(1971, UK, dir. - John Hough)
Cast: Gustav Weil - Peter Cushing, Count Karnstein - Damien Thomas, Maria - Mary Collinson, Frida - Madeleine Collinson, Dietrich - Dennis Price.
Originally part of a moderately successful double-bill with HANDS OF THE RIPPER, Hammer's TWINS OF EVIL was revived for a one-off screening at the Barbican on Wednesday, 26th July 2000. The screening was preceded by an introduction from the academic Johnathan Rigby, writer of something called "English Gothic", and "Peter Cushing Companion" author David Miller.
The two writers were okay, but it was the people actually involved in the film who were most interesting. Hough came first, speaking of his respect for Peter Cushing's professionalism, and rather less plausibly, his plans to make a new Hammer movie within the year (Yeah, right!). Tudor Gates came next, continuing the po-faced theme by doing a bit of luvvie gushing and then claiming TWINS OF EVIL as the best of the three Karnstein movies he did for Hammer. In fact, it's clearly inferior to his first, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, and even, in my book, a poor third behind also the under-rated LUST FOR A VAMPIRE. Still, I suppose we weren't watching those, so he had to talk up the one that was actually showing. Lastly, Damien Thomas came on, and was funny and interesting on his role. He related that the only piece of direction Hough had given him was to "play it Shakespearian", and said that upon first seeing the finished movie he slunk lower and lower into his seat because "I wanted to work again!" Damien Thomas was not about to pretend that TWINS OF EVIL was much cop.
So, then the film started. It is, as I have already indicated, no great shakes. Hammer films are always watchable because the style and format was such a winner, but this one is definitely not up there with the studio's earlier, classier work. Peter Cushing is wonderful as the Witch-hunting head of a puritan sect, who respond to a glut of vampirism by hysterically burning local young women. He cannot touch Count Karnstein (Thomas, markedly less entertaining on-screen than off it), whom declares himself a servant of the Devil, because he is also a close friend of the Emperor and thus under royal protection. Karnstein, who is not behind the initial vampire attacks, then raises his ancestor, Mircalla, from the dead. This character, a version of Carmilla from the first two films, rather defies the expectation that she is a lesbian by immediately seducing, and then vampirizing the Count. The twins come into it as the nieces of Gustav. One of them is good and therefore the heroine, and one of them is quickly a member of the undead as Karnstein's first victim. the whole thing finally picks up with a rousing conclusion in which the puritans finally go after some genuine do-badders.
The film concludes with Karnstein and the evil twin vanquished, but Mircalla is unaccounted for, as is the original vampire, who is never glimpsed. Both plot elements that the struggling Gates had obviously lost track of, and symbolicly indicating that the further from Sheridan Le Fanu's original novella, "Carmilla" he went, the more he struggled. An odd choice for a revival then, but one that was precipated by the release of a soundtrack album. The score, by Harry Robinson is actually okay, if a bit lacking in James Bernard's gothic energy. The film ultimately does not live up to it.
Still, the chance to see even this Hammer Horror on the big screen was not to be missed, and attracted a pretty decent attendance. Imagine what would happen if they showed something that would really catch fire on the silver screen: REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, perhaps or better yet, the Cinemascope DRACULA - PRINCE OF DARKNESS. That might even prompt some serious interest in Hough's pie in the sky schemes to ressurrect the British genre that once ruled the horror world.
Chris Denton.
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