Twins of Evil (1971)

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

Color:

Color (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:

Ingrid Pitt was offered the cameo role played by Katya Wyeth.

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)

Another solid Hammer vampire movie.

Hammer movies seem to divide horror fans. You either dig them or you don't, and I most certainly do! In my opinion even the weaker movies from that studio are still worth a look, and 'Twins Of Evil' is one of the better ones, and therefore essential viewing. It may not be as great as 'The Vampire Lovers', which it has a tenuous link to (it isn't really a "sequel" as such but also deals with the wicked Karnstein family, so if you haven't seen the former, don't sweat it), but it's still damn entertaining. Horror legend and Hammer regular Peter Cushing puts in a strong performance as the overly zealous witchfinder Gustav Weil. He always can be depended upon to take the material seriously, sometimes more seriously than it deserves. The Collinson twins who play his nieces are pretty and can act adequately, but show nowhere near as much flesh as you might expect. They may be the stars according to the title of the movie but are easily overshadowed by Cushing and cult figures Dennis Price (Franco's 'Vampyros Lesbos', the Vincent Price black comedy 'Theatre Of Blood') and David Warbeck (Fulci's 'The Black Cat' and 'The Beyond', and Russ Meyer's little seen 'Blacksnake!'). The rest of the supporting cast are all fine, especially Damien Thomas as the decadent Count Karnstein. As I said 'Twins Of Evil' didn't impress me as much as 'The Vampire Lovers' which I still think is THE Hammer vampire classic, but along with 'Vampire Circus' it is an underrated movie that deserves to be seen by every horror buff. Director John Hough incidentally went on to make the frightening 'Legend Of Hell House' and the cult Peter Fonda road movie 'Dirty Mary Crazy Larry'. 'Twins Of Evil' is yet another solid effort from the much loved Hammer studios.