The Dark Sisters is a horror film that unashamedly falls into the arthouse style of filmmaking. Written and directed by Richard Bailey, this tells a simple story in an artistic and stylistic way, something that may well not be for everyone. As my score will attest, I was one of those people the film didn't appeal to, though I did appreciate elements of the overall whole.
Jorie (Nicole Fancher - Screen, The Sky Has Fallen) and her sister Kaidon (Edna Gill) have decided to meet up after over a decade apart. They previously separated at the culmination of a dark secret event, and so have decided to go on holiday together in swampland in order to try and rekindle their close relationship. Their visit coincides with the arrival of a knife wielding thief (Kristin Colaneri), someone who has a powerful impact on the two.
From the flowery way the siblings talk to themselves I knew right away this was going to be an odd film. Their language with each other is almost poetic, their conversations sounding like an art students essays on life. This is pure arthouse and this is reflected throughout. From characters randomly doing interpretive dance in slow motion, to communication via thoughts, to lots and lots of scenery shots and repeated images, there is nothing here that is designed to feel like reality. At one point the film even devolves into a series of still photos. There is a cast of just six characters with Jorie, Kaidon, and local pastor (Michael Steven Daughtry) being the only ones with much of a speaking role. Thief and Hunter (Christie Vela - The Finale) barely share more than a few sentences between them, while Karl (Randall Garrett) only appears in flashback sequences and to my memory doesn't actually ever say anything.
The Dark Sisters is split between the modern day setting of the swampland and the past when they both appear to have been dually married to a cruel and simplistic man. These sections in the past were even more odd, I assume they had been part of some old religion as they are wearing clothes in those sections that seemed very old fashioned. It is a simply told story, but the artistic way it is shown means it somehow manages to fill its eighty minute runtime in a cohesive way. For me, many many drone shots of beautiful looking swampland got to be a bit much. I did love the soundtrack though, it sounded similar to the music of dark world Silent Hill, which did give this some atmosphere.
It wasn't so much that I couldn't follow the story completely, more that I wasn't a fan of the style of film. I came to yearn for some simple dialogue, rather than everything being wrapped up in a kind of prose. The story goes in an unexpected direction, but not one that surprised or interested me. At least the direction was often interesting, and the location of the swamp was engaging to look at. I didn't really care for the protagonists at all however, and can't say I was sad when the end credits finally rolled. The Dark Sisters came to Blu-ray (region free) and EST/VOD/SVOD Digital on 28th November 2023, and came to AVOD on January 1st.
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