This Korean chiller manages to be both visually dazzling and intriguing throughout it’s almost two hour run time despite the fact that you are never quite sure what is going on.
Soo-mi and Soo-jeon come to live with their father and their wicked step-mother after a spell in a mental hospital, and have problems adjusting back to normal life.
When strange occurences begin in the house, we are never really sure if the house hides a dark secret, or if the step-mother is trying to drive the girls mad so that she can have their father all to herself.
Whilst I will admit that Asian horror movies are now in danger of becoming as cliche as American ones, there is no denying that A Tale of Two Sisters still packs a punch when it comes to it’s scarier moments.
Long haired ghosts, damp patches and creepy noises are all present and correct, but it still manages to be portrayed in a terrifying manner.
The performances are very strong here and the film looks beautiful. The visual style and choreography of the camera along with the sound design, ensures that every frame looks like a beautiful work of art and the story’s intriguing nature really manages to draw you in for the duration.
OVERALL SUMMARY
A Tale of Two Sisters manages to fulfill all the requisite Asian horror cliches whilst managing to be very different from anything you have ever seen before. As fairytales go, this is pretty disturbing stuff.
