Review of A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) by William S — 30 Mar 2008

The Ring? - forget it. The Blair Witch Project? - don't even bother. The Exorcist - don't even get me started on that one! ("your mother sucks cocks in Hell!" that's not scary. I just thought "Why wait??") There is a scene in A Tale of Two Sisters that is possibly one of the scariest scenes I have ever seen in a film. A scene that is so scary and thrilling it still makes me a little breathless after four viewings. But that's the thing here - there are many such scenes - what's under the sink, in the fridge, in the closet, behind the door, crawling on the floor?? In fact, EVERYWHERE! But to say it's only about the scares would do it an injustice. It's a deeply moving and multi-layered story of guilt, grief, family values, paranoia and schizophrenia all wrapped up in a haunted house story.

With the best ghost stories, it's always better to leave a bit of mystery to keep us wondering. But with A Tale of Two Sisters, it goes a step further, not only confounding us and challenging our expectations right to the very last frame but making us come back a second and even a third time trying to unravel all the plot strands. There are at least two major plot twists that I never saw coming and after each one I was left gob-smacked, more confused but, most importantly, thrilled and excited. Even after seeing it four times there are still things that remain a mystery - who is under the sink? What IS in the fridge?? But that's what is so great about the film.

It's also an incredibly beautiful and cinematic film - a wonderful use of the primary colours green, blue and most shockingly red (not always blood). The camera plays some nifty tricks - great close-ups that bring the emotions of the protagonists right into our laps! At one crucial scene the camera seems to subtly quiver which highlights the character's (and our?) incomprehension and distress. The use of sound is also exploited to very scary effect - scratching, clawing, banging, scraping and screeching.

If you want an easy ride then see the dismal remake of The Haunting. If you want a thrilling, exciting, deeply moving, slightly troubling, very confusing but ultimately quite rewarding scary horror then check this one out.