Torment (2013) #431

Katharine Isabelle's most memorable roles are those where she is badass take control woman such as in "Ginger Snaps" and "American Mary"so it's a real surprise to see her take a role where she portrays average newlywed wife in the movie "Torment". Even then, using the word average is an understatement because she is able to hold her own against the cult like group that invades her home in the middle of the night. It's nice to see her take different roles and showcase her acting chops even if she does cry out for her husband for help a few too many times. "Cory!" "CORY!!"

"Torment" is the simple little story about newlywed couple Cory and Sarah who are trying to start a new life together with Cory's son Liam. Of course Liam doesn't like Sarah no matter how nice she tried to be to him. To help Liam cope with the death of his mother and the new family dynamic, Cory takes Sarah and Liam to the family summer home in the middle of nowhere, always a great idea. 

Cory and Sarah soon discover that the summer house had a problem with squatters, a fact that the local sheriff tries to dismiss and reassure them that they are safe. Of course they're not, and soon they are besieged by a manical family wearing ripped off stuff toy heads, terrorizing the young family.

"Torment" is the kind of horror movie filled with jump scares, violence, and a fair amount of edge if your seat chills. It doesn't offer anything new to the genre but it is fun and doesn't disappoint. With excellent pacing and enough story background to have you care about the characters, "Torment" is another must see film for any Katharine Isabelle fan or any casual horror film viewer. 

American Mary (2012) #413

"American Mary" is a stylish and sexy horror film staring Katherine Isabelle as Mary Mason,
a med student who begins performing extreme body modifications to pay her mounting debts. The film is directed and written by the Soska Sisters, who appear in the film as patients/customers of Mary's, spinning an interesting story that tastefully walks the line between torture porn and mad-scientist genres. Mary feels like a real character which makes it easy for the viewers to relate to her. "American Mary" keeps the audience intrigued throughout the film but feels like it sputters to an abrupt end with it's somewhat anticlimactic ending.

Mary Mason decides to become a stripper so she can keep up with her mounting bills that she is incurring while she is at med school to become a surgeon. While "interviewing" at the strip club, Mary is paid $5000.00 to save the life of a man who appears to have been tortured in the club's basement. A few days later Mary is approached by a dancer from the club who asks Mary to perform a body modification procedure on a friend of hers. Mary is reluctant but decides to accept the job and it's $10,000 offered fee. Mary soon becomes popular in the counter culture world of body modifications, meeting clients and making her art. But her actions have repercussions that come back to haunt her...

Katherine Isabelle as Mary Mason

Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)

For years horror fans had speculated that Freddy Krueger would go toe to toe with Jason Voorhees, especially after Freddy's trademark glove came up through the floor and grabbed Jason's hockey mask at the end of "Friday the 13th part 9". That was in 1993; it wouldn't be until an additional "Friday the 13th" was made and ten full years had passed before the world was given "Freddy Vs. Jason" in 2003. The movie....is what it is. It takes elements from both franchises, dozens of teens to kill, and a story that finds a way to blend the two together easily. The best scenes are of course when the two villains are going at each other but the teens deaths are fun as well. This film is more about action and satire than horror and that's ok. This is the last appearance of both title characters before each series was rebooted.


Freddy Krueher is trapped in Hell and can't escape unless the teens on Elm Street believe in him. Since no one remembers or knows of him, he decides to trick Jason Voorhees into going to the suburbs and killing on his behalf, hoping to stir up some memories. Eventually someone does, a patient in a mental hospital, and Freddy is released. But Jason keeps on killing Freddy's victims, so the two go head to head in Freddy's dream world. During this time, some teens are able to drug Jason long enough to return him to Crystal Lake where he and Freddy have a final showdown in the real world, where Jason has the upper hand.

Ginger Snaps Back aka Ginger Snaps 3 (2004)

What happens when you have a werewolf story about two sisters and one of them dies in the first film and then the other one transforms in the second? Well, you reboot the concept and take both sisters and place them in the Canadian wilderness during the winter of the 1815! In "Ginger Snaps Back", the Fitzgerald Sisters are back, trying to survive the harsh winter after their trading party never returned from the Hudson Bay. I love the time period that this film takes place and I always want to watch it as a double feature along with "Ravenous". The chemistry between actors Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle is as strong as ever and come across as two devoted sisters who only have each other. Add in the venomous distrust of a hateful reverend, a fort filled with men who are weary and tired of constant attacks by werewolf's, and a dangerous secret that could ruin everything, you end up with a powder keg situation ready to explode. And when the time comes, it does explode in a beautiful and bloody way.


Brigitte and Ginger are wandering the Canadian wilderness, travelling aimlessly after losing their way. They come across an nearly empty camp, where a wise Indian women gives them each a talisman in the form of a necklace and tells them that they must "kill the boy", otherwise one sister will kill the other. A hunter then takes them to Fort Bailey until it's safe to travel again. It is here that their troubles begin as they become the focus of suspicion from the members of the camp who have been under attack by unnatural forces. In the fort itself, Ginger is attacked by the leader's son who is a werewolf. She becomes infected and is determined to kill the boy so she won't kill Brigitte. The chaos soon spirals out of control as the leader, the reverend, the hunter and others react to the situation, leaving Brigitte to face the terror that her sister has caused.

Ginger Snaps 2 : Unleashed (2003)

In 2003 two movies inspired by “Ginger Snaps” were filmed. The first was a sequel titled “Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed” and the other was a prequel called “Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning”. At the moment I’m going to focus on the sequel and as most sequels go, it’s decent but not nearly as strong of a film as the original. First of all the title is a bit misleading because Ginger died in the first movie and is still dead. She does make a couple of appearances as a ghost/vision that talks to her sister Brigitte. The movie also tries (half-heartedly) to compare her symptoms to those of a recovery drug addict. It doesn’t work but luckily it doesn’t interfere with the movie too much. I do want to point out that I really enjoy and appreciate the creative choice in this film series to have the change into the wolf form a permanent metamorphosis. They are unable to change back and forth so the stakes are drastically raised to keep their humanity and prevent the change as long as they can.

The film begins some time after the original. Brigitte is on the run across the suburbs of Canada. She is taking doses of monkshood to keep from turning into a wolf creature like her sister Ginger had. She is seen cutting herself and keeping a detailed record on how long the cuts take to heal. The quicker they heal, she realizes, the sooner she is doomed to complete the change into the beast. The monkshood is not a cure but only slows down the process, so she decides to take a second dose in one day…which turns out to be nearly fatal. After taking the second dose, she hears the male werewolf that has been stalking her (Ginger’s ex-boyfriend from the first movie), and runs out of her apartment but suffers from shock from her OD. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a drug rehab center. The staff believes she using the monkshood to get high and her cuts are the results are her being a “cutter”. She tries to escape and fails but is able to steal a piece of glass so she can continue timing her cut/healing rate.

At the hospital she meets Tyler, an orderly who offers her monkshood in exchange for sexual favors, which Brigitte promptly turns down. She also meets a young girl called Ghost who is at the hospital with her grandmother, who had suffered 3^rd degree burns over her body. Ghost comes and goes as she pleases throughout the clinic and quickly attaches herself to Brigitte. Ghost is clever enough, as well as imaginative enough, to figure out what Brigitte is. She tries to help by sneaking Brigitte some monkshood but they are caught by Tyler. Eventually Tyler gives in and lets Brigitte have some monkshood. Soon, Brigitte and Ghost escape from the hospital and drive out to where Ghost and her grandmother lived. There they prepare to fend themselves to kill the male werewolf that has tracked Brigitte down.

Favorite part – The last 15 minutes. Once the film changes scenery from the hospital to Ghost’s house, the pace picks up and becomes much more plausible and enjoyable.

Ginger Snaps (2000)

What happens when you take the curse of a werewolf’s bite and a victim who is a teenage girl who hasn’t started puberty? You have “Ginger Snaps”, a clever and entertaining movie about that special time in a young woman’s life when her body is going through certain changes…or not. I love how this movie takes this premise and utilizes it for all it’s worth.

“Ginger Snaps” is a movie about Ginger (16) and Brigitte (15), two sisters whose  are obsessed with death. They spend their free time posing for pictures depicting horrible death-like scenes and talk about various ways that they could kill themselves. Of course their behavior makes them outcasts as their high school and they get in fights with the other girls from time to time. Late one night, the girls are out at a playground when Ginger realizes that she’s having her first period. After this realization they are attacked by a werewolf. Ginger is bitten but the werewolf is killed when as it continues to chase them into the street, being hit by a local drug dealer named Sam. Over the course of the movie, Ginger begins to experiences changes, which their mother says is all a part of becoming a woman. As Ginger tries to hide her tail and other wolf-like qualities and starts to date, Brigitte forms a friendship with Sam as they try to find a cure. Time is running out as Ginger becomes increasingly violent and deadly, steadily losing her humanity and turning into a giant wolf.

This movie is followed up with the sequel "Ginger Snaps: Unleashed" and a prequel "Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning". Both films were filmed back to back in 2003 and continue to star Emily Perkins as Brigitte and Katharine Isabelle as Ginger.

Favorite moment – I really enjoyed watching the steady visual changes that Ginger goes through in the film. First a few white strands of hair appear, and then so on. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, or what’s left of it.