A bloody horror by MATTHEW HAYS Canada's long and rather strange relationship with the horror movie just sprouted another chapter. Titled Ginger Snaps, it's the rather wacked-out feature-length tale of two sisters (expertly played as alienated teen goths by Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle) who are frustrated late-bloomers. When they finally hit puberty and begin to menstruate, bad luck has it that one of them actually gets bitten by a werewolf. That's right, this film makes a correlation between a girl's growing into a woman and someone turning into a werewolf. And screenwriter Karen Walton says that indeed, growing up female can seem that rough. "I wanted the film to be a conversation about the perils of coming of age," she says. "Not only do you have to deal with the physical, social and mental pressures, but your body betrays you too. You're being forced to take an identity, while the disease of lust takes over." Ginger Snaps had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Fest in September, where critics and audiences alike were soon bitten by the bug. Buzz was so strong that Walton was named by Variety in an October issue as one of 10 new screenwriters to watch out for. As Walton explains it, director John Fawcett approached her with the idea for Snaps. "When he asked I just said 'No way.' This was in the pre-Scream days when the prospect for horror movies looked bad. Those films tended to reach a small audience and then go straight to video. What I didn't want to do was screaming girls in wet T-shirts getting rescued by guys. So John said, 'Well, make it something you'd want to go to see.' I was like, 'Okay, you're on.'" Walton, who also wrote the teleplay for The Marilyn Bell Story, the CBC made-for-TV movie about Marilyn Bell and her famous victorious swimming matches, says she drew on various horror movies while penning Snaps. "Certainly, I thought a lot about Cronenberg's Dead Ringers. There was a film that was about more than what it was on the surface. Polanski's Repulsion, too, which is the creepiest movie I've ever seen. And the genius in Heavenly Creatures." And despite the film's rather raunchy and twisted concept, Walton reports that she and Fawcett were never second-guessed by the film's backers, who gave them "full and unqualified support. We maintained creative control throughout." See Walton's take on menstruation and werewolves for yourself. Ginger Snaps opens this Friday, May 11. Kudos go to Adrien Gonzalez, the organizer behind the fourth annual Montreal festival for Spanish-language films, Ciné-fiesta. The event launches tonight, May 10, and runs through to Sunday, May 13. The screenings take place at the Goethe-Institut and tickets are a mere $6. Info: www.cinefiestanet.com or phone 523-3515. Filmmakers in this year's fest include Pilar Garcia Elegido, Albert G. Caballero and Pablo Malo. COMMENTS: mhays@mtl-mirror.com