Search - The Sisters on DVD

Excellent and entirely riveting

Dancing Ganesha | Bangalore, India | 03/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While it is true that this film is of a lower budget range, I can say that it was completely riveting and directed with artistry and grace (note the colour schemes and camera techniques), so much so that you forget the fact that there isn't tons of CGI in it.

To be exact, the camerawork is excellent and interesting. The slow-paced approach in the supernatural scenes are ominous and foreboding; other scenes incorporate a soaring quality, almost otherwordly and detached, in a way that influences the religious aspects of the film (the scenes with the Buddhist monk).

Despite the multiple appearances of the Ghost and her frightening glare, there is an inherent pathos and sadness that dominates the deaths of the protagonists, as their fates become tied into that of the two sisters. There is also an undercurrent of sadomasochism that runs throughout this film that is hard to pinpoint.

As well as these various cinematic treats, the soundtrack is very frightening, somewhat reminiscent of Goblin, but also very moving at other turns. The orchestral arrangements are even beautiful at times.

As for the "fright" factor, I found "The Sisters" to be very creepy. I do not want to give away too much of the film's story away, but the ghost is haunting because she seems much more human in some ways than Kayako did in Ringu/The Grudge. Her fate is something we can relate to. The life of this unfortunate woman is truly tragic as well as frightening, and the ending displayed a sense of compassion for the unfortunate sisters. I really recommend this film to anyone who enjoys good cult horror with emotional depth."

Creepy Thai Ghost story in the tradition of The Grudge.

P. A Clark | San Jose, CA USA | 09/03/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The sisters was an interesting film and is worth a watch.

The film begins when a group of musicans from a rock band stay at a motel after one of their concerts. Unaware of the room's history, each band member is drawn to an air conditioning vent on the ceiling. The image they see both horrifies and curses them at the same time. A ghostly female figure, who had been murdered and beheaded in the room two years earlier, is seen moving down through the vent towards them.

The group vacates the room in a hurry, but finds that the ghost is following them. She appears to them both alone and in a group at times, but never leaves their presence totally. Her haunting image terrifies some of the band members into killing themselves, while others are scared into killing themselves by accident. The few members who remain towards the end seek help from a buddist monk. He gives them the solution on how to rid themselves of the spirit,(they are instructed to sleep in a coffin of a person who died a violent death) but they are not succesful. Two of the members track down the ghost's mother and discover that the spirit has had a long, hard life. Both as a prostitute, and while living at home. (before she ran away)

The film ends with one member remaining, but does not give the viewer a concrete answer as to why she has been spared. I have my idea of why she remains alive, but I don't want to spoil the film for you so I'll leave the rest for you to see.

The Sisters had a decent story behind it, and included some true elements which helps the plot. The Ghostly lady did jump me a few times when she appeared, and the music was helpful at times in creating a creepy atmosphere.

I could only give the film a 3 however, becuase I felt it relied to heavily on the ghost's makeup to jump the viewer, instead of using special effects, or even crafty film angels. The film also appears to be low budgeted, and some of the actors did not give quality performances.

The release company for the film is tokyo shock. THey include the original THai language, and an English dubbed soundtrack. They could have picked better voice actors to dub some of the characters voices though.(a regular problem with Tokyo SHock releases) As a result, I think the English dubbed version appears less creepy than it could have been due to the voices.

Overall I found the film interesting, and am glad to see Thai films making it to the American video rental market. It's worth a rental if you like ghost stories. Particularly Asain ghost stories like the Grudge, or RIngu. Just make sure all the lights are out when you view it so you can get the maxium jump value out of it. It might give you a bad dream or two.


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Not scary in the least

J. Berner | Oakland, Ca | 05/24/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Unfortunately I had bought this movie because it sounded like an interesting and creepy movie. The back of the movie gave a summary that seemed promising but upon watching the movie, I found myself either falling asleep or wandering off to check other things, or check the back of the box to find out how long the movie was. Finally, defeated I turned it off.
Normally I give low budget horror movies a chance but this one just bored me to tears. Not once, when the ghost showed up, was I frightened or even startled. In fact I was able to predict exactly when and how she would make her appearance. This automatically takes me out of my suspension of belief and I start to just watch the movie without enjoying it, or feeling the emotions that the movie wants me to feel.
I am a huge fan of asian horror and I constantly rent or buy asian horror films when i can and I have seen some really creepy ones as well as some pretty bad ones but this one took the cake. It felt way too formulaic and predictable. Anyone who is familiar with the genre will be able to predict everything in the movie which is a shame.
some great horror movies are low budget but this felt like it wasn't trying for any depth or psychological scares, it just assumed that putting a girl with long black hair and cheap make-up in a scene would equal scares but that is the worst thing to do as there is no reason to fear this person.

If you are looking for a good asian horror film, I would recommend look elsewhere. this is not worth the time, the money, or even a second glance.

If you want something better, check out: A Tale of Two Sisters, The japanese version of the Ring, and Juon, The Eye, and the Japanese version of Dark Water and Kairo. Those are some of the best of the bunch. The Sisters belongs in the trash heap."