The third time is a charm for this devilishly delightful franchise of cult-fave Canadian werewolf films. The first two are hackle-rising horror semi-precious gems for sure, but Ginger Snaps Back has even more bite.

The first Ginger Snaps movie was an instant cult horror hit in 2000. “They don't call it The Curse for nothing!” read the tagline of the smart, irreverent and modern tale of terror. Sisters Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins) were ostracized by their high school classmates because of their morbid leanings. The two teens were obsessed with death until they got a taste of the real thing -- soon after being attacked by what the girls thought was a wolf, Ginger began to exhibit not only strange behavior, but odd bodily changes which coincided with her first menstruation. In the end, Brigitte was left to go on by herself.

In the second film, Unleashed, Brigitte’s on the run from her hometown, and she tries to prevent what happened to Ginger from bedeviling her by shooting up with monkshood. Caught in a drug-induced state by the authorities, Brigitte is sent to rehab. Without her drug of choice, she is deprived of the only thing that will stop her from turning into a killing beast. Ginger makes a few -- too few -- appearances in spooky dream sequences and flashbacks.

A good installment or standalone film, Ginger Snaps Back reveals the backstory of how the Fitzgerald sisters (again played by Perkins and Isabelle), came to be afflicted with the werewolf's curse in 19th century Canada. Orphaned by a shipwreck, the teenaged girls (presumably)commandeer a horse and ride through the woods, where they encounter a ravaged Indian village. The only survivor is an ancient seer who, naturally, predicts doom and death for Brigitte and Ginger. Shaken, the girls leave the burned out village and stumble into the jaws of a bear trap. Saved by a handsome and mysterious young native man known only as The Hunter (Nathaniel Arcand), they are taken to the inhospitable refuge of a trading fort populated only by steely-eyed, suspicious men armed to the teeth. They are mistrustful because to let anyone inside the walls of the fort is to risk a nasty werewolf infection. But with the exception of one man, they do not know that long before Brigitte and Ginger came along, the fort was already harboring a flesh-eating monster.

The Ginger Snaps budget has obviously gone up, commensurate to its popularity. Ginger Snaps Back has the best werewolves (and lots of ferally beautiful, real wolves), the nicest costume and set design, and certainly the prettiest cinematography (lenser Michael Marshall provides a crisp, gothic, and artistic portrait of the werewolf mythos and brings the 19th century to dark and stark life).

Although I did enjoy Ginger Snaps back most of all of the three films, it is not without its problems. It lacks the biting humor of the first two, and about 3/4 of the way through it drags terribly. It also has some really, really bad wigs. Still, it is well worth seeing and is a howling good time for fans of gorgeous gore, supernatural suspense and hairsbreadth horror.

Unfortunately, Lion's Gate Home Video did not see fit to send a review copy of the DVD with the additional release material. It's a shame when distributors do this, because a lot of viewers choose whether to buy or to rent based upon the "extras" and how they are reviewed. I can't tell you anything about them, except that they include a director's video diary; Wolfboy special effects and makeup; and "Blood, Guts, and Fire" -- a death scene dissected.

(by Staci Layne Wilson)