AA windigo (or wendigo) is a feared creature from Native American mythology. Typically, it is described as an emaciated, once-human cannibal of amazing speed who lives in the cold and wintery regions of North America. In the context of this movie, windigo is the Indian name for the werewolves that live in the wilderness surrounding the Northern Legion Trading Company. As The Indian Hunter (Nathaniel Arcand) tells it, the windigo came when the area was settled by the English and French. The legend goes that two sisters, one black and one red (referring to their hair color), will decide the fate of the windigo/werewolf blood line; that is, whether the curse, which is carried in the blood, will end forever or grow stronger and plague many more generations in the future. In order to prevent the werewolf line from becoming stronger, Brigitte (the black) must kill Ginger (the red).
AWhen it becomes known that Ginger has been bitten by a werewolf, she is cast out of the Fort. Of course, Brigitte chooses to go with her. They ask Milo (Fabian Bird) to take them to see The Hunter. As they approach his cave, Brigitte becomes separated from Ginger and Milo. She stumbles around in the snow looking for them, and trips over Milo's mutilated body. Ginger reappears and admits that she killed Milo...she couldn't help herself, she says. Together, they find The Hunter's cave. He and the Old Indian Woman (Edna Rain) lead Brigitte in a ritual vision in which she sees herself stab and kill Ginger. When Brigitte comes out of the vision, she sees the Old Woman's mutilated body. The Hunter explains that Ginger killed the Old Woman and that it is Brigitte's fate to kill Ginger. He gives her the knife that she saw in her vision and takes her back to the Fort where she is told to await Ginger's return. When they get there, however, Brigitte realizes that it's a trap. Led by Reverend Gilbert (Hugh Dillon), the men of the Fort take Brigitte prisoner and prepare to save her soul by burning her alive as a witch. As the Reverend is about to light the fire, The Hunter shoots an arrow through his hand, because his visions have told him that Brigitte must be the one to kill Ginger in order to destroy the bloodline. Wallace appears on the stairs and warns off the Reverend. When the Reverend starts to rant about Wallace's "bitch wife", Wallace has had enough and runs a sword through him and sets him on fire. Wallace cuts the ties on Brigette and sets her free. Wallace then takes a torch, goes inside, sets things on fire, sits in a rocking chair and blows his brains out with a musket.Meanwhile, there is a knock at the gates. Ginger has returned to claim her sister. After demanding they hand over her sister, the men attack her and begin beating her. She crawls to the doors and throws open the gates, letting in a pack of werewolves who immediately set upon the fortsmen. In the melee, Wallace cuts away Brigitte's bonds, but he is bitten by one of the werewolves. The werewolves soon surround Wallace, Brigitte, and The Hunter. As The Hunter tries to keep them at bay with his arrows, Wallace spreads gasoline around and sets the Fort on fire before shooting himself. The Hunter is also mauled by a werewolf. He tosses the knife to Brigitte and reminds her of how it must end, but Brigitte turns the knife on him instead. In the final scene, Brigitte and Ginger sit together in the woods outside of the burning fort. They hold each others hands...united together forever.
AIt's not really essential. Although the two main characters (Ginger and Brigitte) and the actresses that play them (Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins) are the same in all three movies, The Beginning is actually best viewed as a stand-alone movie, unrelated chronologically with Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps Back: Unleashed. Therefore, it can be watched either before or after the other movies without any interruption in the sequence.
