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Twins of Evil (1971)

Twins of Evil (1971) is Tudor Gates' third and final screenplay of the Karnstein Trilogy for Hammer Films. Taking place long before Lust for a Vampire and The Vampire Lovers, Twins of Evil offers an origin story of the haunted, Satan worshiping Karnsteins. Instead of concentrating on supernatural creatures seeking to destroy families and corrupt their children, Twins of Evil points a finger at the men who use those stories for their own advantage. Unlike the earlier films, the lesbian vampires are practically nonexistent. Lacking the bared breasts and passionate kisses of the earlier films, the audience witnesses scene after scene of conscienceless destruction caused by the two men in the center of the story

The Brotherhood sacrifices another suspected victim

Twins of Evil begins with The Brotherhood, a group of misogynistic, religious vigilantes, burning a young woman at the stake. Led by the grim-faced Gustav Weil (Peter Cushing), they consider themselves chosen by God to purge the village of Karnstein of its evil and impurity. One night, they enter the home of Gerta (Luanne Peters) a sexually promiscuous women with “may husbands." Inside, they find Count Karnstein (Damien Thomas) in her bed. Knowing he is safe from The Brotherhood, the decadent count taunts their impotent attempt to purify Karnstein.

The dissolute count fills his time searching for new pleasures in debauched, mock Satanic sacrifices performed at Castle Karnstein. Bored by the artifice of these rituals, he asks Satan to give him the power to do greater evil and kills the young woman tied to the altar. In her only scene in the movie, Mircalla Karnstein rises from her crypt to turn him into a vampire, granting his wish to do more evil.  

Count Karnstein prepares a real sacrifce to Satan

The arrival of orphan twins provides the catalyst for the ultimate confrontation between Weil and the count. Maria and Frieda (Mary and Madeleine Collinson, Playboy's Playmates of the Month in October 1970) come to Karnstein to live with their aunt and uncle, Weil and his wife Katy (Kathleen Byron). Even though they appear the same, morally, they are opposites. Maria is well-behaved and tries to live peacefully with her harsh and joyless uncle. Frieda is wild and wanton, sneaking to join the count in his nocturnal bloodlettings.

 

The films of the Karnstein Trilogy, The Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire and Twins of Evil, began by pointing accusatory fingers at society's demons, but ultimately reveals the actual source of terror. The real twins of evil are the malevolent and sadistic Count Karnstein and religious scourge Gustav Weil. They epitomize extreme toxic masculinity, murdering young women in the service of their respective masters. The movies of The Karnstein Trilogy were not the first ones to code homosexuality and lesbianism as vampirism. Instead, they turned the audience’s gaze away from the monsters on the screen, to the monsters in real life who, either through an overdeveloped sense of privilege or one of blind fear, can do substantial damage.