NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray (March 2022): Vinegar Syndrome have transferred Bill Condon's Sister, Sister to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm interpolative". It's on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and looks about as good as it can on this medium with funky 80's stock still in use. This has plenty of texture - appealing grain and occasional depth. The softness appears inherent and I thought this HD presentation was just fine without damage, speckles or flaws of any kind. Vinegar usually do very competent 1080P transfers - and this is no exception.

NOTE: We have added 60 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Vinegar Syndrome use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. Sister, Sister has aggressive moments, atmospheric Louisiana deep south swampy sounds and rain that come through with modest depth . There is a delightfully edgy score by classical music composer Richard Einhorn - most notable for Voices of Light used in The Passion of Joan of Arc - but also many other effective 70s, 80s horror scores such as "Shock Waves", "Don't Go in the House," "Eyes of a Stranger," "The Prowler," adding plenty of tension, with an underlying serenity, via the lossless transfer. Theree is some other music in the film including La Valse j'aime (The Waltz I Love) performed by Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Saturday Night Special by The Sundown Playboys and The Same Old Song performed by Pat Henley. Vinegar Syndrome offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray is stacked staring with two commentaries. The first is an older one by director Bill Condon. Condon is also one of the co-writers and also plays the priest in Sister, Sister. This was his directorial debut. He shares details only someone in his position could relating to the production, actors and evolution of the project to the screen plus details on his film schooling. The second commentary is brand new by film historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (author of Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study.) She always does an interesting analysis as a Southern Gothic seeing things in the film that I rarely observe and I always end of appreciating my viewing more after hearing her with accurate comparative cinema as well as seeing a different context in Sister, Sister. There are over and hour's worth of separate interviews with actor Benjamin Mouton, actress Natalija Nogulich, composer Richard Einhorn, and cinematographer Stephen Katz. Vinegar include some brief deleted scenes - ported from DVD - with director commentary, an original trailer and the package has both a 12-page booklet with essay by film programmer/historian Cristina Cacioppo ("Drawn to a Flame: Bill Condon's Sister, Sister Plays With Fire") and reversible cover artwork.

Bill Condon's Sister, Sister is a psychological thriller with horror elements. It has weaknesses - sometimes appearing ham-fisted - but is effective in exporting its mysterious plot and suspicious characters. The Southern Gothic bayou atmosphere is always appealing. Eric Stoltz, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Judith Ivey give it further validation and there is some inventive cinematography. I enjoyed its creepy qualities and the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray is stacked with commentaries, new interviews, a booklet etc. The film couldn't ask for more than they have given this package. I will certainly revisit one day.

Gary Tooze