Sam is a protagonist in Ginger Snaps. He is a gardener in charge of the County Greenhouse, who runs a side business as a local drug dealer often seen selling to popular students at the sisters' high school. On the night of Ginger's attack, he closely avoids hitting the fleeing sisters with his car, but runs over the werewolf pursuing them. He aids Brigitte Fitzgerald in her search for a cure to Ginger Fitzgerald's lycanthropy, initially believing Brigitte to have been the infected one.
Description[]
Sam is often at his greenhouse where he grows plants and marijuana. He's seen wearing casual, comfortable clothing, including a muscle shirt and a button-down shirt over an undershirt. He regularly uses his yellow van to get around town where he does gardening work and is available to sell marijuana. When dealing with underage customers or high schoolers in general he seems to follow the approach of keeping the business relationship simple and not getting too friendly or involved with them, not shying away from appearing rude. He also ignores Trina Sinclair's advances.
Appearance in the movie[]
We first encounter Sam in the movie when he drives up the parking lot across from the school to sell drugs to Jason McCardy and friends. We also see that Trina is desperate but unsuccessful to get his attention. He catches a glimpse of the Fitzgerald sisters sitting on their after school hang out spot when he drives off again.
He is next seen at night on the same day driving his van when Brigitte and Ginger cross a road while fleeing from the Beast of Bailey Downs. He almost hits them before running over the werewolf. Sam stops and gets out to check on what he hit. To him, it looks like a furry four-legged animal but he also sees human looking body parts. From afar on the roadside, Brigitte notices the logo on his truck.[1] On the following day, Sam is working on the school premises. Brigitte recognizes his truck, noticing the damage to the grill and asks him what he hit last night. He answers "lycanthrope" expecting her not to know that it means, but she reveals that she does. Alerted by a noise from the back of his van he discovers that Jason, his friends and Ginger were smoking weed inside and shoos them out. When a commotion emerges after Trina and her dog who starts barking at Ginger join the scene, Brigitte drops her folder with a photo of the werewolf on the floor. Sam apparently picks it up later, but Ginger and Brigitte already left.
After looking at the photograph with the strange creature, he wonders what it might be and is on the look-out to meet Brigitte again. One day[2], he sees her walking in front of the school and walks up to her to return the photograph and asks her what's on it. Both suggest to each other that it could actually be a werewolf. When Brigitte notices that Ginger is growing a tail, she feels compelled to get outside help and Sam appears to her as the only person who would take the problem seriously. She figures it would be easier to get his assistance by pretending that she is the one who turns into a werewolf. This time[3] we see him for the first time at his greenhouse. Both come to the conclusion that the lycanthropy they are dealing with must be a tangible real thing like an infection rather than conforming to magical clichés and that it needs a scientific solution. He proposes to try silver because of its antibacterial properties and gives her a pure silver ear ring, which Brigitte gives to Ginger as a navel piercing in the following evening. The scene in the greenhouse has been shortened in the completed movie. A part at the beginning has been cut.[4] Here we would have learned several details about Sam. He is shown experimenting on a orchid to extract an antidepressant. Gardening and the greenhouse are a family tradition. And he didn't plan to take after his parents.
On the next day[5] Sam shows up at the school's sports field when Brigitte and her class have a field hockey unit. He calls for Brigitte from the sidelines. Trina first thinks he is calling for her instead and is shocked when she realizes that he meant Brigitte and becomes jealous. Sam tells her he found a different solution. Brigitte brushes him off, not wanting to risk anybody overhearing their secret. Annoyed by her tone, he leaves. When Ginger asks what is up, Brigitte tells her that she confided in Sam, pretending she was to one who got bit. Ginger disapproves, suspecting him to merely have a sexual interest in her sister.
After Brigitte learns that Ginger infected Jason when both had unprotected sex the night before, she decides that she really has to talk Sam now about a solution. Ginger accompanies her, agreeing to play along with pretending that Brigitte got bitten, to not lose Sam's trust. When they arrive, Sam is confused to see Ginger but lets both still in when Brigitte tells him that she is in the know already. Ginger discovers his indoor marijuana culture and displays playful amazement which he doesn't reciprocate and swiftly tells her to get out back to his office. Sam tells Brigitte about monkshood and how it's ability to boost white bloodcells can fight infections. When he tells her that the plant only grows in spring and they would have to wait, Ginger gets frustrated, accusing him of only wanting to seduce his sister and storms off angrily. Sam assures Brigitte that this isn't the case.
The next time Sam appears is on Halloween when Brigitte brings him the dried monkshood flowers from her mother that she discovered on the day before. They then prepare a monkshood serum that can be administered with a syringe. But they have to admit to themselves that they don't know anything about side effects and dosage. Sam then insinuates to her that he already knows that Ginger is in fact the one who got infected, telling Brigitte she has to be prepared that she might end up killing her sister with their new cure. When she leaves, he tells her to try to meet him at the Halloween party that night. This scene was also shortened[6].
Later on the same day, while the Halloween party is on in the greenhouse, Sam is in his office when a already partially transformed Ginger arrives at his door and tries to seduce him. She advances on him and is almost successful until he rejects her and throws her off his bed, when she checks if she's hurt she lashes out and injures his right arm. Then Brigitte enters and the scene where she infects herself with Ginger's blood plays out. The sisters leave while Sam writhes in pain, unable to stand up for the moment. Minutes later, he suddenly appears again in front of the greenhouse and knocks Ginger unconscious with a shovel. Brigitte and Sam load her into his truck and drive to her family home. He now has to keep his injured immobilized arm bent in front of him. When they arrive they immediately try to find cooking equipment in the kitchen to prepare another dose of monkshood serum. When they hear a violent Ginger in wolf form approaching, they retreat to the pantry where they complete the serum. Sam suggests to Brigitte to use the dose for herself and run away but she declines. They then devise a plan where he goes to the living room with the syringe and Brigitte lures Ginger in. Upon leaving the pantry, Sam is immediately attacked by Ginger who drags him into the basement. When Brigitte finds him he is already bleeding out but has the spastic breathing of an infected and may still heal and survive. Brigitte wants to calm Ginger down by tasting from Sam's spilled blood but has to throw up. The Gingerwolf then quickly bites Sam in his neck, killing him.
Trivia[]
- According to a twitter message from Karen Walton, Sam's last name is not given in the official filming script.[R 1] Interestingly, Sam McDonald was the name in a original script also written by Walton back in 1996.[R 2]
- Sam's truck is a 1990 Chevrolet Astro[R 3].
Speculation[]
Ginger snaps 2 unleashed had displayed hints that Sam was the one looking for Brigitte
Ginger snaps: Sam's first approach towards Brigitte: - Sam: I just spent a week of my life looking for you.
Ginger snaps 2: beginning in the film - Ginger: Do you feeI it? You're not aIone. He's found you again.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- ↑ These scenes take place on October 2, 1999.
- ↑ Sam says "he spent a week looking for her". The actual date is unknown but it is possible it happened on October 22 or earlier. See Timeline.
- ↑ The scene in the greenhouse takes place on the day after Brigitte discovers Ginger's tail which happened on October 22.
- ↑ See deleted scene ("The Ruined Experiment")
- ↑ This is October 24, 1999
- ↑ See deleted scene ("Brigitte & Sam Understand Each Other")
References[]
- ↑ https://twitter.com/inkcanada/status/1292624892031098883
- ↑ imsdb.com/scripts/GInger-Snaps.html
- ↑ Ginger Snaps on the Internet Movie Cars Database