Monday, July 20, 2009

Kmovie - A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)


Synopis - kfccinema
Photos - google


Su-mi and Su-yeon have always been very close as sisters. Su-mi, being the elder of the two, is very protective over her young sister Su-yeon. Since the death of their mother, the stepmother has ruled the house with an iron fist. Su-mi has always managed to confront her stepmother, but Su-yeon, being a very calm and fragile girl, could not defend herself against the psychological and physical abuse of her evil stepmother. Su-mi has tried many times to explain the situation to her father, but his relationship with the stepmother and his disbelief has insured no result.

Su-mi and Su-yeon are now back from a mysterious absence and being back home doesn’t seem to please the two sisters very much. Having to live under the same roof as the stepmother is a nightmare for them. However, during the following days, strange incidents will occur. Another presence can be feel within the house, is it the step mother trying to scare the girls, or a spirit trying to take revenge?



Lots of caps on this page, may contain spoilers.

Hollywood has remade A Tale of Two Sisters as, The Uninvited, taking some inspiration from it. I have seen the trailers to The Uninvited and never did I think it was like A Tale of Two Sisters, again, it's just the inspiration, with probably the main plot taken. Nope, I haven't seen The Uninvited yet and not sure if I want to.



A few nights ago, I re-watched it because a friend's daughter wanted to watch a Korean horror so I put this one in the dvd. I saw the movie a few years ago and it gave me a haunting feeling.

Unlike Hollywood horror movies, Asian horrors don't have those jumpy scenes. Instead you could see a ghost or ghastly figure at the door or edge of the bed in the dark. Very much subtle.



What I also love about Korean horror movies is you when you watch the movie, you always assume or think about what is happening. Either the movie directing tricks you into thinking a certain way or you will later find out the truth.

80% of the movie is filmed inside the house. You are always left guessing if the house is haunted. Or if it's the evil stepmother.



The acting on the two rising actresses, Im Soo Jung and Moon Geun Young, are amazing. More props to Im Soo Jung. I've seen her a few of her movies, such as ...ing and I'm a Cyborg But That's Okay.



Moon Geung Yong is very well known now. I've also seen her in a few of her movies, such as My Little Bride and Innocent Steps.



A Tale of Two Sisters is definitely a must-see Asian horror classic. Just don't group it with Japanese horrors. I actually prefer Korean horrors over Japanese horrors.

1 comment:

cinematheque said...

Hi Nicki,

love the blog. Also love this movie, particularly the fact it gives something new with each viewing.

I mentioned it in an article on my own blog. Also some stuff there on Hong Kong and Japanese film if you're interested.

http://cinematheque.leithermagazine.com/2010/04/20/article-cinema-below-the-39th-parallel/