Brian DePalma made his feature length horror debut with "Sisters" - a delightfully sinister film in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock. Unfortunately, DePalma has endured an unfair amount of backlash over the years from both critics and moviegoers a like who feel his work too closely resembles that of Hitchcock. One major difference between the two is where Hitchcock played on the imagination of the audience as a tool to generate shock and horror, DePalma gleefully pushes the envelope a step further in staging stylized yet graphically brutal murders that the camera does not shy from. There are two such sequences in "Sisters" and they both still stand today, some thirty-two years later, as extremely unsettling and highly effective scenes (the visibly fake blood notwithstanding). And while one cannot deny that the majority of DePalama's repertoire borrows liberally from Hitchcock, DePalma is still a master of the macabre in his own right (after all, imitation has been called the highest form of flattery). And despite what the critics say, DePalma IS credible in the eyes of his loyal legion of fans - based on his strong skill of affectionately paying homage, while at the same time invigorating the material with his own flair of unique visual imagery. And in this manner, "Sisters" does not disappoint. By combining his then experimental split screen technique with a brilliantly unsettling score by composer icon Bernard Herrmann, a "Rear Window" esquire story, and an eerie crackerjack sort of ending - DePalma successfully creates a truly thrilling viewing experience. The film also succeeds in not taking itself too seriously and is further buoyed by definitively camp performances from lead actresses Margot Kidder and Jennifer Salt. The brief yet brutal violence and far-fetched plot may put off some viewers, however the film is highly recommended to genre enthusiasts and a must see for Brian DePalma die hards, an 8/10.
Review of Sisters
