WARNING: This Review May Contain Spoilers
I’m going to be completely honest with you all, this article took me a couple of attempts to write as I found the whole thing extremely confusing, which I’m sure will become apparent as you read on. Ginger Snaps is probably up there with one of my favourite coming of age horror films but I was unable to include it in my previous article so here we are, stuck with my crazy theories…
Same Name, Same Face
So, this is where my confusion truly began. These films are set at least a century apart, however it feels like the Brigitte and Ginger you see in both Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps Back are the same characters! Also, who in the 1800s would be called Ginger anyway? If the character in the prequel was called Anne, it would make a little more sense as, in the original, her full name is Ginger-Anne, so it can be played off as a family name.
This is probably going to sound really strange but I didn’t notice this when I watched Ginger Snaps Back before, but the sisters don’t really seem to act like they’re from the 1800s – the characters feel exactly the same whereas everyone else feels right. The way Ginger swears for example – feels really out of place in the prequel. I don’t think this is any fault of the actresses themselves – more on the way their roles have been written.
A Family Cursed
I guess one way to look at these films would be that the Ginger and Brigitte in the original are descendants of those in the prequel – meaning that the names become family names in a way. This theory can be backed up in a few ways, for example when they first enter Fort Bailey, Ginger comments that they were accompanying their father Montgomery Fitzgerald, the same surname held by the sisters in the first film. Along with this, the necklaces worn by the sisters in Ginger Snaps are similar to those given to them by the Cree seer in the prequel – meaning that these could be family heirlooms passed down through the generations. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this messes a little bit with the story of the original film as this would say that Ginger is cursed to become a werewolf as her ancestor was unable to kill the werewolf that turned her – ignoring the fact that she is attacked in the original film.
Past Lives
This may seem like a weird way to look at the two films but this could also be another explanation for the characters having the same name and almost resolving the potential plot hole around Ginger’s attack in Ginger Snaps. This would be the idea that the characters seen in Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning are the same Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald from the original film but in a past life. In a weird way, this says that Ginger is always destined to become a werewolf and Brigitte to kill her.
Together Forever
This is a repeated saying between Brigitte and Ginger in both films however it is also the one difference between the fate of the Fitzgerald sisters that we are presented with. In the original film, Ginger’s werewolf curse divides the sisters as she begins to spurn Brigitte’s companionship – almost as if she has outgrown her sister. However in the prequel, it seems to bond the sisters as Brigitte does whatever she can to protect Ginger from the soldiers and staying by her side even though it could be the most dangerous place to be.
I think part of this difference is because Ginger reacts to what’s happening to her differently. In the prequel, Ginger is scared of what’s happening to her and with Brigitte’s help she does what she can to stop her own transformation whereas in the original film she begins to enjoy the power it gives her, ultimately leading to final showdown between the sisters.
In Conclusion
I’ll be honest, it’s tough to draw a conclusion here because the whole idea of the prequel is pretty confusing as you can see. The original film is definitely the better of the two so it makes me wonder why they even made Ginger Snaps Back in the first place – especially as it feels like it messes with the plot of the original film… but that does seem to be typical of prequels at times.
