Twins of Evil 1971 123movies

Watch: Twins of Evil 1971 123movies, Full Movie Online – In nineteenth century middle-Europe, orphaned teenage twins Maria and Frieda go to live with their uncle Gustav Weil, who heads the Brotherhood, a vigilante group trying to stamp out vampirism. But their methods are random and misplaced and the only result is a terrorised populace. The real threat lies with Count Karnstein, and although the twins seem outwardly to be identical, Frieda finds herself much more drawn than her sister to the Count’s castle dominating the skyline..
Plot: While dabbling in Satanism, Count Karstein resurrects Mircalla Karnstein who initiates him into vampirism. As a rash of deaths afflicts the village, Gustav the head of Puritan group leads his men to seek out and destroy the pestilence. One of his twin nieces has become inflicted with the witchcraft but Gustav’s zeal and venom has trapped the innocent Maria, threatening her with a tortuous execution, whilst Frieda remains free to continue her orgy of evil.
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Ratings:

	6.6/10 Votes: 5,801
	79% | RottenTomatoes
	62/100 | MetaCritic
	N/A Votes: 108 Popularity: 9.547 | TMDB

Reviews:

***Great Gothic horror ambiance, good cast, magnificent score, so-so story***

Orphaned twin sisters (Madeleine & Mary Collinson) are forced to move from Venice to Styria, Austria, to live with their puritan uncle (Peter Cushing), who’s hell-bent on hunting down witches and burning them at the stake. One of the sisters, Frieda (Madeleine), refuses to tolerate her uncle’s legalistic abuse and is drawn to the diabolic hedonism happening at nearby Karnstein Castle. Once Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas) performs a satanic ritual that resurrects his vampiric ancestor, Mircalla, and he is converted to the undead, he intends to do the same with Frieda.

“Twins of Evil” (1971) is the third entry in Hammer’s so-called Karnstein Trilogy, named after the female vampire Mircalla, who is actually Countess Carmilla Karnstein (note the anagram). The previous two films are “The Vampire Lovers” (1970) and “Lust for a Vampire” (1971). This one is a prequel to those, all three based on “Carmilla” by Irish novelist Sheridan Le Fanu, which was originally published as a serial in 1871-72, some 26 years before Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.”

Of the Karnstein Trilogy, “Twins of Evil” bears the least resemblance to “Carmilla” as it adds a witch-hunting angle (that naturally brings to mind 1968’s “Witchfinder General,” aka “The Conqueror Worm”) and Carmilla is decidedly a peripheral character, upstaged by the Dracula-like Count Karnstein. Damien Thomas, incidentally, is quite charismatic in the role and just as effective, if not better, compared to Christopher Lee.

I’m not sure when this story take place. The Puritan-like apparel worn by the religious brotherhood makes it seem like anywhere from the mid-1600s thru the 1700s, but I suppose it could occur closer to the time “Carmilla” was published, making it the mid-1800s.

The actresses who play the titular twins were the first identical twin Playmates of the Month for Playboy. They appeared in the mag in October, 1970, the year before this flick was released. They’re certainly cute and are surprisingly effective in their roles, but they don’t do anything for me on an erogenous level. However, the good twin/bad twin theme is compelling, although it contradicts the title.

In addition, there’s an interesting subplot about how legalism can morph a good man into a dour killjoy. While the Karnsteins & their converts are wholly satanic, Gustav Weil (Cushing) & his Brotherhood have fallen prey to a less overt kind of evil in the form of religious legalism. Meanwhile Anton Hoffer (David Warbeck) represents the honorable middle ground.

The score by British composer Harry Robinson is outstanding with a slight Spaghetti Western flare. The movie even has the feel of a Western in the first act, but it turns to Gothic horror as soon as the satanic rituals & vampirism surface. Aside from the Collinson twins, “Twins of Evil” features a nice smorgasbord of females.

The film runs 1 hour and 27 minutes and was shot at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England.

GRADE: B-/C+

The evil that men do.

The final part of Hammer Films Karnstein Trilogy is in keeping with what made the studios output so readily embraced by the horror faithful. 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. Weil is a stern puritan who leads a fanatical bunch of witch-hunters known as the Brotherhood, this is a problem because the twins are going through sexual awakenings. 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 girls are in the middle of two evils, wicked men on either side of them, God and Satan their respective keepers. This coupled with the political and religious sub-texts bubbling away, makes this a narratively smart picture.

Production values are high, with the smart period design and costuming given an atmospheric sheen by cinematographer Dick Bush. Director John Hough provides solid direction and smooth camera work, while Harry Robertson’s music has the requisite olde world gothic about it.

Peter Cushing heads the cast superbly as Weil, looking gaunt due to his personal tragedy, he mesmerises as a man increasingly crumbling under the weight of emotional confliction. Dennis Price others sturdy support but is done no favours by the writer (Tudour Gates) as he is under developed, while the twins themselves, their voices dubbed, are fine and able to put enough of a different slant on their characters for us viewers to know which one is which. Damien Thomas’ lustily fanged count is not a particularly striking villain, and David Warbeck as the normal love interest is too weak an actor to convince in the role.

One of the better horrors from Hammer’s 70s output. 7/10

Creepy and Fantastic Final Entry to Hammer’s Karnstein Trilogy
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 the fantastic “The Vampire Lovers” (1970) and the mediocre “Lust For A Vampire” (1971), this prequel to its predecessors is set in 17th century Austria (my home country), and unites several favorite Horror elements such as Witchhunts, Devil-Worshiping and Vampirism. 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. Even though the busty twin sisters, as well as some of other beauties are very nice to look at, this film relies less strongly on eroticism than its predecessors, and focuses mainly on creepiness and suspense. The film follows the 70s Horror-trend of witch-hunts, which became popular after Michael Reeves’ British Horror masterpiece “Witchfinder General” (1968) starring the great Vincent Price. This time, it is another brilliant Horror icon, Hammer’s very own Peter Cushing, who plays a merciless Witchfinder. 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 uncle Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing), a strict religious fanatic, is the leader of a puritan group called ‘the brotherhood’. After mysterious deaths, Weil and his henchmen, who believe the murders to be the work of the devil, abduct young women and burn them at the stake for alleged witchcraft. It is quite obvious though, that these women are innocent. 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. A classic Vampire story comes along with and Witchhunts, Devil-Worshipping, all presented in a Hammer-typical, beautifully creepy Gothic atmosphere. In my opinion, many of the greatest Hammer films are from the early 70s, as they maintained the beautiful Gothic style and elegant creepiness of their earlier gems, and, at the same time, mixed different Horror-themes and introduced the more explicit themes of the 70s (such more explicit gore and mild erotica). This film has all the classic Gothic Hammer elements – foggy grounds, dark forests, graveyards and eerie castles etc, combined with gruesome elements and genuinely frightening moments. Peter Cushing (in my humble opinion, one of the greatest actors who ever lived) shines as the merciless Witchfinder, a role that fits him brilliantly. The sexy leading ladies Madeleine and Mary Collinson make the film a joy to look at. Director John Hough, who would later make films such as “The Legend of Hell House” (1972) as well the “Treasure Island” adaptation with Orson Welles (1972), deserves great praise for making this one Hammer’s most elegant, suspenseful and chilling films. Beautifully filmed in the Hammer-typical uncanny visual style and accompanied by a nice score, “Twins of Evil” is doubtlessly one of the most atmospheric Hammer films from the early 70s, and it also ranks up there among their all-time greats. Highly recommended and a must-see for all Hammer fans!

Minor But Entertaining
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. Ironically, Gustav’s hapless victims are innocent, and he finds himself unable to attack the real evil of the locality: the devil-worshiping Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas), who enjoys the protection of the Emperor.

Needless to say, it is not long before the sisters catch the attention of the Count, who has now been transformed by the black arts into a vampire–and one of the sisters soon falls under his sway. But truth be told, Gustav is such a distasteful creature himself that it becomes difficult to know which of the two men is worst.

Like most Hammer Horrors, TWINS abounds with well endowed women in plunging necklines and enough colorful gore to float a small boat. But in this instance, the splashes of blood are all the more effective for the muted background against which they are seen. The usually baroque settings of most Hammer films is not in evidence here, little is romanticized, and the atmosphere is quite tense.

The Collison twins (whose last film this was) give reasonable performances and are so attractive that you do not mind the fact they have very obviously been dubbed by English-speaking actors. Damien Thomas makes for an impressively suave vampire, and David Warbeck is appealing as the hero of the piece. 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! It is an unexpected effect, and it is quite powerful.

This is not to say that TWINS OF EVIL is without flaws, and now and then some pretty big ones. The script is no winner, and the details of the story are a bit loose, to say the least. The sisters are supposed to be from Vienna, but they somehow wind up in what seems to be a very unappealing area of Germany where the men all dress like American Puritans! There are also one or two scenes that border on the unintentionally comic. But most viewers will be able to suspend disbelief for the film’s duration. Recommended for fans of both Hammer and Gothic horror.

GF

Other Information:

Original Language en
Runtime 1 hr 27 min (87 min)
Budget 0
Revenue 0
Status Released
Rated R
Genre Horror
Director John Hough
Writer Tudor Gates, Sheridan Le Fanu
Actors Inigo Jackson, Judy Matheson, Peter Cushing
Country United Kingdom
Awards N/A
Production Company N/A
Website N/A

Technical Information:

Sound Mix Mono
Aspect Ratio 1.37 : 1 (original & negative ratio/open matte), 1.66 : 1 (intended & European theatrical ratio/matted), 1.85 : 1 (US theatrical ratio)
Camera Arriflex Cameras and Lenses
Laboratory Rank Film Laboratories, Denham, UK
Film Length 2,399 m (cut version) (Sweden)
Negative Format 35 mm
Cinematographic Process Spherical
Printed Film Format 35 mm