07/17/2005 8:13 PM
Posted by VeggieSteph

Sisters starring Margot Kidder, directed by Brian DePalma

Sisters is one of those movies where you think you know what you are seeing, but later on, you find out you were wrong. DePalma throws in a dash of Alfred Hitchcock, a sprinkle of Dario Argento, and a little bit of psychedelic cinema via Easy Rider. It’s not as good as any of the great movies put out by those directors, but it’s the best Brian De Palma I have seen, outside of Carrie and Dressed to Kill.


Sisters is the story of Danielle, played by Margot Kidder. Danielle is a French Canadian model who brings home a guy after a dinner date. The next morning, the guy wakes up and hears two women arguing. He leaves to pick up some things, and returns to find himself made very slasher-movie style dead. It’s a great scene, full of bright 70’s style red blood, with some split screen technique thrown in for fun. Across the way, the intrepid reporter, played by Jennifer Salt, sees the whole thing and calls the cops. They find nothing, of course, because Danielle’s creepy ex-husband has helped her out. The perky and very annoying reporter makes up her mind to solve the mystery. She pokes her nose around and causes some slasher-style gooeyness, and then causes some really creepy hallucinations and psychedelic color sequences with the even creepier smarmy ex-husband. The end isn’t all that surprising if you know Brian DePalma’s style of movie twists, but it is entertaining with the creepy hallucinations that could be out of some of the more modern horror movies like House on Haunted Hill or 13 Ghosts (you know, those eerie black and white creepy nightmare style scenes).

If you can get past the horrible “French” accent of Margot Kidder, and the increasingly annoying reporter antics of Jennifer Salt (love that winged hairdo), the story is pretty good. It’s not Brian DePalma’s best movie, but I’d put it towards the top. If you really like thrillers, and won’t be turned off by the bad 70’s odor, you’ll like this one okay.