UHM - Review - A Tale of Two Sisters

I heard a lot of positive buzz on this flick a little before it was released on DVD, so I knew once it hit DVD that I'd have to get my hands on it. Well anyway, although the movie is a little confusing at times, it's a good mix of drama and the supernatural. The story is basically about two sisters who return home to their father and stepmother after being treated for mental illness because of the birth-mother's death. The sisters hate it at home, because of their naive father and cruel stepmother, but not only do they have to deal with them, but also the strange happenings around the house. Could the ghosts and strange happenings be the cause of the sisters’ return home? Actually I believe that this movie is based on a famous Korean folk-tale.

This is a very slow, but interesting film. It's got this strange mood to it that just kind of keeps you wanting more, especially since the story is confusing at times, you have no choice but to pay attention. The movie has a got an interesting mix of drama and horror, which is pretty rare. You don't see anything supernatural until maybe about 20-mins into the film, and when it does happen it's pretty creepy. There's one scene that kind of reminded me of Ringu a bit, but otherwise all the scares were pretty good. I personally didn't get scared, but one or two scenes were a little creepy. What I also liked about the movie was the fact that the "twist" didn't happen in the last 5 or 10 minutes like most movies. The twist was actually revealed with about 40 minutes of film left and then it just revealed more story that explains it little by little. I thought that was pretty original and very interesting, although it was incredibly confusing. It actually took me a little while to figure it out, but even then there are a couple questionable scenes. Either way, the twist caught me a little by surprise.

So overall I liked the movie. It had good creepy scenes when they were called for and good drama and a very interesting story. It's a good classic ghost tale with a very moody atmosphere. I decided a 7-rating was best fitting here. I believe the director Ji Woon Kim also directed the "Memories" segment in the Asian film Three. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

OVERALL

A good ghost story. Has creepy scenes and good performances with an interesting story. Worth a watch if you like supernatural ghost flicks, but remember that it is a slow-paced flick.

Comments page 1 of 1:

CLICK HERE TO COMMENT

been there done that :

Posted 300 days ago

Very good film (watch it alone in the dark). I would also like to recommed 2 other Asian films. The Eye and Marebito, watch them before you see the remakes.

kao :

Posted 416 days ago

I felt like this was a genius filmmaking in my opinion. Every scare has a huge build-up. I like the direction korean filmmaker are taking with the whole ghost story. Awsome performance by the leading lady. It was fast pace for me. Once they got to the house you can feel somethings not right. 9/10 for me.

Misfit :

Posted 432 days ago

really good korean film, has some seen that before moments but overall a great film

<1>