A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

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Directed by Kim Jee-Woon.

Starring Mun Geun-yeong, Yeom Jeong-ah, Lim Su-jung, Kim Gab-su.

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This supernatural horror film from Kim Jee-woon is inspired by the ancient Korean folktale "Jangha and Hongryun." Set in an isolated lakeside house, it begins with two young girls, Su-mi (Im Su-jung) and Su-yeon (Mun Geun-yeong), returning home after a period of hospitalization following the death of their mother. In the meantime, their father Mu-Hyun (Kim Gab-su) has married Eun-joo (Yeom Jeong-ah), whom the girls obviously despise. Strange, violent visions begin to disturb Su-mi and she becomes convinced that Eun-joo is keeping a dark secret from the family. The American remake rights to A Tale of Two Sisters were sold to Dreamworks SKG in 2003. ~ Tom Vick, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Re:How has horror scarred (yes, ...
by Macabre_FilmNut in HORROR MOVIES 101

liked it.

"I don't frighten very easy either. There are some movies that are so brutal or realistic such as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and those home invasions. Curious to know if you are talking about, Vincent Cassel's Sheitan (2006). I hate to say it but some of the new french horror such as Inside, I will never look at scissors the same again or even knitting needles! But for scare tactic I would have to say movies like, A Tale of Two Sisters (2003). Nothing gorey just pyschological like most asian stuff. " [More]

Re: Favorite Foreign Scary Movie
by FroggyBaBe15876 in HORROR MOVIES 101

hasn't rated it.

"I actually have A Tale of Two Sisters, but have not yet watched it. I believe it is sitting on my floor, looking sad and bloody.But yes, catch Rawhead sometime. It is exceptional.As for 28 Weeks, I was impressed with it. It was uber-brutal and my buddy and I spent most of the movie saying, "Oh, Lord! What...? How...? Oh Lord!" I didn't like it as much as 28 Days, but I still htought it was quite good. But, to each his own.Also, back to foreign films, I would recommend Riki-Oh. It is a kung fu-like movie that is super gore filled and their is little plot but lots of blood. I enjoy it. It's not scary, per se, but there are a few elements in it, along with the gore, that I would say put it in the horror category. " [More]

A Tale of Two Sisters
by IronAbacus in Haiku Reviews of Extreme Asian Cinema

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"Korean horror reaches its zenith in this stark and brooding film | ●●●●● | IMDb | Spout " [More]

A Terrific Tale Needlessly Twisted
by Marlowe in Marlowe Blog

liked it.

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"SPOILERS This film had two strikes against it for me as a viewer. 1) I am officially bored to tears with "shocking" "Shalamanesque" endings where the narrative we have been following for a good 90 minutes turns out to be a fabrication from an 'unreliable' narrarator/filmmaker. 2) I had just watched the 1972 film The Other the day prior which has essentially the same plot twist. The switcheroo of an ending... SPOILER The one sister, Su-yeon, is dead and the surviving sister, Su-mi, was not only imagining 1)that her sister was still alive but 2)she, Su-mi, was also acting as the "wicked stepmother" in these staged (and often violent) dramas as some form of catharsis. ...did not elicit the appropriate response from me and did not seem as logical as say the switcheroo ending to Shalaman's Sixth Sense or Fincher's Fight Club. It seemed to me this tact was taken mainly to shoehorn in some shocking scenes of violence and eerie supernatural moments. Now, having said that, I really li ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

Kim Jee-woon's chilling Korean gothic tale puts a modern spin on some of the standard elements of classic horror stories. Set in an appropriately gloomy old house in which even the floral wallpaper seems to ooze menace, it even features a wicked stepmother. Young, icily beautiful Eun-joo (Yeom Jeong-ah) is hardly the cackling old hag of fairy tales, but she takes no less delight in torturing her stepdaughters. Kim effectively brings out the hidden terrors that children's imaginations can bring to ordinary domestic objects like wardrobes and sinks, only in his film, some of those terrors are more than figments. Like fellow contemporary horror masters Hideo Nakata (The Ring) and M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense), Kim gets the goose bumps going with a constant feeling of creeping dread and finishes with a satisfyingly macabre plot twist. A Tale of Two Sisters never deviates from the age-old conventions of horror movies, but it hits its marks exceedingly well. ~ Tom Vick, All Movie Guide

Tags: korean-nationality , Classic , Female-Hysteria , korean , mentalbreakdown
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