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In one of Hammer Films’ finest efforts, twin orphans named Maria and Frieda (Mary and Madelaine Collinson) come to live with their pious, witch-hunting uncle Gustav (Peter Cushing) under the shadow of Castle Karnstein. The boisterous and womanizing Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas) regularly clashes with Gustav, who likes to burn the count’s sexual conquests at the stake. After the count resurrects his vampire aunt Marcilla (Katya Wyeth) and joins her among the undead, he takes an interest in Frieda, the ‘bad twin’ who’s already a bit wicked at heart. When uncle Gustav learns she’s become a vampire, he rallies the town to join him on a mission to destroy both the count and his devilish niece. The fiendish count retaliates by switching the twins, sentencing Maria, the ‘good twin’, to a fiery demise.
Twins of Evil is one of the most morally complex stories in Hammer’s oeuvre. Our inclination is to relate with the twins and rebel against Cushing’s overzealous character, but the film slowly turns the tables on us. Frieda turns to the dark side while we begin to understand Cushing’s Uncle Gustav a little better. Sure, he may occasionally burn innocent women at the stake, but he’s convinced he’s saving souls. Tudor Gates’ screenplay condenses the classic struggle between sex and religion in a sophisticated way, using the twins — one good and one evil — to illustrate what happens when we swing too far to either extreme. If the sex-fearing witch-hunters don’t get you, the hedonistic vampires surely will.
Cushing gives perhaps his finest performance for Hammer here, making Gustav both terrifying and sympathetic. Before the town marches to Castle Karnstein for a climactic showdown, the girls’ choir master (David Warbeck) informs Gustav that his bonfires can’t save a vampire’s soul — only a beheading and stake through the heart can do that. Cushing pauses for a moment of silent grief, followed by grim determination for what he must do. Gustav is simultaneously a villain and a hero, and Cushing hits a home run with this juicy role. In the supporting cast, Damien Thomas is too theatrical at times, but Kathleen Byron is memorable as Gustav’s wife. She has a great scene with Cushing when she stops him from punishing Maria for Frieda’s bad deeds.
Twins of Evil captures the atmosphere of Hammer’s best gothic horror films, while also showing signs of stylistic evolution. The script is more dense and the pacing more modern, accentuated with a few moments of sensational gratuity — some nudity and bloodspray — that don’t betray an otherwise well made film. This is the first Hammer feature directed by John Hough, who breathes new life into the studio with a surprisingly energetic film that escapes the confines of low budget perhaps better than any other Hammer production.
Harry Robinson, who also scored the other two entries in the ‘Karnstein Trilogy’, delivers another top-notch score. As much as his music captures the gothic-romantic flavor of so many other Hammer films, it also takes a few steps forward into distinctly ’60s and ’70s sounding orchestration. Somehow, these little breaks from tradition feel right and even exciting, helping Hammer change with the times. The music sometimes sounds dated, but kitsch has always been part of Hammer’s charm.
Photographed by Dick Bush. With Dennis Price, Isobel Black, and Harvey Hall.