It's generally a rarity when I catch an Asian horror flick from outside of Japan or Korea. Hailing from Thailand, The Sisters is an odd flick that features some less than great acting offset by a whole slew of horrific sequences. Shot with a heavy use of dayglow colors, The Sisters continually barrages the viewer, often showing them multiple visions of the same location through the eyes of those there.

The film starts with a group of bandmates crashing in a hotel room. During the evening, they pull a ventilation grate out and one by one, look inside and run away from the room in sheer terror. Inside the ventilation shaft is the crawling body of a dead woman. Through the progress of the story, we find out that the malevolent spirit is from a prostitute who was murdered and decapitated in the hotel. As the tale goes, anyone who sees this spirit will end up dead.

It doesn't take long before the friends start dying off, but rather than dying at the hand of the spirit, they die by suicidal means in reaction to what they see. Each one is visually attacked, seeing monstrous spirits that no one else sees until it's their turn to be the victim. After the first few friends die, the survivors go in search of why this spirit exists and how they can survive it. When they find a priest who has dealt with the long survivor of this spirit, he puts them on the trail of a means by which they can have the curse lifted.

From a production standpoint, The Sisters features an odd style that I'm sure is indicative to Thai horror flicks. The colors are bright and many of shots are oddly framed. Some of the horror sequences are intense even without being overt about it. While the direction and cinematography are pretty good for such an obviously low-budget flick, the acting is pretty subpar and melodramatic. Even worse, the English dub is pretty bad, so if you prefer dub, you're going to have to sit through some rough performances.

As with many Asian horror flicks, one can't help but see a visual connection between the spirit here and ones seen previously in Ringu and Ju-On. While this ghost borrows some of the mannerisms from both films, it does shape its own image with more of a Marilyn Manson-like style.

While not the greatest horror flick available from Asia, The Sisters is a pretty good rental that can be both creepy and entertaining. There is more than a few weird and creepy moments. It's just too bad that the acting is so flawed, as it keeps this feature from being a lot better.

- - Vane