Sisters (1973)

No late night movie list is complete without a schlocky horror film and Sisters is schlock horror at its best. Written and directed by Brian De Palma, it's a bloody slasher flick that delivers psychodrama, shocks and plenty of ketchup to boot. Underrated and often neglected, it should be regarded as classic of its genre and is well worth catching for some midnight thrills and chills.

The film begins with French Canadian model Danielle and New York insurance man Phillip meeting by chance on TV game show "Peeping Toms" (a sly nod to Michael Powell's seminal serial killer film as well as De Palma's own voyeuristic tendencies). In an attempt to escape from her stalker ex husband Emil, Danielle agrees to go out for dinner with Phillip after the show and then takes him back to her flat for a nightcap... The next morning is her birthday which she shares with twin sister and current flatmate Dominique. Whereas Danielle seems sweet and innocent, Dominique is insanely jealous and insecure. In order to placate Dominique and earn a few brownie points with Danielle, Phillip goes out to buy a birthday cake for the sisters, but bloody murder awaits on his return. Watching from the opposite block of flats is journalist neighbour Grace who, in a stunning split screen set piece, rings the police frantically whilst she views the mayhem across the way. The film then follows Grace's determination to uncover the mystery and bring the killer to justice as she investigates into the strange and twisted story of Emil, Danielle and Dominique.

De Palma has always borrowed heavily from Hitchcock with themes and sometimes whole story lines recycled from the master's earlier classics and Sisters is no different. Conveniently near the beginning of the film, Danielle wins a set of kitchen knives for her part on the gameshow, a typical Hitchcock MacGuffin. A neighbour investigating a murder whilst spying from the flat opposite is straight out of Rear Window. The study of twin personalities and investigation into the female psyche has shades of both Psycho and Marnie whilst Bernard Herrmann's grand and spooky score could be out of any of Hitchcock's masterpieces.

But whereas Hitchcock would tease and suggest at the horror, De Palma shows the gore full on. Sharp knives slash at men's crotches, blood and entrails are smeared along kitchen floors and the claret flows freely. There's also a very nasty and sadistic underlying atmosphere to Sisters (another generic trait of De Palma's pictures) and the whole movie has a really uncomfortable feel to it. The film has a touch of the Giallo to it, the lurid Italian horror genre of the 60s and 70s that spawned Dario Argento, Mario Bava and many more. And indeed there are moments in Sisters where sheer madness and hysteria reign, where the suspense and tension is built up to such an extent that the only a shrill and piercing scream can provide release.

At the heart of Sisters lie two strong female performances. Dark eyed 70s glamour-puss Margot Kidder has never been better in her dual role as the sultry and unbalanced Siamese twins Dominique and Danielle, showing vulnerability and despair as well as a ton of sex appeal. Equally good is De Palma regular Jennifer Salt as the streetwise journalist Grace, who's determination to uncover the story and make her name in a man's world leads her to some grotesque revelations about the twins. De Palma, Kidder and Salt were all part of the same Hollywood milieu (as documented in Peter Biskind's book Easy Riders Raging Bulls), and like many films from that era Sisters was borne out of a diet of sex, drugs and film school graduates.

Post Sisters, Kidder went onto be Lois Lane to Christopher Reeve's Superman in the superhero franchise. A car accident in 1990 had major repercussions on her career and she was diagnosed with a bi-polar disorder soon afterwards (not unlike Danielle/Dominique). Salt appeared in the long running US sitcom Soap. She recently retired from acting and turned her hand to screenwriting... jury's still out on that one. De Palma went from strength to strength throughout the 70s and 80s with Carrie, Scarface and The Untouchables. To be honest his films can range from the goddamn awful (Bonfire of The Vanities) and tasteless (Body Double) to taught thrillers (Blow Out) and multi-million dollar blockbusters (Mission Impossible). Whichever, they are not for the faint hearted and Sisters is no exception. Lesser mortals might view through parted fingers or from behind the safety of their sofa. Late night movie viewers should revel in the grand guignol...

The truth behind the strange story of Dominique and Danielle