5 minutes away), but the filmstake place in the 'Sates...which is understandable. But you plainly see Ontario licence plates and Canadian money...pretty cool. And i really dug the whole "natural progression transformation" into the wolf...nicely done. Emily Perkins was great, and will go places. As will Katherine Isabelle, who just seemed to get hotter and hotter as the movie went on....i hope i get to work with her some day.
Anyhoo, i really do hope this flick gets U.S. distribution, 'cause i sure the 'states would appreciate to see this flick. -
MANIAC COP: I don't think the film's subtext is "don't have sex kids, or you'll turn into a werewolf and have to be put down" but is instead about peoples' fear of the changes that adolesence brings (amplified way over the top of course). I can see how you might read it the other way, especially since all those teen slasher flicks are all about knifing kids caught doin' the humpty but I think GINGER SNAPS is much more sympathetic - of course if it didn't get out of hand it wouldn't have been much of a horror movie. This film deserves hype and I hope it gets a wide release in the US (distributors probably think it is too "Canadian" though with all the hockey and bi-lingual posters and such). It is easily the best lycanthrope movie since the original AMERICAN WEREWOLF and the best horror flick in years.
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I knew about this movie before it was released not because of an advertising campaign but for Harry's efforts on AICN.
A week AFTER Ginger Snaps was released I saw ONE television ad. I've seen and heard nothing on tv, in print or on the radio since or before.
The TV ad was fairly unremarkable, weak. It felt like it would turn people off.
I want to see it, but where? -
was a Marvel comic that ran in the 1970s.
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The main problem with the Canadian film scene is not any lack of talent (if anyone has seen Hard Core Logo, they can agree with me) but more for the fact that Canadian companiew will spend near-nothing on film production, make quality work and use $5 for any sort of promotion whatsoever, even in Canada.
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Wow, I dodn't realize there was such a buzz around this movie. I work at a theatre in B.C. and practically no one is coming to see it. I saw it and thought it was alright, nothing spectacular. There were extremely funny moments in it, but the creature effects weren't amazing like this guy made them out to be. Oh well. I just think it's funny that I got to see something before the States did. Cool.
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Great Justice is right, Hard Core Logo is a fuckin' amazing flick!
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cant wait to see the film it looks really good from the trailer and we r lucky coz in the uk we get to c it at the on the big screen it opens here on june 29th
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One of the more interesting things about that article in "The Toronto Star" was that it was revealed that TVA International spent over $1 million into promoting the movie. That may not be much of a promotion budget in the States, but it's quite a considerable sum to promote a movie in Canada. Another quote from the head of TVA International had him saying, "We've gone over our steps in the past couple of days and asked ourselves a hundred times, 'What else could we do to make this movie a success?' The answer is, 'Not a damn thing.' Everyone worked very hard for it."
Which is very unlikely. If they did indeed spend over $1 million, they did it in the worst way possible. I, for one, never saw any trailers for it, nor any commericals for it on TV. (I did hear there were commericals and a theatrical trailer - though I didn't actually SEE any.) There were a few articles about it and the actresses in the national newpapers, but that kind of promotion really doesn't do that much. To top it off, the poster for the movie was (typical for a Canadian movie) butt-ugly.
The end of the article has the TVA guy saying, "My one fear is that at the corporate level, some executive is wondering now whether financing Canadian movies is a wise use of resources." Now that statement I can believe. -
...and I think the audience thought it was funnier than I did. Don't get me wrong, it was hilarious-very character driven laughs, rather than slapstick. But I thought that some of the more serious spots were lost to a lot of the audience who laughed at them.
But, it was a fine, fine movie. I, and my friend, thought the writing dropped off a bit in the last half, which, in his words "...kept it from being God-like." It's a good movie, and if some American distributor would snap it up (and promote it intelligently) she could go home with a cool 30 million US easily. Get on the ball people! You've got a great movie going to waste! -
I have seen this on video, and sure for 3 million dollars John Fawcett has managed to create something that looks like it was made for much more. The Make up effects were good granted, but the monster effects were not, rubber pupet anyone? The two lead actress were both entertaining but on a whole its just a polished B movie. Its starts of well enough but doesn't manage to keep the momentum going though the whole piece and quickly just ends up your usual horror fare. This isn't Werewolves re-imagined for the 21st century this is just an extra spin on a really old story.
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Jun 07, 2001 1:37:45 PM CDT
As I have said in every single one of these Ginger Snaps hype se
by jackburton
Don't go in watching this expecting to be blown away by it all or you're going to find yourself supremely disappointed. I saw it last December when it was released in Australia, and while it's an enjoyable enough piece of hokum it certainly aint all that. Damn, the amount of hype this film has had on AICN you'd think Harry had a percentage in the film profits or something, anyway as Ive said before I think at the end of the day all this hype is only going to do the film harm, and then the inevitable backlash will begin against it. Had it been left to it's fate as a sleeper then some people may well have found themselves quite pleasantly surprised, but now all that most people are going to find is a disappointment as the film isn't able to deliver the greatness that they've been promised and are expecting. And then just like happened with Blair Witch it'll be remembered as worse than it actually was, just because it couldn't possibly live up to the hype machine surrounding it. As I said it's an okay bit of hokum horror, with a couple of decent performances, particularly from "Ginger" herself, no more, no less. Don't expect any more than that. And in the meantime I'll see you all at the next Ginger Snaps hype session...
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I'm a Canadian and I haven't seen this yet but it sounds promising...a Canadian movie that has buzz in the States that was not made by Atom Egoyan. Talk about overrated....that talentless fuck is almost single handedly responsible for the "Canadian film is shit" stigma. How The Sweet Hereafter robbed James L. Brooks of a possible directing Oscar, I'll never understand. It is true,though....every Canadian movie I've ever seen is shit. Atom Egoyan films are the absolute worst. The second I see prairies, snow-covered farmland, RCMP or anything that has to do with the Maritime fucking provinces, I start feeling ill. Hard Core Logo was the only exception. Here's hoping Ginger Snaps is another...
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I didn't realise the actress playing Brigitt was 22. She's a good actress. Best Goth werewolf film since . . . ever.
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