The Barry Wood novel "Twins" became a twisted Cronenberg movie called Dead Ringer starring Jeremy Irons as two brothers torn together by a destiny that would never let them live apart, and a horror movie called "Basket Case" dealt with Siamese twins separated, one of them a much deformed monster with murderous instincts. This is a combination of the two stories, dealing with siamese twins both played by Michael Moriarty, one seemingly a normal doctor and the other one a murderous fiend out to rid the world of those who separated them and ultimately destroy his twin as well. The intense performance by Moriarty makes this film mesmerizing in many ways, but it is also very disturbing because of the way that the evil twin goes out to destroy his brother by making people think that he is the killer, not him, since he was believed to have died years before.
With Penelope Milford excellent as the good Moriarty's girlfriend (shocked and horrified by the fact that she doesn't initially believe that a doppelganger was really the one responsible for her father's death) as well as veterans Geraldine Fitzgerald and Cameron Mitchell, this is killing from start to finish but often becomes a bit of a convoluted mess. However, Moriarty, who played some truly vile characters in his career (such as the Nazi officer in the TV miniseries "Holocaust") dominates the film, and it is impossible to take your eyes off of him. This is a film that barely saw the light of day when it was first released, so it's a little sleeper too fine even though it is often very creepy and disturbing and ultimately depressing, especially for families who have twins in them. However, once you get started watching it, it's impossible to turn away, but you have to be in the mood for a very dark thriller such as this.
With Penelope Milford excellent as the good Moriarty's girlfriend (shocked and horrified by the fact that she doesn't initially believe that a doppelganger was really the one responsible for her father's death) as well as veterans Geraldine Fitzgerald and Cameron Mitchell, this is killing from start to finish but often becomes a bit of a convoluted mess. However, Moriarty, who played some truly vile characters in his career (such as the Nazi officer in the TV miniseries "Holocaust") dominates the film, and it is impossible to take your eyes off of him. This is a film that barely saw the light of day when it was first released, so it's a little sleeper too fine even though it is often very creepy and disturbing and ultimately depressing, especially for families who have twins in them. However, once you get started watching it, it's impossible to turn away, but you have to be in the mood for a very dark thriller such as this.