Twins of Evil
1971 Directed by John Hough
Synopsis
Which is the Virgin? Which is the Vampire?
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.
Cast
Studio
Genre
Popular reviews
More-
If you want everything Hammer does, and does well in spades, watch twins of evil. Gore-check, Cushing and or Lee-check, vampires-check, skin-I wont say any more in that off chance my wife ever reads this. Such a fun kick ass and up until recently rarely seen Hammer production. Me likey
-
The best of the Karnstein trilogy and one of Hammer's finest films overall. Borrows a lot from Witchfinder General but that's no bad thing, and Cushing is wonderfully frightening as a religious puritan. Great fun.
-
Twins of Evil is without doubt one of Hammer's very finest films. The film blends together a few different elements of horror. We've got witches (and the resulting witch hunts), devil worship and, of course, vampirism. These things combine to make one very nice Hammer film indeed. Naturally, the film benefits immensely from the incredibly beautiful ladies that play the twins of the title - Mary and Madeleine Collinson. The two are the ultimate in sweetness, which makes it all the better when one of them becomes more like the title suggests. The plot is relatively simple given all the elements it combines. We follow Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing in fine form) as a religious man by day, and witch…
-
'We can only be destroyed by a stake through the heart! Or cutting off our heads.'
'Remember! A vampire can only be killed by a stake through the heart! Or cutting off its head!'
'Is it true Anton? A vampire may only be killed by a stake through the heart? Or decapitation?'
See if you can guess how the two vampires in this one meet their end.
Probably my favourite Hammer, a searing indictment of the horrors perpetrated by superstitious zealots in the form of witch burning, as opposed to vampire burning, which it turns out was pretty much OK.
A complete joy from start to finish.
-
Leave it to Peter Cushing to take the vile, hated character of the Witch Hunter, and turn it into a respectable one, who you actually feel sympathy for and are rooting for by the end of the movie. Filmed after the loss of his wife, it explains how gaunt he appears in this, and almost as if he channeled his sadness and loneliness into his performance. This wonderful almost dark fairy tale of a film, is probably one of my favorites of the later Hammer films. The gore especially near the end of the film is actually the strongest I have seen from the studio, and also despite the draw of having so many breathtakingly beautiful women in it, and…
-
One of my favourite Seventies Hammer films this has two outstanding features. No not the Collinson twins, I’m talking about Peter Cushing’s performance and Harry Robertson’s rousing score.
Cushing is Gustav Weil, a religious zealot who’s fond of burning young women at the stake. It’s a terrific performance with Cushing convincing the viewer that he believes these women are witches. Without that conviction Cushing would be as much a villain as the vampire Count Karnstein, instead he’s simply misguided and not without a chance at redemption.
While Cushing dominates the film Damien Thomas does well as the debauched hedonist Count Karnstein. Thomas is no Christopher Lee and thankfully doesn’t try to be, instead he plays Karnstein as a rich playboy, albeit one with an evil bent.
Director John Hough ensures that the film never drags helped by Robertson’s pounding score which gives the film an epic feel and it builds to a suitably action packed and bloody climax.
Recent reviews
More-
The best of the Karnstein trilogy and one of Hammer's finest films overall. Borrows a lot from Witchfinder General but that's no bad thing, and Cushing is wonderfully frightening as a religious puritan. Great fun.
-
I've wanted to see this for a very long time. Definitely worth it.
-
I saw this with Vampire Circus at a drive-in!
-
'We can only be destroyed by a stake through the heart! Or cutting off our heads.'
'Remember! A vampire can only be killed by a stake through the heart! Or cutting off its head!'
'Is it true Anton? A vampire may only be killed by a stake through the heart? Or decapitation?'
See if you can guess how the two vampires in this one meet their end.
Probably my favourite Hammer, a searing indictment of the horrors perpetrated by superstitious zealots in the form of witch burning, as opposed to vampire burning, which it turns out was pretty much OK.
A complete joy from start to finish.
-
A pretty fun Hammer horror film, with Peter Cushing in a WITCHFINDER GENERAL-style performance. I wonder if they laughed when they shot the scene where Cushing asks someone how to kill a vampire.
-
Twins of Evil is without doubt one of Hammer's very finest films. The film blends together a few different elements of horror. We've got witches (and the resulting witch hunts), devil worship and, of course, vampirism. These things combine to make one very nice Hammer film indeed. Naturally, the film benefits immensely from the incredibly beautiful ladies that play the twins of the title - Mary and Madeleine Collinson. The two are the ultimate in sweetness, which makes it all the better when one of them becomes more like the title suggests. The plot is relatively simple given all the elements it combines. We follow Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing in fine form) as a religious man by day, and witch…
-
I love late Hammer just about as much as early Hammer, and this has to be near the top of the heap of the late Hammer crop. There's something about seeing the amazing production values of Hammer films injected with sleaze and gore, and this pulls it off extremely well. Solid story, great technicolor gore, a nice amount of skin, and Peter Cushing being awesome as always. Well worth any gothic horror fan's time.
-
Playboy model twins, some T&A, blood & el Cushing on fine form as the ultra-puritanical witchfinder. Not top-level Hammer but one of the stronger later examples of their output.
-
Well, it's no Vampire Lovers, but Twins Of Evil manages to finish the Karnstein Trilogy on a high note, with some decent story, acting and direction (although at less than 90 minutes the film seems a little hurried and choppy). We got: Evil Baron Vampire, Beautiful women with perfect... ah... necks, swirling mists, self-righteous witch hunters that turn into self-righteous vampire hunters, and Peter Cushing. What more do you want?