The original Ginger Snaps was a refreshing take on the werewolf story - the way that it blended the similarities in the story with the puberty of teenage girls was both amusing and original and it proved that there was still some originality left in the genre. This first sequel isn't quite as good as the original, but there's still much to like about it. The story follows Brigitte, the more weird and less sexy of the two sisters from the first film who is now changing into a werewolf herself. For some reason that is never properly explained, she has infected herself with the curse via Ginger's blood and has gotten herself addicted to the cure, the plant; monkshood, in order to stop herself changing into a werewolf like her sister did. However, all is not so simple, as another werewolf is on the rampage and is stalking Brigitte because it wants to...ahem, mate with her. After surviving an attack from it, Brigitte is picked up by the police and taken to a rehabilitation clinic where she meets a whole host of new characters, including, most notably, a young weirdo called Ghost.<br /><br />Making a welcome return from the first film is the parallels that are drawn between turning into a werewolf and being a teenager. It's not put forward as forcefully as it was in the original and it seems to concentrate more on the drug taking tearaway side of being a teenager as opposed to the more normal side. There is significantly less humour in this outing, as the parents that delivered most of it last time round have been dropped, but one thing I did find rather amusing was the way that the film used the wolf that wants to mate with Brigitte: probably a commentary on hormonal young men. Unfortunately, Katherine Isabelle who played Ginger in the original film isn't in this film as much as most viewers would like, and she serves the plot in more of an advisory capacity (much like the ghost in American Werewolf in London) and this doesn't allow her much screen time (although this will hopefully be rectified in the prequel; Ginger Snaps Back). One thing that this film definitely has over the original is the werewolf effects; they were terrible in the first film and really let it down, but here they seem to have taken influence from Dog Soldiers and look much better for it.<br /><br />The new cast of characters don't make up for the relative loss of Ginger, but nevertheless; they're largely well done. Ginger's "replacement" is the aforementioned young girl, known as 'Ghost'. Ghost is an interesting character, and despite being a child; doesn't manage to become annoying, which is rare. The other two main characters are a male nurse, and a drugs councillor, both of which serve as metaphors for different roles in teenage life. What sets this film apart from many modern day horror films of this nature is that it's story driven, and rather restrained in the gore department. The film also has an atmosphere of tragedy throughout. This is one of the things I liked best about the original; the dark and morbidity of what's happening on screen consolidates with the characters, and are almost an extension of those characters; which also serves in giving the film a degree of intelligence.<br /><br />The tragedy of the first film was brought to a head by way of it's brilliant and heartbreaking ending, and this film would have to work hard if it was even going to attempt at topping it. It didn't top it - the ending here, although good, and very imaginative isn't as well done as the idea suggests it could have been; and that's a shame. Other than that, however; this is one of the best horror sequels in a long time, and comes with the highest recommendation.