Die Schwestern des Bösen

Sisters benefits from a terrific set-up, a well delivered first hour, a marvelous Bernard Herrmann score, and De Palma's able use of a split screen. Unfortunately it can't carry itself through to the end, and soon collapses into a confusing, formulaic, and ridiculous ending that obviously tries to cover up the fact that, well, De Palma simply didn't know HOW to end the film. Nonetheless it is essential viewing for fans of shock cinema, psychological horror, or cod-Hitchcock fans.

The first time I viewed it was in 2003, on cable television. Considering that it was a Brian DePalma film, I was expecting something interesting and suspenseful. I really enjoyed his films BLOW-OUT(1981), and THE UNTOUCHABLES(1987). Here were two films where he demonstrated his effective use of creating suspense that was more integral to the plot. After recently re-watching his 1973 shocker, SISTERS, my opinion of him has been unchanged.

Sure, maybe there are things about it, such as visuals and styles,that are extremely similar to Hitchcock, but I thought that this movie was completely original story wise. The opening sequence is very cleverly played out so that you don't quite know what you're going to watch and by the end you are surprised by the direction it takes. The story involves a woman who says that her identical twin sister lives with her and is apparently crazy.

This may ring a bell with Hitchcock fans as sounding a little too familiar and indeed it does as there are very similar events that somewhat mirror scenes from his films. Before long, an innocent man is murdered and we are immediately introduced to a woman reporter who believes that there is something amiss. Afterward, the movie gets very creative with some of the strangest characters. The film also ends with a weird twist that seems to have some sci-fi overtones to it.

Despite being a little twisted and confusing toward the end, the film is very well made and effectively scary. I wouldn't recommend the film to people who don't really like thinking during movies as this film has an ending that leaves a confusing plothole behind. It is the kind of plot hole that was left in too obviously to be done on accident. But I guess that's part of the charm of DePalma. All of his films offer something similar in the suspense element, but different in every other way.

Brian De Palma is often unfairly dismissed as "that guy that rips off Hitchcock", a statement that overlooks the variety of his output. Of his twenty-odd full length movies only a handful have been thrillers, in fact before 'Sisters' he was best know as a maker of quirky comedies like 'Greetings' and 'Get To Know Your Rabbit'. 'Sisters' was De Palma's first foray into Hitchcock territory, and I think his subsequent stereotyping shows just how impressive he was in this genre. He has made several more famous and successful movies subsequent to this one, but it still remains one of his most entertaining works. Margot Kidder, a few years prior to her fame as Lois Lane, is brilliant as troubled separated siamese twins with a secret. Jennifer Salt ('Midnight Cowboy') plays a spunky newspaper columnist who believes she has witnessed one of the twins commit a murder (a deliberate nod to 'Rear Window'). She cannot get the police to believe her and begins to do her own investigations, helped by a small time private eye Larch (Charles Durning - 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?'). She finds out that there is a lot more to the sisters' than meets the eye, and vows to find out what is really going on. Kidder is of course the star of the movie, but equally memorable is De Palma regular William Finley ('The Phantom Of The Paradise', 'Eaten Alive') in a wonderfully creepy performance as one of twins ex-husband. Kidder and Finley and De Palma's assured direction, which includes a brilliant murder sequence and cool use of split screen in another, make this a thriller that won't easily be forgotten. Highly recommended.

So, to begin, the twist ending isn't unpredictable in these days, but I don't blame Brian De Palma for that. Audiences in 1972 may very well have been wowed by it.

However, I still enjoyed this movie for it's homages to Hitchcock and the performances of Margot Kidder and Jennifer Salt. De Palma's obsession with voyeurism and split screen storytelling are also prominent here.

A great film to watch as a De Palma fan who seeks out the director's obsessions that he would use in better films like "Carrie" and "Blowout."

Hang on to your psychoanalysis, Ladies and Gentlemen...a young Brian De Palma has brought us a fine mindf*ck that is in good company with "Psycho," "The Tenant," and even "Fight Club." "Sisters" is a brain-sizzling thriller that probes the relationship between separated Siamese twins Danielle and Dominique (Margot Kidder) in a maniacally unsettling way. Danielle is a successful actress/model; Dominique is a raving lunatic who becomes violent when sexually aroused. When Dominique murders Danielle's boyfriend, reporter Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt) takes matters into her own hands after the police refuse to help. Meanwhile, Danielle's ex-husband Emil (John Waters doppleganger William Finley) runs a local psych ward. And Charles Durning plays a detective tracking the progress of a particularly heavy couch. De Palma weaves his character interactions seamlessly, employing the types of technical tricks that would be used more superficially in his later works (the use of split-screen to show action from two separate viewpoints, for instance), in addition to some of the trippiest black-and-white imagery this side of "Eraserhead." "Sisters" is an effective, highly influential work that holds up incredibly well today...just make sure you have a refill on your pills before watching it.