Twins of Evil (1971)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

John Hough

Writers:

Tudor Gates (screenplay)
Sheridan Le Fanu (characters)

Release Date:

June 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Drama

Tagline:

Which is the Virgin? Which is the Vampire?

Plot:

In nineteenth century middle-Europe, orphaned teenage twins Maria and Frieda go to live with their uncle Gustav Weil...

Plot Keywords:

Twins | Castle | Vampire | Sacrifice | Female Nudity

Cast

Inigo Jackson	...	Woodman
Judy Matheson	...	Woodman's Daughter
Peter Cushing	...	Gustav Weil
Harvey Hall	...	Franz
Alex Scott	...	Hermann
Shelagh Wilcocks	...	Lady in Coach (as Sheelah Wilcox)
Madeleine Collinson	...	Frieda Gellhorn (as Madelaine Collinson)
Mary Collinson	...	Maria Gellhorn
Kathleen Byron	...	Katy Weil
Roy Stewart	...	Joachim
Luan Peters	...	Gerta
Damien Thomas	...	Count Karnstein
Dennis Price	...	Dietrich
Maggie Wright	...	Alexa
Katya Wyeth	...	Countess Mircalla

Also Known As:

The Evil Twins (UK) (alternative title)
The Gemini Twins
The Virgin Vampires (UK) (pre-release title)
Twins of Dracula

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) (1972) | Portugal:M/18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2002) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | Norway:(Banned) (1972-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Black Park Country Park, Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Used the same sets as Vampire Circus (1972)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Count Karnstein sacrifices the girl in the altar, in one shot we see her face while the knife hits her heart, and she is looking to her right screaming. On the next shot, while the Count puts the knife out, she is dead and looking to her left.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Wicker Man Enigma (2001) (V)

Minor But Entertaining

Loosely based on characters created by author Sheridan Le Fanu, TWINS OF EVIL concern twin sisters Maria and Freida (Mary and Madeline Collison) who have been recently orphaned and are sent to live with their guardian and uncle Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing.) Gustav is a most unpleasant man, the leader of a religious "brotherhood" whose ideas of salvation and repentance involves routing out every attractive woman in the district and burning them alive at the steak. Ironically, Gustav's hapless victims are innocent, and he finds himself unable to attack the real evil of the locality: the devil-worshiping Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas), who enjoys the protection of the Emperor.

Needless to say, it is not long before the sisters catch the attention of the Count, who has now been transformed by the black arts into a vampire--and one of the sisters soon falls under his sway. But truth be told, Gustav is such a distasteful creature himself that it becomes difficult to know which of the two men is worst.

Like most Hammer Horrors, TWINS abounds with well endowed women in plunging necklines and enough colorful gore to float a small boat. But in this instance, the splashes of blood are all the more effective for the muted background against which they are seen. The usually baroque settings of most Hammer films is not in evidence here, little is romanticized, and the atmosphere is quite tense.

The Collison twins (whose last film this was) give reasonable performances and are so attractive that you do not mind the fact they have very obviously been dubbed by English-speaking actors. Damien Thomas makes for an impressively suave vampire, and David Warbeck is appealing as the hero of the piece. But the real drive of the film comes from Peter Cushing, who gives a surprisingly powerful performance as the maniacal Gustav; if given the choice between facing him or trying to ward off Thomas' vampire, well, most of us would probably feel we had a better chance against Count Karnstein! It is an unexpected effect, and it is quite powerful.

This is not to say that TWINS OF EVIL is without flaws, and now and then some pretty big ones. The script is no winner, and the details of the story are a bit loose, to say the least. The sisters are supposed to be from Vienna, but they somehow wind up in what seems to be a very unappealing area of Germany where the men all dress like American Puritans! There are also one or two scenes that border on the unintentionally comic. But most viewers will be able to suspend disbelief for the film's duration. Recommended for fans of both Hammer and Gothic horror.

GF