シスターズ

When you think this is just a 32-year-old De Palma's earliest homage to his idol Hitchcock, the last 30 minutes of the story genuinely tell the audience that if he were just imitating Hitch, he wouldn't have become a master director later on. You can see the shadows of "Rope," "Rear Window," and "Psycho," but De Palma gradually established his own style on the basis of homage by using some of his most representative image techniques (one of the most exaggerated uses of split-screen in his works, and possibly the best comprehensive effect). It's visually and aurally enjoyable, though I really like it...

Palma's sixth feature film, still somewhat immature, but already showing promise. The story can be seen as a fusion of "Psycho" and "Rear Window." At this point, Palma's work is not just a blind imitation of Hitchcock. With a high degree of overlap in visual and auditory techniques combined the core themes, Palma is starting to create a signature style all his own: split-screen. A kind of alternative to parallel editing to allow for the dramatic tension to unfold more fiercely in certain contexts. Moreover, the opening satire of television media and the scene where a corpse sits in broad daylight at the end are both proof of Palma's authorial voice, but at this point he is still not what one would consider a 'complete' filmmaker, because...

De Palma's cinematic techniques were already quite polished from his early days. A few instances of split-screen storytelling are stunning, and the crazed, freak show-esque black and white "memories" are also quite captivating. It's a pity that the suspense and twists surrounding the female neighbor's attempt to prove the murder are so anti-intellectual. The settings are so lax that the insane asylum is unbelievable, and the villains are so derelict in their duties that it’s hard to watch. There’s no scientific intention for crime-solving from the police and detectives, and the demonization of mental illness and patients is off-putting. This movie isn’t interesting enough for me to abandon common sense. By the end, everyone is annoying. Doesn't De Palma know about luminol reactions? It's so crude; they might as well have set it in the 18th century. Fortunately, the surrealism of the ending scene pulls it back a bit...

Palma's first Hitchcock imitation, marking the beginning of his journey where audiovisual language outweighs narrative logic. The witness setting is reminiscent of "Eyewitness," "Body Double," and "Dressed to Kill." The core resembles "Psycho," with the female reporter's telescope peering akin to "Rear Window," and the sofa concealing a corpse just like "Trouble with Harry." The opening sequence, with the "Peeping Tom"-style TV opening, builds suspense. The conjoined twins' mockumentary, along with hypnosis to fabricate memories and reveal the truth, serves a dual purpose effectively. The two split-screen sequences during the murder are full of tension. (8.0/10)

One of the most memorable scenes is when the protagonist, having just witnessed a harrowing murder, comes downstairs and encounters her mother. She is then trapped in a car, forced to endure her mother's long-winded musings on life. This is a rare "safe moment" in a thriller, and although brief, it is essential. It pulls the protagonist from a perilous, mysterious world back to the ordinary, everyday routine. It allows "normality" to feel like a "grace," offering a comforting moment of solace to both the audience and the character.