Twins of Evil

Plot synopsis:
The Gellhorn twins, Maria [Mary Collinson] and Frieda [Madelaine Collinson] have journeyed from Vienna to Karnstein in order to live with their aunt and uncle, Gustav [Peter Cushing] and Cathy [Kathleen Byron] Weil, following the death of their parents. Gustav Weil is a severely puritanical witch hunter who spends his nights searching out and burning the devil's servants--suspected witches and vampires. One of his greatest arch-enemies is Count Karnstein [Damien Thomas], said to practice the black arts and worship the devil, all under protection of the emperor. Karnstein is becoming weary of tedious black masses and bogus manifestations of the devil; he wants the real thing. When he becomes bored with the current 'sacrifice' of a village virgin, he completes the sacrifice himself. The blood seeps through a crack in the table, which just happens to be the tomb of Marcilla Karnstein [Katya Wyeth]. Marcilla resurrects and makes Karnstein vampire, too. Aunt Cathy enrolls the girls in school where the choirmaster Anton Hogger [David Warbeck] takes an immediate liking to Frieda. However, Frieda finds Count Karnstein more fascinating. One evening when Frieda has had enough of Uncle Gustav, she sneaks out of the house. She meets with Count Karnstein's carriage and is taken to the castle where he makes her vampire.Meanwhile, Anton Hoffer writes a letter to the church elders complaining about Gustav's burnings. "By burning," Anton scolds, "you char the body. The soul will only re-create itself in another body and continue with its carnage. Only a stake through the heart or decapitation will end their tormented evil." For all his knowledge, however, Anton's sister Ingrid [Isobel Black] is found the next day with vampire bites on her neck.Then it happens that Gustav comes across his own niece Frieda vampiring a man. "The Devil has sent me twins of evil!" he cries. He sends Frieda off to jail and goes home for Maria. Aunt Cathy will not allow him to take Maria who, at this very moment, is lying upstairs with a cross clasped to her breast. Unfortunately, Maria has a nightmare and drops the cross. Karnstein abducts Maria and switches her with Frieda. While the witch hunters prepare to burn Frieda (actually Maria), Anton goes to see Maria and recognizes Frieda right away. He escapes to warn Gustav who does not believe him."Hold up the holy cross and see if either of us flinches," challenges Anton.When both Maria and Anton pass the test, the puritans storm Karnstein castle to destroy Karnstein and Frieda. Gustav beheads Frieda himself, but Karnstein siezes Maria and threatens to throw her from a balcony. Gustav attempts to behead Karnstein with an ax but he misses; Karnstein axes Gustav instead. As Karnstein watches Gustav die, Anton throws a spear which stakes Karnstein through the heart. Maria is saved. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.]

Tags: cult, gothic

Review:
The delicious Collinson twins, Mary and Madeleine, are reason enough to catch this technically accomplished and subtly erotic horror flick from Hammer; these ladies are sex incarnate and burn up the screen every time they appear.Twins aside, director John Hough's contribution to English vampire lore is a very tight, exceptionally well directed and staged tale of bloodsucking and rampant desire.Peter Cushing, as Gustav Weil, is the God-fearing leader of The Brotherhood, a bunch of old witch-finders who stalk pretty girls with bad reputations and confine them to burning crosses.
Life gets complicated for old Gustav when his sexy niece (Madeleine Collinson) gets curious about Karnstein castle and its Satan-worshipping occupant (Damien Thomas) and decides to open her legs and heart to the arrogant neck-biter.TWINS OF EVIL gets everything right.
The third and final entry to the 'Karnstein Trilogy', "Twins of Evil" of 1971 is doubtlessly one of the creepiest and best films the great British Hammer Studios have brought forth in the early 70s.
After many Hammer beauties in other films, "Twins of Evil" brings us the eponymous twins in the leading role, played by the 19-year old former Playboy playmates Madeleine and Mary Collinson.
Only that this ruthless witch-hunter stands in opposition to a devil-worshiping clan of Vampires - The Karnsteins.After their parents' death, Venice twins Frieda and Maria Gellhorn (Madeleine and Mary Collinson) are sent to live with their aunt and uncle in an Austrian village.
The satanic Count Karnstein, who spends his time with bloody rituals, lives in the castle on a mountain near to the village..."Twins of Evil" magnificently combines several great Horror themes.
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.
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!
TWINS OF EVIL Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: MonoThis exquisite, sexually charged shocker (the third and final entry in Hammer's unofficial Karnstein trilogy, following THE VAMPIRE LOVERS and LUST FOR A VAMPIRE, both produced in 1970) was directed by John Hough, a talented journeyman who began his career in British television (including notable episodes of "The Avengers") and later helmed the much-acclaimed ghost story THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (1973) before relocating to America and getting lost on the Hollywood treadmill.
Here, working with a clever script (by Tudor Gates) and elegant period art direction (by Roy Stannard), he maintains a graceful period style which belies the film's threadbare budget and modest ambitions: A decadent lord of the manor (Damien Thomas) summons the ghost of Mircalla Karnstein (Katya Wyeth) from her grave and is subsequently transformed into a vampire, whereupon he targets the beautiful twin nieces of a local witchfinder (Peter Cushing).The plot is pure melodrama, but Hough plays it straight for the most part, except for a couple of humorous episodes early in the film (such as the notorious 'candle' incident during an unlikely sexual encounter between Thomas and Wyeth!).
Former 'Playboy' centerfolds Madeleine and Mary Collinson - who appear to have been dubbed in an effort to beef up their unskilled performances - are visually stunning in the bosomy Hammer style, while David Warbeck (later a cult favorite in mainland European exploitation movies), Dennis Price (KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS), Isobel Black (THE KISS OF THE VAMPIRE) and Kathleen Byron (BLACK NARCISSUS) are featured in major supporting roles.
The last entry in the "Karnstein Trilogy" by Hammer Studios in the early 1970s, Twins of Evil, tells the story of a pair of nieces moving from Venice to live with their uncle in backward Eastern Europe right in the middle of superstition and a sect known as the Brotherhood, a group of Calvinistic vigilantes ridding the land of beautiful, full-figured women labeled witches(the waste!
But there's no real mystery why these twin girls were cast in these roles, although Cushing is rightly the star here.The film looks great and just like always Hammer captures the period strongly, from the set details of Karnstein's castle to the clothing and props.
In Austria some time in Seventeenth Century,after the deaths of their parents,nubile blonde twins Maria and Frieda(Playboy models Mary and Madeleine Collinson)go to live with their puritanical uncle,Gustav Weil(Peter Cushing),who leads a group of local witch hunters.His efforts to root out the servants of the devil are opposed by a local nobleman,Count Karnstein,whose depraved life and fascination with black magic greatly irritate Weil.Soon after the girls' arrival,the Count having been transformed into a vampire by the the spirit of one of his ancestors,which he had conjured from hell meets and seduces Frieda,who is herself reborn as a vampire."Twins of Evil" is one of my favourite horror films from Hammer.It's dark,creepy and genuinely erotic.The film was made two months after the death of Peter Cushing's beloved wife Helen, and it is surely no coincidence that he gives probably the grimmest performance of his career as the fanatical,but tortured witch-hunter Weil.Give it a look.9 out of 10..
Based on characters created by Sheridan Le Fanu, Hammer take one of their vampire movies and add puritan witch-finding into the mix as well.Upon the death of their parents identical twins Maria and Frieda Gellhorn are relocated to Karnstein in Central Europe to live with their Uncle Gustav Weil.
Opposing the Brotherhood is the aristocracy, headed by Count Karnstein, a man of debauchery who is soon to sell his soul to the devil and drag one of the Gellhorn twins with himIt would be easy to assume that the twins of evil of the title are the two girls, here played with a nifty gimmick by real life playboy twins Mary and Madeline Collinson, but it's not the case.
The Austrian town of Karnstein isn't a very safe place for well-endowed, pretty young women: puritanical witch-hunter Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing) and his Brotherhood of religious fanatics like to burn them at the stake, while thrill-seeking nobleman Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas) prefers to use them as sacrifices in his Satanic games.Gustav's sexy twin teenage nieces, saintly Maria and wayward Frieda (Mary and Madeleine Collinson), might be free from persecution by The Brotherhood, but they are not safe from the count, who has recently been turned into a vampire, having accidentally revived his ancient undead ancestor Mircalla.The first two films in Hammer's Karnstein Trilogy, The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Lust For A Vampire (also 1970), featured plenty of nudity from its bevy of buxom starlets, making them great fun for those who enjoy the studio's more provocative efforts.
For the final movie in the series, Twins of Evil, Hammer clearly decided to go one better in the sexy stakes—by casting real-life twin Playboy Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson.Somewhat surprisingly, there is little genuine nudity from the gorgeous twins (plenty of tempting cleavage, but only one topless scene from Madeleine), but regardless of this fact, Twins of Evil is arguably the best of the Karnstein series.
This film boasts the typically good-looking Hammer production values, Peter Cushing, and the Collinson twins.
Settled into a chair, turned the lights down,slapped the video in and was treated to a very disappointing movie.At the time this movie was released Hammer was slowly dying as a major film organization.Reliance on nudity(hey, I like it!)was stressed more so than plots at that stage.This has nudity and a very thin plot.What we have is the good twin /bad twin mistaken identity plot with vampirism,suggested lesbianism and nudity tossed in.There are no real surprises in this film except for the casting of real life twins.(They can't act but they can shed their clothes).The plot is very predictable and boredom sets in quickly.You don't care about any of the characters which dooms a movie quickly.Peter Cushing's wife had died previously to the start of this film.
Interestingly, the narrative augments its essential (but, by this time, rather tired) vampiric theme with an overpowering atmosphere of witch-hunting (Hammer's sole foray into WITCHFINDER GENERAL [1968] territory which, similarly, features a score courtesy of Harry Robinson straight out of a Western and is photographed by Dick Bush, who had shot THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW [1971], another film in the same vein!); the community is led by an atypically misguided though commanding as ever Peter Cushing (reportedly, this was the first film he made following the death of his beloved wife) - his vigorous confrontations with above-average hero David Warbeck (who disapproves of Cushing's over-zealous methods) constitute some of the film's best scenes.The climax - featuring a surprising amount of gore (even if the version I saw, a port of the original R2 DVD by Carlton, is said to have been trimmed slightly by the BBFC!) - is quite good as well; besides, the film does contain a couple of good lines spoken by Cushing: when he sees Count Karnstein talking to one of his nieces, he tells him who she is and the former replies that he's pleased to make her acquaintance - but Cushing, in his inimitable dry fashion, quips "That wasn't an introduction but a warning!"; later, when he realizes that the girl has fallen under the Count's spell regardless, he exclaims in desperation "The Devil has given me Twins Of Evil!" (thus validating the promise set up by the film's very title).
The supporting cast includes an under-used Kathleen Byron as Cushing's wife (who strives to protect the girls from their uncle's blind sense of justice), a tired-looking Dennis Price as a debauched cohort of the blood-sucking Count (who eventually succumbs to one of the twins, similarly afflicted) and Damien Thomas (as Karnstein), who makes for a rather undistinguished figure of corrupting evil..
Great vampire movie made during the time Hammer studios decided to show off more 'skin' with their beauties - "Twins of Evil" stars Peter Cushing in a great role as a priest.
This film has a Gothic setting, puritans on witch-hunts, black arts, Satanism, vampires, and a good vs evil theme - all of which are the makings for a good horror film - and this film has a good story surrounding these things.Yes this is can be a stand alone film - really you do not need to watch the first two films to know what is going on in this third because it has very little to do with them.
Twins of Evil, made by the same producers for Hammer the following year, is actually the final film of "The Karnstein Trilogy", and is a considerable improvement.Twins shows in part the influence of Witchfinder General (1968), and features Peter Cushing on nightly forays into the countryside to root out and burn witches, while becoming the legal guardian of the titular twins, only one of which is actually evil.
And that lack of horror was ultimately what lead me to land my review on a very mediocre 5 out of 10 stars for "Twins of Evil".The late Peter Cushing is definitely carrying the movie quite well with his performance in the movie, and he is joined by a very good ensemble of actors and actresses, whom all brought their respective characters to life in their own unique ways on the screen.
John Hough directed this dark vampire tale that stars Mary & Madeleine Collinson as Maria & Frieda Gellhorn, two orphaned twins who go to live in the middle European village of Karnstein with their puritanical uncle Gustav Weil(played by Peter Cushing) who leads a fanatical but misguided group of vigilantes who pledges to stamp out vampires, no matter the cost.
The performance of most of the rest of the cast however is very good, particularly from Peter Cushing as their religious uncle, hell bent on purifying evil by burning innocent girls he believes to be witches."Twins Of Evil" creates a thick atmosphere that modern period pieces just can't achieve anything close to.
In the Nineteenth Century, the twin sisters Maria Gellhorn (Mary Collinson) and Frieda Gellhorn (Madeleine Collinson) become orphans and come from the progressive Venice to a small town the country of England in the lands of the Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas), who worships the devil, to live with their uncle Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing).
As casting goes, that one was a victory for Hammer.The third of Hammer's vampire trilogy (including The Vampire Lovers and Lust For A Vampire) adapted from Sheridan Le Fanu's nineteenth century lesbian vampire classic 'Carmilla', Twins Of Evil - which contains no Sapphic action whatsoever - features Cushing as Gustav Weil, leader of a band of self-appointed witch-hunters, and the Collinsons as his preyed-upon nieces.
(He'd lost his wife shortly before filming, perhaps accounting for the intensity of his acting).The Collinsons, dubbed throughout, do a nice line in flouncing about in plunging necklines, but that's as far as their input goes; the real drama here is played out between the real twin evils; Karnstein and vile Weil himself - parasitic bourgeoisie decadence and puritan bigotry locked in a deadly struggle.Decent as it is, two scenes may linger longer in the mind for their sheer hilarity, and both concern miming; Wyeth miming masturbation with a candlestick during her sex scene with Thomas; and the Count's mute Moorish manservant Joachim (Stewart) miming to his boss what the vengeful locals, gathered outside the castle, have in store for him.
Sweet innocent Maria (the delectable Mary Collinson) and her more brash naughty girl sibling Frieda (the equally delicious Madeleine Collinson) are two orphaned teenage twin sisters who are placed in the care of Uncle Gustav Weill (a perfectly stern and severe portrayal by the always outstanding Peter Cushing), a ruthless puritanical religious fanatic who heads a group that's determined to stamp out evil in its many forms.
Above average Hammer horror concerning two identical twins, Maria and Freda (played by Playboy pin ups Madeleine & Marie Collinson) who are sent to live with their uncle Gustav Weil (Cushing), a god fearing witch-hunter who fanatically hunts down young girls who are allegedly servants of the devil and burns them at the stake.
With having enjoyed watching a number of Hammer Horror titles for IMDb's Horror board October Challenge,I started to search round on Amazon Uk for Hammer titles that I could view for this years challenge,and I was surprised to find out that UK DVD company Network had brought some Hammer titles out,which led to me excitingly getting ready to see some evil twins in action.The plot:Since recently becoming orphans,twins Maria and Frieda Gellhorn leave their native Venice behind,and go to live with their aunt and uncle in a small European village called Karnstein.Arriving at Karnstein,the Gellhorn's discover that uncle Gustav Weil is the leader of a witch/vampire hunting gang,who burn any women that they believe are possessed by evil forces.Sickened by the stern manner in which Weil treats her,Frieda begins fantasising about the local count called Karnstein.After making a sacrifice to the devil, (as you do!) Karnstein is taken aback,when the sacrifice results in Countess Mircalla Karnstein coming back from the grave,and turning Karnstein into a vampire.Feeling more powerful than ever as a vampire,Karnstein sets his sights on the Gellhorn sisters.View on the film:Filmed at a time when Hammer studios were starting to go off the tracks,and a new,relaxed view towards nudity and gore had appeared in British censorship,Twins of Evil (TOE!)director John Hough displays a tremendous skill in keeping the title away from suffocating on flesh+blood.Hough gives the movie a wonderful warped fairy tale atmosphere,with Hough and cinematographer Dick Bush using scatter- shot whip-pans to give the vampire fangs and witchcraft spells a from out of nowhere shock,whilst Harry Robertson delivers a triumphant score for the Gellhorn's visit to Karnstein.For his adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu novel,writer Tudor Gates paints all of the characters with an excellent, vicious brush,as Gates gets rid of even the basic idea of heroic characters,by showing Karnstein's blood lust as a companion piece to the self rigorous fury which Weil inflicts on the sisters with a disturbing glee.Bringing the Gellhorn's in as outsiders,Gates gradually transforms each of them as they uncover the villages hidden secrets,with Maria becoming terrified from all of the myths,whilst Frieda finds herself allured by the towns blood dripping darkness.Made shortly after the tragic death of his wife,Peter Cushing gives a superb performance as Weli,with Cushing showing Weli passion to "cleanse" the souls of the corrupted,to be something which blinds him from the evils that he unleashes.Offering twice the eye candy after being the 1st ever twins to appear in Playboy magazine,the beautiful Mary and Madeline Collinson (who were both dubbed) each give tantalising performances,with Mary showing a sweet natural nativity as Maria,whilst Madeline sinks her fangs into revealing how evil the twins of evil can be..
In many ways a far more powerful film than the others in this loose trilogy, The Vampire Lovers (1970) and 'Lust For a Vampire' (1970), 'Twins of Evil' remains a satisfying conclusion, a reasonably good vampire movie and a significant reminder of Peter Cushing's great talent as an actor..
Noted primarily for the appearance of Mary and Madeleine Collinson, 19-year old twins (and former Playboy Playmates, having appeared together in the October, 1970 Centerfold) this movie is really so much more than just a vehicle for two lovely young women with dubious acting talent.Twin girls, Frieda and Maria, have recently lost their parents, and are sent to live with their uncle Gustav, (played to perfection by the always-great Peter Cushing) the head of a sect of witch-hunters called 'The Brotherhood.' Gustav is embroiled in conflict with the local Baron, a descendant of the original Mircalla Karnstein, the Vampiress.