Im Soo Jung is really great as Su mi, and I loved the tension between her and Yeom Jeong-ah, and her sweet relationship with Moon Geun Young.
The cinematography is absolutely beautiful.
The music by Lee Byung Woo has become of one of my all time favorite musical pieces from a film. I just had to have the soundtrack, and it didn't matter that it was mostly different variations of the same awesome song.
Acting-Story-Music-Visually... This movie impressed me all around.
There was a remake made of this film called "The Uninvited", but the story was completely revamped. Though the remake was entertaining, it doesn't come close to this version.
I absolutely recommend this movie! I bought it, and have rewatched it many times.
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By the time the end arrives, your brain will result in confusion, however you'll find the film hits a full circle. You'll know this when you see it!
Storyline: Mysterious, dark, and disturbing. The house well sets the setting of the story with its old style furniture and flowery wallpaper.
Acting/Cast: Remarkable applause to the acting of the stepmother. Very convincing! The sisters' relationship is well portrayed. The father adds the extra which he is quite significant.
Music: The OST fits smoothly with certain parts of the story and well done with the spooky and horrific effects!
Since I never watched 'The Uninvited', this is my first horror film done by the South Koreans and I believe the original are always the best! If you're a true horror fan and enjoy stories with a psychological twist, take this movie for a whirlwind ride...
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The mystery is here until the end and leave a print in doubt even after completion.
The atmosphere created by the decor is impressive, stressful and disturbing, as well as the soundtrack that fits perfectly with the situations.
The acting is particularly striking, especially stepmother's one.
Emotions, thrills and bursts guaranteed.
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This movie is very confusing from the start to the end. Sometimes we are alternating between reality and imagination, and it gets hard to keep up especially during the last half an hour. While the pacing is kind of slow, it manages to build a certain amount of curiosity in the viewer because nothing can be predicted about it. While the idea of this film is pure genius, the screenplay isn't nearly as good. It could have turned out a lot better.
Seems like too much was left for the end for the 'shock value'. Both the direction and editing are lousy within the last half an hour and at the same time that is the best part of the movie. Too much happens which is difficult to take in at once and understand it. I had to go back and watch certain scenes to fully confirm that what I understood was true. However, the ending managed to shock me. And I realized how well the things were connected with each other. We are given subtle hints about the ghost and the sisters right from the beginning. I would say it requires a lot of observation to be able to figure out things before the movie ends.
Since it is psychological horror, that element is definitely present in it. While I never got scared watching this film, it managed to surprise me and creep me out. The wardrobe scenes and the younger sister getting her period were both creepy.
Unfortunately, this movie falls short of a few things which don't allow it to be a masterpiece. Still, the overall effort is really good. I initially felt that the movie was overrated, but it is definitely not.
It has a good rewatch value because I think these kinds of movies get better with each watch.
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At the beginning movie was so slow. I understand that this type of movies beginnings are usually slow to tell us the story and introduce the characters, but... without little "scary" parts it wasn't entertaining at all. Although I got great vibe from stepmother which was played excellent she was as creepy as she should be.
I really like the house, the wallpapers gives me goosebumps, long hallways this dark corners and that hurtful silence.
A cannot tell anything about music, because I don't remember any of it during the show. Maybe it's just one of those soundtracks that just complete the scene without any significant meaning.
Overall I don't recommend it, but you have to find out your self.
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Story: At first I had only seen the American remake, titled The Uninvited, which was wonderful. That one had scared me several times and held me in suspense. When I learned it was a remake I was so excited to watch the first. Originals are always better than the remakes. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a great scary and suspenseful movie. I jumped more than once and ever screamed in fright several times. Even though I had seen the remake and had an idea of what was going to happen, it was still original and the ending still shocked me. I never knew what to expect and slept with the closet light on that night.
Music: It’s a scary movie so you can guess what the music is like. Classical stuff that builds up the suspense and then clashes so that it scares you. But other than those parts there were some really beautiful compositions that flow so nicely and make you want to smile. I'll be 100% honest with you: it is one of the most beautiful soundtracks I've listened too.
Cast/Acting: I think everyone did a great job. They all seemed genuine in their parts. They were wary when things were uncertain, scared when something strange happened. Im Soo Jung and Moon Geun Young were brilliant and much better actors than the girls in the remake. (They’re still good, I just prefer the original).
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Saruman approved.
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Directed by Jee Woon Kim (A Bittersweet Life, The Last Stand) takes psychology and ghosts to a twisty level starring Kap-su Kim (I Saw The Devil) Jung-ah Yum (The Mimic) Soo jung Lim (I'm a Cyborg, but that's ok) and Geun young Moon (Innocent Steps) .
From the beginning, its tensely silence sets a viewer up nicely when the first great shot of the film focuses in, and what a ride it is leading up to a haunted house filled with disparity amongst the people who live in it. Although there is quite a slow pacing of this unique filmmaking, it centers in on characters in a way that M. Night Shyamalan did with his "The Sixth Sense", only there was more to explore with the living.
The performance level from the cast was outstanding with Jung-ah Yum practically stealing every scene. But make no mistake, Geun young Moon and Soo Jung Lim delivered their parts along side Kap Su Kim. All four dominate their roles and create something unitedly special.
For a film that was released in 2003, it really stands the test of time and can be re-watched when called for. It's a masterpiece of film work to its finest and one not to be denied.
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114746/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/
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The performances are outstanding, especially those of the two leads, who manage to convey a deep emotional charge and vulnerability. The cinematography also deserves a special mention; each shot is carefully composed to heighten the sense of unease and beauty at the same time.
However, while the story is captivating, it can be somewhat confusing at times, which may leave some viewers a little lost. Still, the film manages to be a memorable experience that stays with you long after the end credits roll.
Overall, it's a standout work in the psychological horror genre, with an execution that almost borders on perfection. A film that undoubtedly deserves its place among the greats of Asian horror cinema.
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This review may contain spoilers
I'm not a fan of horror... but...
I’m not a fan of horror, and I never really felt curious about this film. For years, because of its title and the atmosphere I imagined it had, I thought it was Japanese — and I’ve always considered J-horror among the very best. I only decided to watch it later, after discovering that it was actually Korean, and above all because one of my favorite actresses was in the cast. I wasn’t sure what to expect: maybe a haunted-house story with the usual ghosts. What I found was much more than that. A Tale of Two Sisters is not simply a horror film — it is a journey into the shattered psyche of a young woman who cannot face her grief.The story begins with Su-mi returning home after a stay in a psychiatric hospital, accompanied by her younger sister Su-yeon. Their house is big, isolated, and unsettlingly quiet. Living there too are their father, emotionally distant and incapable of truly protecting them, and their stepmother, cold and hostile. From the very first scenes, something feels wrong: the house, surrounded by countryside, already seems inhabited by invisible presences. Doors creak open, strange noises echo at night, corridors feel tighter with each step. The unease builds gradually, in a way that suggests there is more to this story than ghosts.
For much of the film, it looks like a classic ghost story. Su-yeon suffers under the cruelty of the stepmother, Su-mi tries to protect her, and the house is filled with eerie visions and disturbing sounds. But as the tension builds, it becomes harder to ignore that what we’re seeing doesn’t fully make sense. Certain moments contradict each other, characters’ behaviors are inconsistent, and the line between reality and imagination begins to blur.
The revelation is devastating. Su-yeon has been dead for some time, killed in a domestic accident: crushed under a wardrobe while her father and stepmother stood by, failing to intervene. Su-mi has never been able to accept her sister’s death, and everything we have seen is the reflection of her fractured mind. The living sister at her side is only a projection, the cruel stepmother is a distorted embodiment of her grief and rage, and the ghosts are the way her psyche gives shape to memory and guilt.
This is where the film becomes something greater than horror: it is a psychological tragedy about grief and denial. Su-mi has not processed her sister’s death. She rewrites reality to keep her alive, she invents an enemy to fight, she creates visions in order to keep her pain at bay. But denial does not heal — it traps her in the same wound, forcing her to live inside a nightmare she created herself. The house is no longer just a setting; it is her mind. Every room is a memory, every noise a thought she doesn’t want to hear, every vision a fragment of truth she cannot bear to face.
The result is a film that frightens and saddens at the same time. When the truth finally surfaces, there is no relief: no ghost to exorcise, no evil to defeat. Only the image of a young woman destroyed by a grief she cannot confront. In the end, Su-mi is left alone with her ghosts, and so are we.
What lingers after the credits is not fear, but heaviness. There is no catharsis, no victory, no neat ending. Only the realization that if we don’t face loss, we remain trapped in it forever. And while A Tale of Two Sisters tells this story through the language of horror, the truth it carries is universal: the scariest ghosts are not the ones that haunt our houses, but the ones that live inside us when we can’t let go.
A Tale of Two Sisters left me unsettled, of course, but above all, it left me sad. It is not just a scary movie; it is a film about absence, guilt, and memories that refuse to fade. And that is why, even though I don’t usually love horror, I can say I appreciated it deeply. Because behind the blood and the apparitions lies a truth that belongs to all of us: the pain we don’t face stays with us — and sooner or later, it consumes us.
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