Absolutely amazing

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

viewing in glorious black and white will make all the difference. The story is pretty straight forward as far as vampire/devil worship/witch hunt movies go, but the execution of this simple tale is outstanding on every other level..the acting, the wardrobe, cinema photography were all top notch. Warning! This film has sinful devil worshiping, bloodletting, human sacrifices, young nubile witch burnings, head decapitation, and plenty of heaving bosoms.

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. What I like about "Twins of Evil" (besides the very pretty twins) is Peter Cushings character. He is a witch-finder who just happens to have actually found someone evil in the evil Baron. Unlike Van Helsing he is not careful or considered he just rushes in to kill anyone he judges as evil. The film is quite well done with some tense moments and an excellent atmosphere. Some good ideas, to one I like is that you can't become a vampire unless you are evil if you are good and bitten by a vampire you just die mores the pity!Cushing steals the show as the marvellously maniacal Gustav Weil. It is a shame that ill health limited Dennis Price's appearance as his fearful fawning showed a degree of acting skill that many of the younger cast could have done with learning from. With some good effects for the time and the contrast between Mary who is pure and innocent, and her worldlier sister Frieda this does make for some enjoyable viewing. Peter Cushing in his role at times seems more dangerous than the actual vampires as he is quick to burn anyone in sight that isn't part of his congregation. Dennis Price others sturdy support but is done no favors 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. Anyone who loves classic horror with saturated color and period costume will not be disappointed.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Playboy 'playmates' Mary and Madeleine Collinson play Maria and Frieda, two recently orphaned twins from Venice, who have the additional misfortune to be coming to live with their Uncle Veil, the constantly furious leader of 'The Brotherhood', a group who bastardise their interpretation of religion by sacrificing young girls whom they believe are 'servants of the devil'. One of the best lines in the film is Veil's response to his nieces not wearing black after two months of mourning. On seeing their smart clothes, he intones, finger raised to the Heavens, "WHAT kind of PLUMAGE is this??"Peter Cushing gives one of his best performances ever as Gustav Veil, a fairly complex character as written. With seldom few genuine 'good guys' on display (hero Anton (David Warbeck) is a teacher with less than professional designs on Frieda, who is, after all, one of his students) , Veil is typically written as a hypocritical, tyrannical yet ultimately fragile and humane authority figure. Cushing plays every contrast to the hilt, so that rather than hating him, the viewer is drawn into the moral dilemma of how to deal with the demonic forces he has given his life (and the life of those around him) to destroying, when such forces infest his own family. In his perverted translation of religion, he and his followers, all aroused by each other's vehement hatred of impurities, are responsible for the deaths of more innocents than the corrupt Count Karnstein – and yet when Gustav falls, as he inevitably must, he dies a (kind of) hero. Real life tragedies etched ten years of age onto Cushing's countenance (compare his appearance here to his last Hammer outing 'The Vampire Lovers') and leant him a forlorn countenance that adds to Veil's vulnerability.Damien Thomas was rumoured to be in line to play Dracula for Hammer once Christopher Lee had finally hung up his fangs – and from his performance here, it is easy to see why. The twins are also very good here, despite having little formal acting experience – subtle differences in responses separate the mischievous Frieda from the wholesome Maria very well; no mean feat considering they are dubbed throughout. Dennis Price is exceptional as the weaselly Dietrich. Often wasted at this stage of his career on cheap sex-comedies and low-budget horrors, he is exemplary here, especially when ineffectually attempting to excite Karnstein with some inept devil-worshipping entertainment.Harvey Hall, the only actor to have appeared in all of this trilogy (alongside Kirstin Lindholm who is briskly burnt at the stake), is his usual dependable self as Franz, one of The Brotherhood. Finally, Katya Wyeth plays the third incarnation of Carmilla/Mircalla, (who speaks in crisp, clipped RC English, without the European intonations of her predecessors) who – in her one scene – incestuously seduces The Count and turns him into a vampire (which begs the question, who was responsible for the vampire attacks on villagers before Karnstein's turning?). Apparently, Ingrid Pitt was offered the part, but possibly due to its brevity, turned it down.Director Tim Burton often cites Hammer films as an inspiration for the visuals of his films, especially 'Sleepy Hollow (1999)'. It is easy to imagine he refers specifically to 'Twins of Evil' as virtually every scene is reminiscent of the darkest Gothic fairy-tale, with great use of rich colours against the shadows. Apparently the budget for this wasn't much higher than the previous 'Lust' film, which is astounding, as this looks magnificent and a true credit to Director John Hough. The music also separates this from others in the trilogy. The bombastic score is exciting and plays against some of the more gruesome scenes (the elongated burnings, for example), and yet makes them more tragic and frightening than if more traditional incidentals were used. 'Twins' is as good as anything Hammer has ever produced.

The last of Hammer's Karnstein trilogy, based loosely on the 19th Century Sheridan Le Fanu novel "Carmilla", TWINS OF EVIL followed THE VAMPIRE LOVERS and LUST FOR A VAMPIRE, both of which were released in 1970. 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. Soon, Karnstein decides that his usual debaucheries have grown wearisome. He sacrifices a virgin to Satan, and is visited by the ghost of Mircalla, who transforms him into a Vampire. He turns his attentions to the beautiful nieces of his hated enemy, intending to corrupt the girls.While I can't deny that the Collinson twins are the best thing about this film, Cushing's performance as the Witchfinder is certainly a close second. Contrasted with Vincent Price's over-the-top portrayal of Matthew Hopkins in THE CONQUEROR WORM, Cushing plays Gustav as a real, three-dimensional character. Yes, he does horrible things… but he feels that they are necessary, and sanctioned by God. He's not a sadist, but a zealot. The differences in the two may be minute, but Cushing gets the most out of them.This one's probably not for everyone, certainly not the young. But fans of Hammer, and especially of Peter Cushing, need to see this one.