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What I Thought:
When it comes to werewolf or asian movies, I can watch them until the cows come home. So, "A Tale Of Two Sisters"
came highly reccomended. After my wet and shat pants during "The Eye", I was lusting for more, this film was often
called "scariest movie ever". So, I watched it, alone with the lights turned off and the volume blasting . . . let's
see what Santa brought:
This movie isn't a lot of things, for one, it isn't "the scariest movie ever" (although it comes very goddamn
close) but it is a lot of things. "A Tale Of Two Sisters" is a drama, a mindfuck of sorts and a ghost story, all
mashed up into one big experience. What I'd say is the film's stronger point is it's cleverly plotted storyline. It starts
of simple, straightforward and clean. As the plot developes, so do the characters and the complexities.
During the beggining blocks, we see a well written human drama, divorce, the loss of someone loved and the problems when
trying to adapt to a new life. Soon, the movie goes 'David Lynch' on hour asses, pulling off every single "Jesus, what
the fuck?!" trick there is (that's right! get ready for plot twists galore, doppelgangers, alternate and shifting realities
and then some). It all adds up for it's conclusion that will leave you guessing.
The characters are SUPERB, during it's first acts, before the Lynching begins, the characters grow a lot, their personalities
are defined and we begin to love them all. While in the closing act, you're just smacked in the head and- no wait, I'll leave
that for you to see for yourself. The acting was also top notch. The stepmom is the best player by far (the dinner scene alone
tells you that, WOW). The girls deliver their scared and multiphasetical performances like champs. I was overwhelmed.
The directing starts out as standard (*dramatic closeup*) but fear not, it quickly improves. Near the end, the kinetic
and fluid camerawork is a visual treat, with lighting adding atmosphere. There's that "camera going around characters"
shot that left me drooling. This man can also create tension, that chocking scene anyone? The scares aren't frequent but when
they come, THEY FUCKING COUNT! The scene with a ghost girl that puts Sadako to shame crawling (or whatever the hell it was
doing) had me smacking my legs with anticipation.
The flaws? Well, the movie has a few flaws but they're all minor. First, there's the fact that characters dissapear for
extended periods of time, which isn't too bad because it doesn't hurt the characterizations. There's also the "Dennis
The Menace" thing gig with the evil stepmother falling over the fishing hooks and whatnot. There's also the concluding
chapter, where everything begins to gel, while that's awesomly well written, it does drag a lot at one point. Again, these
flaws are minor and they won't hurt your viewing experience.
Gore:
A few. There's something's skin strewn in the fridge, a bird getting it's neck snapped, someone clubbing, a blood trail,
blood dripping, and some more minor splashes . . . there's also that bag.
Overall Rating:
9/10. A cleverly plotted, well acted and characterized movie that's a mistery with some serious tension/scares. Minor
flaws are present but this is one of the most quality asian horror movies out there. Get yourself something to bite down on
and get down on "A Tale Of Two Sisters".
review by Leon Sakau
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