A South Korean psychological horror drama film inspired by a Joseon Dynasty era folktale. "A Tale of Two Sisters" focuses on a recently released patient from a mental institution who returns home with her sister, only to face disturbing events between her stepmother and the ghosts haunting their house - all of which are connected to a dark past in the family's history.
I actually saw the American remake of this film called "The Uninvited" first before watching this film. I remember liking the overall premise of that film and wishing that it had been executed better. Welp to my surprise it was indeed a remake and it's original adaptation (ie. this film) was everything I could've hoped for. Psychological horror is my favorite genre and this film does it beautifully, whereas the remake missed the mark. But enough about the remake, let's discuss this film!
So this film is definitely one to watch multiple times in order to fully appreciate it and understand it. I've seen it twice now and watching it after knowing it's twists and turns definitely changes the experience. I love the pacing of this film and the overall tone of melancholy and dread. Much of the film is shot in broad daylight, which actually makes it scarier in my opinion. Since it deals heavily with mental illness it wouldn't make sense for it to do the cliche overwhelming darkness trope.
I've seen people state they feel the movie is "dated looking" now, but I don't really see that at all. Maybe it's cultural differences? But from what has been told to me mental illness was not an open discussion in Korea like it has become in the U.S. It's vastly misunderstood, but the film does the right thing in making you feel intense sympathy for Su-Mi, I was tearing up for her watching this! she's not just painted as crazy. She's just very sick and in denial/self-blame about the situations surrounding that family. I even felt for the father, though infidelity is implied I never felt like he was trying to hurt his daughters. The superb acting (especially from Im Soo-jung) contributes to the layered believability of the film.
There's a lot of visual symbolism in this, it's the type of experience where you can't take everything you're seeing as gospel. Were given a very unreliable narrator/main character, so a lot of it is up for interpretation. Though other parts are very straightforward in what's going on/ what happened. I loved looking at this film and it's beautiful cinematography. There's also the beautiful soundtrack set to it's visuals made the entire experience one that I won't be forgetting. It's easily become one of my favorite Korean films, as well as psychological horror films.
I actually saw the American remake of this film called "The Uninvited" first before watching this film. I remember liking the overall premise of that film and wishing that it had been executed better. Welp to my surprise it was indeed a remake and it's original adaptation (ie. this film) was everything I could've hoped for. Psychological horror is my favorite genre and this film does it beautifully, whereas the remake missed the mark. But enough about the remake, let's discuss this film!
So this film is definitely one to watch multiple times in order to fully appreciate it and understand it. I've seen it twice now and watching it after knowing it's twists and turns definitely changes the experience. I love the pacing of this film and the overall tone of melancholy and dread. Much of the film is shot in broad daylight, which actually makes it scarier in my opinion. Since it deals heavily with mental illness it wouldn't make sense for it to do the cliche overwhelming darkness trope.
I've seen people state they feel the movie is "dated looking" now, but I don't really see that at all. Maybe it's cultural differences? But from what has been told to me mental illness was not an open discussion in Korea like it has become in the U.S. It's vastly misunderstood, but the film does the right thing in making you feel intense sympathy for Su-Mi, I was tearing up for her watching this! she's not just painted as crazy. She's just very sick and in denial/self-blame about the situations surrounding that family. I even felt for the father, though infidelity is implied I never felt like he was trying to hurt his daughters. The superb acting (especially from Im Soo-jung) contributes to the layered believability of the film.
There's a lot of visual symbolism in this, it's the type of experience where you can't take everything you're seeing as gospel. Were given a very unreliable narrator/main character, so a lot of it is up for interpretation. Though other parts are very straightforward in what's going on/ what happened. I loved looking at this film and it's beautiful cinematography. There's also the beautiful soundtrack set to it's visuals made the entire experience one that I won't be forgetting. It's easily become one of my favorite Korean films, as well as psychological horror films.