A TALE OF TWO SISTERS                                                                             B

There's some interesting cross-cultural pollination going on between Asian and American cinemas. We borrow their creepy, supernatural film ideas (The Ring, The Grudge) and they copy our moody but pristine cinematography and fractured narrative style (The Sixth Sense, Memento). Take for instance South Korea's latest contribution to the 'undead girl with long black hair covering her face' genre, A Tale Of Two Sisters.

Loosely based on a Korean folktale by the same name, director Kim Ji-woon's jigsaw puzzle of a film emulates the lush eeriness of The Others while shattering its supernatural story line with narrative jumps, haunting nightmares and sudden flashbacks that unexpectedly bubble and pop.

Sisters Su-mi and Su-yeon return home after spending time at a mental institution for undisclosed reasons. There is a strangely close bond between the girls and Su-mi is fiercely protective of her younger sister, especially when it comes to their wicked stepmother, Eun-Joo.

Overtones of abuse and dark secrets lurk in the shadows of the family home and it isn't long before strange noises echo in the hallways and unsettling apparitions lurk beneath the furniture.

Tension simmers between the women and a not entirely unexpected plot twist halfway through the film forces us to reevaluate what we've seen. It's only the first of several surprise revelations. Director Ji-woon wants to keep his audience unbalanced and disoriented by intentionally misleading us with scenes that may be real or imagined. It isn't until the end that all the tragic pieces finally fall into place.

Two Sisters was a big hit in its native South Korea as audiences returned multiple times to unravel the tangled threads of the story. I'm not certain the mystery is worth all Ji-woon's cinematic contortions but he has assembled an effective cast and the picture boasts some beautifully moody images and enough scares to hold your interest.

The house that provides the setting for most of the film is a star in its own right. Decorated with deep floral patterns on its wallpaper and a tasteful mix of modern and rustic accents, it’s the kind of place that should feel warm and welcoming but instead seems creepy and foreboding. Every intricate flowery whorl and well-varnished floorboard seems to hide something other worldly and evil. I'll never look at the space beneath my kitchen sink the same.

While the film may not evoke the visceral dread of Japan's Ringu or Ju-On it does boast a suffocating atmosphere, claustrophobic pace and disjointed storyline that turns the screws on your nerves while leaving you to puzzle over the plot.

Predictably, Dreamworks Studio has picked up the rights to A Tale Of Two Sisters with intentions of Americanizing the story. This will no doubt twist the film's lineage of cinematic influences into something wholly unrecognizable. Given the film's zig-zag of a plotline that somehow seems appropriate.