Die Sister, Die! (1978)

CAUTION: Plot spoilers present.Rich siblings Edward & Amanda are feuding over their late father's estate. Amanda is also suicidal since she is grief-stricken over her involvement in the death of her father & the disappearance of her sister. Edward hires Esther, a former nurse who has some dark secrets of her own, in order to watch over Amanda – and to ensure that if Amanda, who has a history of suicide attempts, tries to kill herself again, that she must succeed. As Edward secretly tries to kill Amanda due to her knowledge of their family's ill fortune, Esther discovers that the pair have been responsible for the fate of their family members.This B-grade mystery thriller was notable for being released with a lurid poster which featured a woman in red negligee being pursued by hands that come from walls around her. The reality is that the film is nothing more than an average mystery thriller with some reasonably good acting.Director Randall Hood did not live to see his film being released – he died of cancer while the film was still in post-production & a long-running rumour has it that Clint Eastwood had stepped in to oversee the production as a favour for actor Jack Ging.As far as mystery thrillers go, Die Sister, Die! is okay, although not good enough to warrant more than one viewing. The actors do their roles professionally – Jack Ging has some fun in his role as the sinister brother who tries to get his fortune by killing his suicidal sister – and the production values are okay. But in saying that, Die Sister, Die! has nothing to say about the thriller genre other than to use the old 'feuding siblings' plot that has been around for a while. Inexplicably, the film was remade in 2013.

Edward(Jack Ging)wants to murder his own severely depressed sister Amanda(Edith Atwater)to get his inheritance.He hires a discredited ex-nurse Esthe(Antoinette Bower)to control Amanda's suicidal tendencies.Esther doesn't want to kill the old woman, though and she is curious about the secrets held in the house including a mysterious third sister Nell."Die Sister,Die!" is relentlessly talky and rather subtle Gothic thriller from early 70's.There is pretty gruesome and grotesque nightmare sequence and two suicide attempts,though.The script is quite surprising and the acting is solid.6 basement walls out of 10.If you liked French "Diabolique" from 1955 give this one a chance.

It's not hard to see why some viewers might mistake this for a TV movie, for it does have that sort of feel, except spruced up a little bit with mild use of gore. The story is nothing special, and in fact is pretty familiar, but it does entertain: the dialogue actually isn't bad, and the performances are definitely solid. Written by Tony Sawyer (based on a story by William Hersey) and adequately directed by Randall Hood, it doesn't exactly offer any surprises as its twists are revealed, but one could still do far worse than this.One thing that does it make worth watching is the work by Edith Atwater ("True Grit", "Family Plot"), who's affecting as the haunted Amanda Price, who's attempted suicide as the movie opens. Amanda's younger brother Edward (Jack Ging, "High Plains Drifter", "Sssssss") hires a woman named Esther Harper (Antoinette Bower, "Prom Night", "The Evil That Men Do") to be the supposed nursemaid and companion to Amanda, but he really wants to convince Esther to let the old woman kill herself so they can split the family estate. As it happens, Esther comes to like Amanda as she gets to know her, and doesn't really want to contribute to the woman's death in any way.Fine supporting performances by Kent Smith ("Cat People", "The Spiral Staircase") as the family doctor and Robert Emhardt ("The Intruder", "It's Alive") as the deceased patriarch (seen in flashback) are an asset, and the music score composed by Hugo Friedhofer is very good as well. Ging is appropriately smarmy and Bower does alright as the troubled accomplice. The movie's pace is acceptable and Hood manages to keep the viewer watching through the assorted twists and turns. The ending is basically satisfactory.Worth a look if one is hungry to discover low budget obscurities from decades past.Six out of 10.

A troubled old woman is saved from suicide by her brother and the family doctor. Her brother's concern is purely for show though and he hires a nurse with a shady past to 'look after' his sister, i.e. to ensure she definitely dies next time she tries to kill herself. But once the nurse begins work things change.This psychological thriller has the definite feel of a TV movie. I can find no definitive evidence that it is but I would not be surprised in the least to discover it is one. It seems to have been promoted as a horror movie. The title is quite in-your-face and the poster art is somewhat misleading. It shows a nubile scantily dressed young woman running away from an ominous house while being terrorised by several brutish hands that reach out to grab her from crumbling walls. It combines imagery of Gothic horror with Roman Polanski's Repulsion. It's a great poster! But, it's hardly accurate in terms of describing the actual content. First and foremost, this is not a horror film. It's pretty solidly a thriller. It's about family secrets and greed within a Gothic setting. It has occasional spooky moments such as nightmarish dream sequences and secrets in the basement.Despite some of the negativity directed at it, I found Die Sister, Die! to be perfectly enjoyable. It's well acted, including a turn from Kent Smith who starred in the classic Cat People (1942). It's just probably not going to appeal to people who get their expectations up by checking out that cool poster in advance of watching it.