Sister - DVD

Content: Many believe it's just a legend that the ghost of Jacob (Dylan Horne) haunts the old house on the outskirts of town. But police officer Billy (Larry Wade Carrell) knows the truth. Having witnessed the grisly tale himself, his twin brother Otis (also Larry Wade Carrell) was directly involved in the events. Otis was involved with Edith (Krystn Caldwell). From her previous marriage to Lawrence Kell (Michael Biehn), who one day lost his mind and became a killer, Edith brought the mentally retarded Jacob into the relationship with her. For him, there is only one thing: his little sister Sissy (Grace Powell). The girl is also the only one who can calm Jacob down when he threatens to go after Otis after he has raised his hand against Edith in a drunken stupor. The whole town knows that the situation with this family won't go well for much longer. But which cruel end of the story is in store, no one can imagine yet...

Sister takes place on three time levels: so police officer Billy remembers the events of 1979 in the present, in the course of which in turn the story about Lawrence Kell, which took place several years earlier, is dealt with. But this convoluted storytelling is already the most complex part of a rather conventional story, whose staging can never really hide its low budget. The gore effects that come into play towards the end, the makeup that director Larry Wade uses to trim Carrell down to old age, and the somewhat wooden acting of the cast all scream out that this horror drama is a slick B-movie.

However, Carrell manages very well to make the most of the resources at his disposal. Even if the dialogues are really underground at times and the staging seems a bit amateurish, the story is definitely grippingly told. The filthy atmosphere is just as oppressive as the madness that befalls Michael Biehn's character Lawrence Kell, as well as the brutal Otis. Without a glimmer of hope for a better future, Edith and her children are drawn into a spiral of violence that can only end in disaster. Carrell enriches the dark atmosphere of this situation with a little humor and in one scene even with a psychedelic sequence, which creates a thoroughly rousing overall picture.

You should have a soft spot for dirty B-movies with a slight grindhouse touch to enjoy Sister. But if you like exactly this kind of movies and don't take it too seriously, you'll surely be able to overlook some budget-related weaknesses. And in this case then also applies - with small restrictions - a satisfied: Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The picture has slightly excessive contrasts, which reveal a few minor blurs, especially in the darker sequences. The colouring seems heavily distorted at times, giving the film its very special look. For a film with a rather low budget of under 1 million dollars, this is perfectly fine. The same goes for the rather unspectacular sound, which is primarily dominated by the dialogue. The ambient sounds are mixed very discreetly and even the occasional sound effects seem a bit muffled. But since in most scenes the dialogues are the dominant sound, it is just enough for a good!

Extras: In addition to the trailer for the film and other program tips from the provider, the DVD still has a (unfortunately not subtitled) audio commentary by director Larry Wade Carrell and producer Stacy Davidson to offer. The conversation between the two men is very entertaining and informative, but is here and there also a little difficult to understand, which is why subtitles would have been quite desirable.

Conclusion: Sister is a decent horror thriller, which can deny its B-movie character in any second, but whose story and gore effects are convincing enough to satisfy friends of low budget genre films. The DVD is technically well done. As a bonus there is only an audio commentary, but it is well worth listening to despite the lack of subtitles

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp