Evil Sister (1996 Video) User Reviews

But honey... she's been locked up for 15 years

[manicgecko · 3/10 · 29 September 2006]

This movie tries to be a run of the mill slasher movie, and would be well on the way to mediocrity if only the quality of the picture was better. Filmed in an unknown American trailer park, this movie made great use of a walk in pantry, some wal-mart lawn chairs, and Hank Jr's flag collection. There was plenty of gore and gratuitous nudity as you come to expect in this type of slasher movies, but it came off as trashy and amusing, instead of seductive and intense as I hope was the original intent. They also had to throw in some emergency scenes such as the sacrificial killing to get some additional nudity to keep the attention of the few still watching, and the wicca nurse to explain what is going on - because there is absolutely no way you would get that information from the earlier plot.

There are some unexpected plot twists that does keep this from being horrible, despite the poor quality of the filming, acting, editing, and just about everything else, so there are a few worse things to do with 90 minutes of your life, such as trying to type a review of this stinker at 3 in the morning without using profanities. Ah well such is life.

OBSCURE B-GRADE SLASHER WORTH BUYING!!!!!

[SlasherReviewer · 6/10 · 15 September 2004]

This slasher flick is pure b-grade but enjoyable to people who don't like the same old routine. We have a female possessed psychopath getting released from a mental hospital after 15 years that was obviously allowed to leave at some point to have a breast enlargement procedure done? OK I'll start with the faults. The sound bothered me as there is so much hiss from the camera's microphone it really is hard to hear some lines, also a kitchen pantry with fold out doors is used a a walkway/ doorway entrance/ entrance into the house? But this movie had tons of goodies like a great storyline, some much needed nudity, some decent killings, witchcraft, and a sequel although Part 2 did not start off where the 1st leaves off? Anyway good movie with some good twists and check out Part 2 as well!!Brad Sykes does part 2 who also did Camp Blood and camp Blood 2. Slasher reviewer gives these movies thumbs up and says BUY THEM!!!!!

"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..."

[dmsesquire · 6/10 · 25 July 2017]

EVIL SISTER has the plot of a bad Lifetime TV movie, but what it lacks in originality, it makes up for in execution.

Kim Farina plays the title character, Roxanne, who has spent her adolescence and part of her young adulthood in a psychiatric institution. When she gets the all-clear to "go home", the only home she has is that of her sister, Michelle (Joanne Lee Rubino) and her sister's husband, Tony (Bob Dickinson). It does not take long for her to cause mischief.

Whether Roxanne is crazy or evil is irrelevant: Any way you slice it, she's just bad news; She's manipulative, promiscuous, and, oh, she practices black magic. She also leaves death in her wake.

That is the least interesting part of the story, however. This film could have survived without its supernatural elements: The characters of the two sisters comprise the true lifeblood of this film. Something you don't expect from a cheap horror movie is a decent character study, but that's what we've got here. The tension of whether Roxanne will seduce Tony and ruin Michelle's life is enough to keep us watching. The sexual overtones form a strong foundation on which to hang the suspense. The actors take it from there.

Joanne Lee Rubino is a revelation as Michelle: The verisimilitude of her performance jumps off the screen and drags us into the movie, sympathies and all. She and Farina raise the emotional stakes in every early scene, and we feel like flies on the wall, privy to their dysfunctional psychodrama. Farina vamps a little too much as the vamp, but she is unpredictable enough to keep us interested. She is less scary when she tries to indicate her evilness than she is when she's playing nice.

There is considerable skin and enough bloodletting to entertain the casual horror fan. The sex scenes are tastefully done, and more importantly, they are actually sexy: They are not gratuitous, because each one of them is a key plot point.

A lot of thought went into this film. The filmmakers may not have had a lot of money to spend, but they used their resources well. The gore may be cheap, but the film isn't. There is plenty here to recommend.