Editorials
Sisters United in Blood: The ‘Ginger Snaps’ Trilogy
From the quaint suburbs of Bailey Downs emerged a pair of horror’s most memorable sisters that would offer a rarity; a trilogy of modern werewolf films. The trio of Canadian horror films started 18 years ago with the now modern classic Ginger Snaps, catching the film festival circuit by storm by word-of-mouth, garnering a Canadian theatrical release on May 11, 2001. Directed by John Fawcett and written by Karen Walton, with both sharing story credits, the macabre Fitzgerald sisters and the deadly puberty is hell metaphor of Ginger Snaps would capture horror hearts and inspire two back-to-back filmed sequels refused to give in to expectations.
Katharine Isabelle slayed as the eponymous Ginger, and Emily Perkins as the meeker younger sister Brigitte, but finding them proved difficult in the casting process. The gore and language kept Canadian casting directors at bay, and when one finally did agree to pick up the film, the W.R. Myers High School shooting in Alberta, Canada that took place mere days after the Columbine High School shooting suddenly thrust violence in teens into the spotlight. Which meant teen-based horror like Ginger Snaps was met with outrage and scrutiny. After a six month process of casting, both leads were found on the same day.
The story follows the death-obsessed, outcast sisters as they navigate high school, bullies, and boredom in their quiet suburb town. Though Ginger is the leader, more outgoing and rebellious compared to her shy sister, Brigitte, the bond between them is impenetrable. That is until Ginger gets her first period, and it happens to attract a werewolf that’s been hunting in the area. Ginger survives her attack, and her slow werewolf transformation exhibits similar signs to going through puberty; new bodily hair, mood swings, and a new sexual hunger. Ginger’s transformation into womanhood mirrors her transformation to werewolf, driving a wedge between sisters as Brigitte is suddenly forced to learn how to stand on her own. It brings a clever new twist to the werewolf sub-genre, but more than a gory puberty metaphor, it ingeniously examines moral ambiguity. Ginger’s new lust for blood means a pile of bodies left in her wake, and they don’t always deserve it. Brigitte’s core conflict is between her love for her sister and doing what is right, making for a fitting if not bleak ending.
With the titular character no longer in the picture, how do you handle a sequel? Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, written by Megan Martin and directed by Brett Sullivan, picks up after the events of the first film with Brigitte now struggling with her own impending werewolf transformation. This time, lycanthropy is used as a metaphor for addiction, as Brigitte spends much of the film in a rehab clinic as she desperately clings to monkshood extract to ward off her transformation. The ghost of Ginger taunting her sister every step of the way, as Brigitte leans further and further into extremes. The biting humor of the first film is traded in for pessimism, and Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed offers a brutal ending that has often become a sticking point for fans, even if appropriate given its dark theme on succumbing to addiction.
It was a bold direction to take the sequel of a beloved cult hit, keeping with Ginger’s rebellious nature by giving fans nothing of what they expected and offering up something completely different. It also failed to generate the same word of mouth that its predecessor did, likely due to far less festival and promotional support. This meant its theatrical run proved more disappointing. Reviewed mostly favorably, but underseen, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed carried on the Fitzgerald sisters’ story in a way that deftly avoided cliché.
Shot back-to-back with the sequel, both released in 2004, the direct to DVD third entry in the series brought Ginger back into a much more prominent role by setting the story in 1815. Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning takes the ancestors of the Fitzgerald sisters to the settling days of Canada, where they’re forced to take refuge in Fort Bailey, a place consistently under siege by werewolves. While the prequel setting of 1815 makes for a unique Gothic facelift, the core story relies heavily on the same beats of the first film. Once again Ginger is bitten, and once again it’s Brigitte that must struggle with saving or killing her sister. The prequel weaves in new werewolf mythology that sets in motion the fate of the future of werewolves. Ginger Snaps Back ups the kill count and number of werewolves, but leaves out the humor of the first film that helped solidify its cult status. Even still, it brings a more uplifting sense of closure to the series, and it’s an extremely ambitious film for a third entry in a series.
The werewolf sub-genre is far scarcer than it should be. Even rarer are sequels to well-received werewolf movies (can we ever get a Dog Soldiers part two?). That Ginger Snaps generated not one but two follow-ups is a testament to the importance of great characters and stories in horror, and really cool werewolves helps. Ginger and Brigitte’s bond saw them through puberty, addiction, high school bullies, and even the dangers of a wild wilderness during the early 19th century. The perfect casting of Isabelle and Perkins only further cemented the on-screen bond between sisters, unbreakable and relatable. “Sisters united in blood, together forever.”
Horror was permanently changed in 1984 when Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street unleashed Freddy Krueger on the world. This brutal boogeyman pushed horror to exciting new places, but so much of the character’s impact is the result of Robert Englund’s quintessential performance.
Englund has a long and storied career as a performer that’s covered far more than horror alone. However, there’s such a sublime, sinister synergy between Englund and this heightened genre that’s made him one of horror’s most revered names.
Englund is set to scare audiences again as a malevolent reimagining of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio Unstrung, but he’s also been responsible for many more macabre monsters.
The Cricket (Pinocchio Unstrung)
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has somehow spun a morbid experiment in public domain exploitation into its own cinematic universe, the Twisted Childhood Universe. There’s been increasing promise in the TCU’s various films, which has also led to a growing list of capable horror guest stars, such as Roger L. Jackson, Richard Brake, and now Robert Englund. Englund is by far the most impressive name to attach himself to one of these movies, and Pinocchio Unstrung certainly doesn’t squander the opportunity to have him on board as its terrifying take on Jiminy Cricket. Englund’s performance as “The Cricket” in Pinocchio Unstrung becomes a sinister subversion of the classic character who is meant to function as Pinocchio’s conscience and moral compass.
Englund’s Cricket is instead the ultimate instigator who perpetually pushes Pinocchio into greater violence that condemns humanity and its many misgivings, rather than idolizing all the “real boys” in the world. Pinocchio Unstrung is a love letter to practical effects and old-fashioned animatronics and puppetry. This means that Englund just provides the voice for Cricket, but it’s still a deeply sinister performance and one of the most unnerving characters to appear in the Twisted Childhood Universe. Once again, Englund is careful not to just repurpose his Freddy Krueger persona, and he instead develops an original voice that plays into past renditions of the character. There’s a palpable rage and disdain in Englund’s Cricket that turns him into a threatening loose cannon and makes the audience forget that he’s only a few inches tall.
The Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom of the Opera)
The Phantom of the Opera is a foundational horror story that’s still being explored over a century later. 1989’s cinematic adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 classic doesn’t always get the respect that it deserves, despite it containing one of Englund’s most nuanced horror performances. Directed by Dwight H. Little, who previously helmed the underrated Halloween 4, The Phantom of the Opera operates as a gorier take on Leroux’s source material that feels like a lost Hammer Film picture. The titular Phantom is the perfect role for Englund following A Nightmare on Elm Street, and his participation in the picture was initiated by Englund promising his agent that he’d do another horror project after Elm Street’s success.
Englund was excited to tackle an iconic character who had previously been portrayed by formative horror legends like Herbert Lom, Claude Rains, and Lon Chaney. Englund beautifully fits the mold and is sublime casting for this ‘80s take on the character. Englund taps into a powerful dichotomy between the Phantom’s brutal and tragically sympathetic nature. It’s a role that’s significantly deeper than Freddy Krueger and better explores Englund’s range as an actor, which helps get him away from cheesy one-liners. It also doesn’t hurt that Little concocts a uniquely twisted take on the Phantom’s disfigurement, which was achieved by sewing human skin onto Englund’s face. The modern-day sequences that bookend the film were meant to tie into a planned sequel, The Phantom of the Opera 2: Terror in Manhattan, which unfortunately never came to fruition.
Victor Creel (Stranger Things)
Love it or hate it, Stranger Things assembled some impressive guest stars that took advantage of their respective legacies as ‘80s genre legends, such as Linda Hamilton, Matthew Modine, Cary Elwes, and Robert Englund. Englund’s turn as Victor Creel in the streaming hit’s fourth season is one of the series’ best performances and a role that rises above the mediocrity around it. Victor Creel is an opportunity for Englund to actually subvert expectations and play against type. It’s brilliant casting that initially conditions the audience to be wary of Creel and view him as a frightening threat. This perception is reinforced when Creel is encountered in a psychiatric ward and horrifically blinded.
Creel’s disturbing eye-gouged appearance is revealed to actually be a symptom of his tragic life and the psychological torment he received from Vecna. Creel is hard to look at, but there’s nothing to fear about him. He’s led a sad life that’s filled with inescapable guilt. He’s more like one of Freddy Krueger’s victims than Freddy himself. Englund goes above and beyond as Victor Creel, and the emotional monologues that he delivers are among some of the actor’s best work and proof that Englund’s still got it.
Marquis de Sade (Night Terrors)
Tobe Hooper’s Night Terrors is a particularly forgettable ’90s horror film that faced a litany of production problems and changes that certainly didn’t do it any favors. The story is a mess, even for a Cannon Video production, but it provides the novelty of Englund pulling double duty as the cruel Marquis de Sade and his modern day descendant, Paul Chevalier. Night Terrors banked on the novelty of Hooper directing Englund as one of history’s greatest monsters, and his performance is easily the best thing about this movie.
There’s an unabashed glee to Englund’s work as the Marquis de Sade that’s reminiscent of Freddy Krueger’s twisted jubilation over his creative murders, yet it doesn’t just feel like a carbon copy of Englund’s iconic role. There’s an appreciated degree of restraint going on before the film goes off the rails and incorporates supernatural elements and abstract dream sequences. Chevalier and his modern cult worship the Marquis de Sade as a deity of torture and liberation. The nightmare sequences that involve the Marquis de Sade are the most chilling and make this figure look as frightening on the outside as he is on the inside. There’s enough to latch onto here, even if the film as a whole is a mess, and Englund doesn’t squander the opportunity to play two sides of the same creepy coin.
Scarecrow (Injustice 2)
Robert Englund is no stranger to voiceover work, and he’s voiced his share of macabre and memorable characters over the years. That being said, one of his most inspired roles is the work that he did in NetherRealm’s dark DC Comics-based fighter, Injustice 2, where he plays Jonathan Crane, better known as the Scarecrow. There’s a certain tongue-in-cheek brilliance to having Englund voicing the Batman rogue who is the self-appointed “Master of Fear.” There’s certainly a meta quality to Englund’s casting here, right down to how some of his dialogue explicitly references Freddy Krueger one-liners like “Welcome to your nightmare” and “Now I’m playing with power.”
Englund doesn’t just phone in this performance or replicate his work as Freddy. The actor cultivates a unique voice for Scarecrow that cuts to the core of this character in a menacing manner. Englund’s Scarecrow is raspy, erratic, and honestly one of the better takes on Dr. Crane. It makes one wonder what he’d be able to accomplish if he were playing the part in live-action. He takes a simple role and breathes fresh life into it. Curiously, it’s not his first time playing a Batman villain. He does comparably interesting work as The Riddler in The Batman and the more obscure sorcerer, Felix Faust, in Justice League.
Evil Bloodthirsty Brian (The Hughleys)
There’s a surprising relationship between horror icons and sitcoms, with Robert Englund being no stranger to adding a devious dose of terror to a farcical comedy. Englund shows up as a playful take on Lucifer in Married…with Children, but he also provides a genuinely chilling performance in the first season of The Hughleys. Season one’s “Storm O’ the Century” is centered around the Hughleys and Rogerses getting stranded at a seemingly haunted hotel during an intense blizzard.
“Storm O’ the Century” functions as a proper love letter to horror fans, with genre guest stars that include The Addams Family’s John Astin, The Shining’s Shelley Duvall, and Robert Englund as the comically-named Evil Bloodthirsty Brian. The episode certainly prioritizes its comedy, but it manages to also be legitimately creepy thanks to a locked-in performance by Englund. He’s used sparingly, but always to punctuate a particular scene and function as a jump scare. Evil Bloodthirsty Brian sports a ghastly scar and has a look that’s just frightening enough to be included on a ’90s sitcom. Anyone who is curious about Englund’s performance can check it out for free on Tubi.
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