# A Tale of Two Sisters: WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-of-two-sisters-wtf/325439 "2005-10-09T21:01:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-of-two-sisters-wtf/325439/1 "2005-10-09T21:01:02Z")
I’m referring to the Korean horror film here, of course. I _think_ I get it. Kind of. Here’s what I think happened; I’ll give it some spoiler box treatment just in case someone wanders in here before they see it… . . . . . . . . . . . . The mother became suicidal and killed herself in the wardrobe. Soo-yeon finds her and in her struggle to help her mother, she topples the wardrobe on herself and is being smothered. The stepmom/nurse whatever she actually is finds the predicament and doesn’t know how to react, or maybe she’s scared, whatever. The point is, she allows Soo-yeon to die by not getting help for her in time. Soo-mi becomes unhinged at the discovery of her mother and sister dead, and she develops something like multiple personality disorder. After some time in a mental hospital, she returns home with her father. Throughout the movie up until the ‘real’ arrival of the nurse/stepmom, it is only Soo-mi and her father that are in the house (and possibly the ghost of Soo-yeon). Eventually Soo-mi is brought back to the mental hospital after things get WAY out of hand with her delusions. Somewhere along the way, though, there are hints that there really is a ghost in the house, as evidenced by the woman who starts having seizures at dinner and says later that she saw a girl under the sink. Ultimately, the stepmom discovers that there really IS a vengeful ghost of Soo-yeon in the house, and that’s that. Am I close? Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-of-two-sisters-wtf/325439/2 "2005-10-09T22:35:20Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > I’m referring to the Korean horror film here, of course. > > I _think_ I get it. Kind of. Here’s what I think happened; I’ll give it some spoiler box treatment just in case someone wanders in here before they see it… > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > > The mother became suicidal and killed herself in the wardrobe. Soo-yeon finds her and in her struggle to help her mother, she topples the wardrobe on herself and is being smothered. The stepmom/nurse whatever she actually is finds the predicament and doesn’t know how to react, or maybe she’s scared, whatever. The point is, she allows Soo-yeon to die by not getting help for her in time. Soo-mi becomes unhinged at the discovery of her mother and sister dead, and she develops something like multiple personality disorder. After some time in a mental hospital, she returns home with her father. Throughout the movie up until the ‘real’ arrival of the nurse/stepmom, it is only Soo-mi and her father that are in the house (and possibly the ghost of Soo-yeon). Eventually Soo-mi is brought back to the mental hospital after things get WAY out of hand with her delusions. Somewhere along the way, though, there are hints that there really is a ghost in the house, as evidenced by the woman who starts having seizures at dinner and says later that she saw a girl under the sink. Ultimately, the stepmom discovers that there really IS a vengeful ghost of Soo-yeon in the house, and that’s that. Am I close? Am I missing something? I think you’ve pretty much got it figured out. I’d watch it again if I were you. Multiple viewings are required for that movie, as it essentially becomes a new movie the second time you watch it. People’s reactions to the sisters and the stepmother take on a totally new meaning when you realize what’s really going on. Great movie, by the way. I think I’ll put it back in my netflix queue. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-of-two-sisters-wtf/325439/3 "2005-10-09T23:59:53Z")
She’s sitting at the table!!! **She’s sitting _at the table!!!_** ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-of-two-sisters-wtf/325439/4 "2005-10-10T02:21:04Z")
OK, just watched it again (this time with the commentary with the director and the actresses who played the sisters) and while it confirmed a lot of my initial interpretations, I’m still left wondering… Was Soo-yeon at some point a part of Soo-mi’s MPD, or was she always there as a ghost, and Soo-mi could see her? It kind of makes more sense that Soo-mi’s MPD had her assume the identity of the stepmom but that she was actually seeing and interacting with the ghost of her sister, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-of-two-sisters-wtf/325439/5 "2005-10-10T12:51:05Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > OK, just watched it again (this time with the commentary with the director and the actresses who played the sisters) and while it confirmed a lot of my initial interpretations, I’m still left wondering… > > Was Soo-yeon at some point a part of Soo-mi’s MPD, or was she always there as a ghost, and Soo-mi could see her? It kind of makes more sense that Soo-mi’s MPD had her assume the identity of the stepmom but that she was actually seeing and interacting with the ghost of her sister, I think. Doesn’t the ghost come after the stepmother at the end? I seem to remember there being evidence to support both a real ghost and a figment of Soo-mi’s illness. Perhaps a bit of both? Even if all the interactions between the girls are figments of Soo-mi’s imagination, there is no denying that there is definitely some very bad joo-joo going on inside that house. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-of-two-sisters-wtf/325439/6 "2005-10-10T13:02:57Z")
> [@Alias](#): > > Doesn’t the ghost come after the stepmother at the end? I seem to remember there being evidence to support both a real ghost and a figment of Soo-mi’s illness. Perhaps a bit of both? Even if all the interactions between the girls are figments of Soo-mi’s imagination, there is no denying that there is definitely some very bad joo-joo going on inside that house. Well, I was wondering if maybe Soo-yeon might have been a tulpa created by Soo-mi. However, after listening to the commentary, I got the idea that the filmmakers saw Soo-yeon to be entirely the actual ghost of the girl and not a mental construct. I reserve the right to interpret Soo-yeon as a tulpa, though, because I think it’s a neat idea. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-of-two-sisters-wtf/325439/7 "2005-10-10T13:35:42Z")
I had to re-read the first part of that spoiler a few times before I realized that Soo-yeon wasn’t actually “topless” in the wardrobe. OK, continue on… ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tale-of-two-sisters-wtf/325439/8 "2005-10-10T16:33:15Z")
This is one of my all-time favorite films. Hollywood only \*wishes \* it could make a thought-provoking psychological horror as good as this. Think about it, this film has no cursing, no nudity, no sex, a little blood, yes, but no real gore. In fact, other than the mood/atmoshpere created by the director/cinematographer etc., there is no reason that it couldn’t be rated PG. And yet is is extremely effective. The first time I watched it, I was biting my knuckles curled up at the end of the couch, I was so tensed up. And the revelations, wow! I watched it again immediatley afterward and then scoured the net for discussions and opinions. I even printed out a discussion thread where people opined about what exactly happened. Unfortunatley, I’m posting this while out of town, so I have to rely on memory (it was a couple of years ago when I watched it). Also, _please_, if you have not seen this film, do NOT succomb to the pressure to read the spoiler boxes. See the movie. Anyway, I think the OP’s spoiler box is basically accurate. Maybe I will have a chance in a couple of days to try to fill in a couple of blanks. As far as > [@](#): > > She’s sitting at the table!!! > > She’s sitting at the table!!! goes, I think you are mistaken. Depending on which scene you are talking about (there are a couple with people sitting at the table), there is a good explanation. Do you remember when Soo-mi is “talking” to her sister at the table and her father comes in later with the pills? He knows that Soo-yeon was not there and that Soo-mi was having more of her illusions. I hope this thread is still alive in a couple of days with some additional discussion points, because I would love to continue this once I get back to my home computer.