Su-Mi (Lim Soo-Jeong: 'Sad Movie',' ...ing') is returning home from an un-explained stay in hospital with her younger sister Su-Yeon (Moon Geun-Yeong: 'My Little Bride', 'Innocent Steps'). Arriving at the house, they first explore the beautiful garden and journey down to the small, nearby peer to dip their toes into the lake. Neither girl appears to be in a rush to enter the house. Finally they are called by their father and hesitantly, they make their way inside. There, a woman, their stepmother to be precise, greets them. We can tell instantly that all is not right. After a bitter argument with the woman, Su-Mi leaves the dinner table to head for her dark, lonely room. Slight goading and a shade of spite from the stepmother leaves younger sister Su-Yeon following suite. The sisters' father seems oblivious to all this however, and remains sat at the dinning table like nothing had happened. Later that night, ghostly noises can be heard throughout the creaky hallways of the house, scaring the younger sister into her elder siblings bed. But as Su-Yeon sleeps, a ghostly apparition appears before Su-Mi, climbing onto her bed and reaching down to strangle her. Both sisters are awakened by their father knocking at the door the next morning, only to find that they are safe and well, but the bed sheet is stained with blood. Su-Yeon had had her first period, and the girls are shocked to find that both they and their stepmother, all started on the same morning. What connection can this have to the eerie goings on in the house? Did Su-Mi really see what she thought she had that night? And why does the father seem to neither react nor respond, to any of this?

The questions posed all lead to answers that are probably best left buried. Tension mounts in the house as the two sisters try to unravel just what is going on, avoiding their evil stepmother as they go. If all this sounds anything like a fairytale, be prepared for a not so 'happy' ending. 'ATOTS' is a horror movie with a Difference. Yes, it does shock and scare the viewer, but it does something else that you'll likely not expect: it also touches you. Underneath the horror is a story of a broken family whose members are at war with not only each other, but also themselves. Their tale is a delicate puzzle, which is mysteriously pieced together by the audience under the guidance of master director Kim Ji Woon. For every time you jump, something will happen which will make you question the intention of all involved and, while the shocks are woven skilfully amongst the narrative, less patient viewers may be left itching for blood, guts and that creepy looking girl with the long black hair. I only hope that those people do find the merit in a different type of horror picture. In fact, as stated earlier, 'ATOTS' is more of a psychological thriller than straight out spook-fest. This is a film, which not only leaves you sweaty-palmed but also broken hearted at the pain and suffering of this once happy family. Personally, this for me leaves it running rings around, well, Ring.

Another area where 'ATOTS' stands head and shoulders above many other recent Asian horror films is in its design. The house itself is a beautifully constructed set, which has been designed and lit with remarkable detail. It almost takes on a life of it's own in it's brooding shades of purples and greens. Each area has been lit differently and so each room has it's own characteristics which are perfectly exploited by the wonderful cinematography. Many unique camera tricks and special effects are also used, though you'd be hard pushed to tell. These aren’t effects which are used to create 'otherworldly' sights, but rather to give the camera better movement and heighten pivotal moments. A moving pattern on an eerie piece of wallpaper is one such example, as is what is probably the most important revelation of the picture towards the end. It's a 360% camera movement in a confined space, which reveals the perpetrator of many of the wicked events, something that could have not been done if not for special effects. The music also follows the standard of these elements with a score which is both haunting and sad, but is never over used or simply ‘abruptly increased’ to scare the audience.

A film like this, where so much relies on character and interaction, lives or dies by its cast. Though not a large one (there are four main cast and only two other cameos) the cast of actors here are simply superb. Both sisters are very different in nature and though very young, come across strongly. 16-year-old actress Moon Geun-Yeong portrays the gentle Su-Yeon, perfectly capturing the essence of a helpless girl who is a pawn in the power struggle between her elder sibling and their evil stepmother. Lim Soo-Jung, who was also brilliant as the young girl with a terminal illness in '...ing', shines through with a performance showing skill beyond her years. She perfectly portrays the struggle of juggling her vendetta against the step-mom with wanting to care for and protect her sister. As the stepmother, Yum Jung-Ah is a wonder to behold, acting above her age and giving a suitably chilling performance of a woman who seems cold, vicious and manipulative one moment but rather helpless and fragile the next. She manages so much with the little screen time she has and is surely an actress we will see much more of in the future.

Kim Ji Woon brings all the various elements together into an intelligent, thought provoking whole. At it’s heart it is a story of a girl who was too petty minded to think of anything but her own silly grudge, and a family torn apart by the pain of change. Child abuse, suicide and mental illness are the real demons here and while that may put true horror fans off, 'ATOTS' more than makes up for lack of otherworldly goings on in beauty, intensity and a real sense of fear. If you are willing to substitute blood for brains and real heart for cheap scares, this movie will be one you will remember long after you see it.

Or is it?

Relax. A Tale of Two Sisters is a movie in its own right. To compare it to Ringu would be to do it an injustice. So I won't. I refuse to do an injustice, unless I'm pushed.

In a way, the cover, at least the one I posted above, is kind of a picture of the general plot. Two sisters and what appear to be a mother and father. Nothing is given away. The sisters are obviously the center of the tale, being covered in blood, and given the movie's title. What about the father and mother? Why do they seem so at ease? Are they friend or foe? Those are the questions posed during the movie. I guess that makes it a pretty good cover. The DVD menu is pretty cool, too.

There is definitely a high production value to this movie. I love the cinematography, the sets and the colors. If nothing else, it is pretty to look at. The acting all around is quite good, epecially the two sisters Su-Mi and Su-Yeon. I'm trying to think of something to compare it to, but although A Tale of Two Sisters isn't exactly super-original, nothing immediately springs to mind.

Su-Yeon has a naive air about her. She is innocent, doesn't talk much, and looks to Su-Yeon for reassurance when she's troubled. Su-Mi is the girl from the first scene with the doctor (which makes the rest of the movie a flashback) but looks much better. They both look like a couple of sweet young sisters enjoying each other's compnany and trust.

The story proper begins with the two sisters being driven by the man from the DVD cover to a beautiful house in the country. The girls slowly get out of the car and look around. Something isn't quite right, however. While Su-Yeon nibbles on and spits out some sort of plant, Su-Mi surveys the house. We sense that she's been here before, and that she has a sense of foreboding about the place. It also turns out that the 'father' on the cover is actually her Uncle, and the woman is ....

Pretty quickly we witness the tension between the woman and the two sisters as she 'welcomes' them home. Something is a little off about her as well, and Su-Yeon (the innocent one) tenses and cowers, while Su-mi betrays her mistrust a little more defiantly. During dinner, the Uncle gives the woman some medication to take, and our questions and suspicions quickly mount. Later that night, Su-Yeon is visited (if she wasn't dreaming) by an unseen person in her bedroom, and finds comfort in her big sister's bed.

What the hell is going on? What has happened here, or to these characters. Everyone is acting either strange or suspicious, and no one is coming out and addressing the issue. We know from the intro that Su-Mi is not, or will not be well psychologically. Is there a threat lurking in the house? If so, a threat against her, Su-Yeon, or both? Will Su-Mi be able to keep herself and her sister safe as things become more sinister?

And here I leave you. A movie like this deserves to not be given a play by play. The answers that unfold are a little complex, and for a long while are open to interpretation. In the end, all is explained.

A Tale of Two Sisters does share one thing with Ringu: it is a well-made, well-acted tale that saves its scares for just the right moment. In the same way that Ringu didn't scare the living daylights out of me, neither did this. I guess it would be safe to say that if Ringu scared you, then so will a Tale of Two Sisters. But there is more here than scares. Like Ringu, the tension is built slowly. Character development is given proper attention. In the end, we care about the two sisters and get drawn into the story, which is what movies are all about. Horror or otherwise.

DO NOT BUY THIS FILM IF: You are looking for Ringu 3; you are looking for horror and gore mayhem; or you misunderstood the type of 'solace' that Su-Yeon seeks from Su-Mi in her bed - these are young innocent girls! Get your mind out of the gutter (or was that my mind?).

RECOMMENDATION: Recommended for fans of this particular type of psychological-thriller-horror. There are some shocks, there is some gruesome blood, but mostly this is a creepy, moving tale - of Two Sisters.

Review: A Tale of Two Sisters is a dense and disturbing psychological horror film from South Korea that's beautifully shot, convincingly acted and both challenging and rewarding to watch. Elements of Korean folklore and modern thrillers like Ringu, The Sixth Sense and Primal Fear come together in a nonlinear and increasingly surreal narrative, leaving it to the viewer to piece together the facts. In the end, you'll still find yourself questioning what you thought you saw or what really happened, even as an overall picture of writer-director Kim Ji-wun's nightmare of a vision becomes clear.

It's impossible to go into detail on the film without spoiling some of the plot, so here's the gist of it with a general idea of what one can expect. Two sisters return home from a mental institution with their father following their mother's death and that's where the trouble begins. The sisters end up locked in a bitter struggle with their increasingly cruel stepmother while the distraught father is seemingly unable or unwilling to intercede. But there is more going on in the house as a foul-smelling and blood-soaked package turns up in the refrigerator, caged birds end up mutilated and something sinister is seen lurking in the shadows and under cupboards. Something about her closet has the younger sister, Soo-yeon (Moon Geun-young) deathly afraid while the elder sister, Soo-mi (Im Su-jeong) is determined to protect her from the unseen and their stepmother who is also becoming frightened. Mind-bending revelations come to light and the tension and paranoia in the house finally erupt into violence.

Rather than just present a ghost story or a psychological drama, Kim Ji-wun has effectively combined the two. On one level, there is the conflict between stepmother and the two sisters that is seen from the mind of a mentally disturbed individual. This conflict grows more tense and bizarre as the film progresses, yet remains frighteningly plausible as real newspaper headlines of child abuse and domestic violence remind us.

Then there are the horrific apparitions, the kind that will leave goose bumps on your skin. Ji-wun has tapped into a primal fear of the unknown and things unseen that just about every person has experienced at least once in their life. It's that scenario where you're alone and looking into a darkened corner and you see a shape that appears to be a person in an unnatural position, possibly moving from the corner of your eye. This sends a brief chill down your spine as your mind plays tricks until you turn on the lights to reveal clothes hung over a chair. But imagine that those tricks your mind play are no tricks at all and that rumpled shape before you is some thing creeping around that you cannot wrap your mind around, your body frozen as you realize your worst fears are coming true faster than you can react to them. This is the kind of fear that Kim works with very well in this film. Honestly, so-called "horror" films of all kinds stopped scaring me years ago with their gross-out gore, cheap scare tactics or cliched killers. But this film had me thoroughly spooked. Kim knows his stuff when it comes to keeping the tension high and only showing enough to get the effect. The supernatural threat is never fully revealed or even certain to exist. Is it in fact all a trick of a troubled mind or as some clues may suggest, something more? It's a masterful working of genre elements that leaves most modern horror movies in the dust, including many of the Japanese films since Ringu.

Visually, Kim uses a rich and dark color palette along with dim, colored lighting to give the large two-story house where most of the film takes place a foreboding air where anything sinister could happen. This contrasts with the almost cheerful outdoor scenes where, for at least one moment, we see the sisters carefree and at ease. It is as if the house itself is influencing events in some way. Yet Kim never falls into the trap of creating an Amityville scenario where the threat is clearly defined. The house may or may not be involved.

Music and sound effects in the film are minimal and generally only used as an exclamation mark to add emphasis to various scenes or to fill out a general tone. The work of carrying a scene falls to the tight direction and the actors who all perform well. As a mentally disturbed young girl who is trying to comprehend the horrors around her, Im Su-jeong is terrific. It's an understated role, but an important one that turns out to be the key element in understanding what is actually going on. Yeom Jeong-a, as the cruel stepmother is memorable in her role as a woman increasingly unhinged and not what she she first appears to be.

If anything is wrong with A Tale of Two Sisters it's the open-ended conclusion that poses questions even as it answers others. As an English professor once told me, leaving your reader (or audience) to decide how a story ends is just laziness. Then again, screenwriters often feel compelled to explain everything while directors show it all and that usually spells doom for a horror movie where fear thrives on what the viewer doesn't know. Whether A Tale of Two Sisters really is a horror movie or a psychological drama in disguise is up to the viewer to figure out. What is clear however, is that Kim has crafted a gripping experience that will make you think and reach for the covers to shield your inner child from things that go bump in the night.