It is the 19th Century, and two orphaned young women, stunning twins named Frieda and Maria, arrive in a European village to live with their uncle Gustav Weil. Maria is conservative and obedient, while her sister Frieda is rebellious and adventurous. Their uncle, a paranoid religious fanatic, trusts neither of them. He leads a group of puritan loonies who roam the country side burning alive anyone who they decide may be a witch, or other supposed servant of the devil.
What they don't know is that while they are out setting fire to innocent peasants and unfortunate young women, the local Lord, Count Karnstein, is a real life evil doer who is operating right under their noses. But Karnstein soon takes notice of the twins, especially Frieda, who has also caught the eye of local sceptic, Anton. Karnstein aims to take her under his devil worshipping wing, and soon the stage is set for an old fashioned "good" vs. "evil" showdown.
Twins of Evil is one of Hammer's later films, which were marked by a significant increase in nudity, sexuality, and violence as was increasingly the norm in horror films of the day. The films gore level is certainly above that of some earlier Hammer films, but this is the same year that films like Blood Freak, A Clockwork Orange, and Tombs of the Blind Dead, were released and on this front Hammer simply could not keep up. In terms of sex appeal, on the other hand, this one must have blown away the competition. Hammer's efforts to keep up with the times ultimately failed, but that didn't necessarily mean that their productions during the later years weren't still entertaining.
This film, for example, is highly watch-able all around. The performances, particularly those of Peter Cushing (Gustav), Damien Thomas (Karnstein), David Warbeck (Anton), and the twins (Mary and Madeline Collinson), were all quite good. The characters were compelling, if a bit static.
The dark, gothic atmosphere of the Hammer film is still present here, and that adds to the films charm. The same goes for the costumes and sets, all of which help to complete the over-all feel of the movie successfully.
Of course the trouble ultimately is that both the "good" guys and "bad" guys are pretty difficult to root for. They are both crazed religious nuts who kill innocent people. At least the bad guys look hot while doing it. In the end though, the real good characters win the day and everyone else gets their due.
Even if Hammer was in decline in these later years, films like this one are still entertaining and fun to watch. As it turns out, Twins of Evil was part of the Karnstein Trilogy. Rest assured the other two films will be reviewed soon.
3.5 human sacrifices out of 5
Rated R: contains violence, nudity, sexuality.
No comments:
Post a Comment