Review: A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

The middle of October seemed like a good time to watch the Korean horror classic, A Tale of Two Sisters, for the first time—and I was right, for unbeknownst to me, it's another hit from director Kim Jeewoon (A Bittersweet Life, I Saw the Devil). Having seen the American remake, The Uninvited, I had an idea of what I was in for, but even then I couldn't predict the comparative dedication to tonal darkness. While both movies are very much products of their time, one hits more with jump scares while the other is subtle in its slow-burning build of atmospheric tension. It's a horror movie overall, but while A Tale of Two Sisters is deeply disturbing, it's also moving in its depiction of a family wounded by deception and emotional trauma. My one regret is that I've only watched it once before writing this, and it's a movie that demands at least two viewings.

A Tale of Two Sisters is, as the title suggests, a tale of elder sister Sumi (Lim Soojung) getting home from an institutionalized absence and reuniting with her younger sister Suyeon (Park Eunmi). Their father also thinks this a good time for them to get to know their new stepmother, Eunju (Yum Jungah). Still grieving the death of their sick mother, both girls aren’t happy, but Suyeon shies away when Eunju is present, while Sumi actively rejects even being in the same room with her. As tensions rise, Sumi and Suyeon turn to each other for comfort, with Sumi vowing to always protect Suyeon. The story focuses on the three of them and their shared experience of something going wrong in the house that none can explain, primarily from Sumi's perspective, allowing for her particular circumstances to feel all the heavier.

Sumi has been having horrific nightmares since she got home; she's getting pieces of memories that don't fit together, Eunju won't get out of her face while they're still mourning the death of their sick mother, and to top it all off, she's a teenager. When she expresses concern to her father about everything that's been happening, she's met with a stern, dismissive, "Pull yourself together," leaving her responsible for her own safety as well. In watching Sumi deal with a turbulent reality that's simultaneously too much to bear and too prevalent to ignore, the story unfolds to reveal what happened before she'd gone away, and how deeply the scars run, and it becomes less and less clear to her and the audience what's real and what's fabricated.

While I write this with the assumption that most readers have seen it, or at least know the plot, I still want to avoid spoilers for those who still have the opportunity to go in totally blind. That being said, A Tale of Two Sisters is an excellent piece of psychological horror, whose influences can now be seen throughout the horror genre. That feeling of heightened stress and confusion is aided by the complex cinematography, editing, and gaudy set design. As it progresses, scenes are peppered with disjointed imagery, and each room is loud with floral wallpaper and ornate antique furniture, which very subtly communicates the characters’ emotions—the walls are certainly closing in. Kim Jeewoon has intimate knowledge of how emotions are felt and how they can be communicated visually to an audience, and it makes his work really enjoyable to watch, even while going down with our tragic heroes.

Edited by Kelly Sipko