Lucy Bonnard (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and her older sister Charlotte (Judith Ivey) live in one of the fine old houses in Louisiana and come from one of the fine old families. Things haven’t been all that great for the pair of them since their parents died and they were forced to turn their mansion into a bed and breakfast. A scandal involving a missing boy has also been haunting the pair for years now as well. Lucy’s insistence that ghosts speak to her helps justify Charlotte’s over-protectiveness over her unusual sibling. She strongly discourages Lucy’s childhood friend and swamp tour guide -actually not sure what his job title is- Etienne (Benjamin Mouton) from hanging around now that they’ve grown into adults. He’s horny! One day, Matt Rutledge (Eric Stoltz) rolls into town on business to stay at the Bonnard house and things get steamy! With his fancy city manners and his otherworldly good looks, Matt just about sweeps Lucy right off her feet. This will not end well, I promise you.

I’m actually a big fan of the first two films that Bill Condon wrote, the goofy but frightening Strange Behavior (1981) and the tongue-in-cheek alien invasion craziness Strange Invaders (1983). For a directorial debut, Sister, Sister (1987) ain’t too shabby! And with a co-writer like Joel Cohen, director of Monster Mash: The Movie (1995), how could you miss?! He was also one of the 8 writers on Toy Story (also 1995) and an oddball comedy starring Tim Curry as a shady evangelist called Pass the Ammo (1987), so things aren’t all bad. Cinematographical duties are deftly handled by the great Stephen M. Katz, who lensed The Blues Brothers (1980). But more relevant to my tastes, he shot Messiah of Evil (1973) and Nice Girls Don’t Explode (1987). Throw in composer Richard Einhorn, who made some excellent horror scores like The Prowler (1981) and Blood Rage (1987), just to round things off and you’ve got a winner!

Jennifer Jason Leigh’s career is pretty frickin’ incredible. I’ve enjoyed every performance of hers that I’ve seen, even if I didn’t like the movie at all. And good old almost-Marty McFly himself, Eric Stoltz, is always a joy onscreen. So yeah, you can’t really go wrong with those two in your cast, especially back in 1987. Sizzlin’ hot! The only way this could have been better is if this had been called Brother, Brother and Leigh’s and Stoltz’s characters had been reversed. Just imagine if she was the stranger coming to town and seducing him! Oh wait. You want me to go there? Okay, fine. Eric Stoltz in drag as Leigh’s twin sister from the wrong side of the tracks and the two get into some wacky situations? Done. That’s the power of imagination.

Sister, Sister is a dreamy and odd little southern melodrama and coming-of-age hybrid film. It has some great thriller elements mixed in throughout. There is also a bit of supernatural spice in this overwrought gumbo. I wanted more, but I also wanted this to tie in with Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond (1981). So, take all of that with a grain of salt or a pinch of Tony’s Creole Seasoning. While it’s not a strong recommend, I enjoyed the thick atmosphere and the sweaty and rain-soaked southern gothic trappings. Personally, I can’t resist swamp lust and I’m not sure that I even know anyone who can either.

Surprising literally no one, the Vinegar Syndrome Blu of Sister, Sister looks and sounds incredible. The film is a dynamic one with lots of daytime, nighttime, and foggy scenes and this transfer presents them all astonishingly well. As far as extras go, there is are interviews with Natalija Nogulich (who was kind of barely in the movie) and Benjamin Mouton. Both have cool stories about getting into acting and telling stories about working on Sister, Sister. Composer Einhorn talks about working on the film and hiding some nerdy music queues in the film’s score. Cinematographer Katz discusses his prep work including storyboarding he does before filming on a project begins. There are deleted scenes with a commentary track by Condon. There are also two commentary tracks, one with the director and another with author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. I really enjoyed the one with Heller-Nicholas. Her critique of Sister, Sister is a good listen. The disc also includes the film’s trailer.