moonspinner55 Well-made, if sloppily-edited, vampire/witchcraft horrors from Hammer Films (and distributed by the Rank Organisation!) became screenwriter Tudor Gates' final installment in the "Karnstein Trilogy" (following "The Vampire Lovers" from 1970 and "Lust for a Vampire" from earlier in 1971). Twin teenage girls from Venice, orphaned and now living with their puritanical uncle in Central Europe, are the only 'respectable' lasses in the village who dare bare their cleavage (much to their uncle's dismay). One of the young ladies becomes aroused by Count Karnstein, who worships the devil in his mountaintop castle and has recently been turned into a vampire after resurrecting the corpse of Countess Mircalla (who inexplicably disappears thereafter!). Although exquisitely photographed by Dick Bush, this bloody, sexy outing possibly bites off more than it can chew. As the twins, real-like Playboy Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson are beautiful amateurs, while Damien Thomas (an extremely odd-looking actor) makes for a disappointing Karnstein. The one cast member who seems to relish his role is Peter Cushing as the girls' uncle; whether hunting down pagan beauties at night on horseback or grimly extolling the virtues of a God-fearing life, Cushing doesn't play his part for camp, which is all the better. With his jaw firmly stuck out and his eyes ablaze, Cushing is more ferocious than the vampires and about as dangerous, though the filmmakers suddenly go soft on him by the finale. ** from ****

nzpedals Anyone who thinks the current (2015) ISIS crisis is extraordinary might watch this great movie and reflect that things come round, and sometimes we don't like that.There are fundamentalist idiots who do extreme awfulness, in the name of their 'god', there are idle, arrogant, privileged wealthy who try to pleasure themselves at the expense of anyone else, and then, there are the ordinary folk, some of whom are prepared to act and change things for the better. Much like today?Peter Cushing is the evil Gustav who burns beautiful girls for fun, hey, didn't people deal to girls they thought were witches in Salem and numerous other places a relatively few years ago? Kathleen Bryon his suffering wife, hey, did he ever get his trousers off? Maybe not? Then there are his nieces, the beautiful but willful Collinson twins. Oh, so cute. David Warbeck and Isobel Black are brother and sister, perhaps teachers and good people.In the realm of horror, this is a good example, and one with a twist or two. I rate it a 7

Lucabrasisleeps I know that it is controversial to place this movie among my favourite vampire films. Because obviously this movie is regarded as somewhat of a guilty pleasure among horror fans. But I do have to say I enjoyed this movie more than some other Hammer films.I liked this movie particularly because of the youthful characters and the general sexy nature of the story. And of course the nudity! This is the first Hammer vampire movie I saw with some delicious nudity. And not the kind of overdose of nudity that you see in Jess franco movies. But it is all very measured and erotic. In many ways you don't really root for Cushing's character that much because he seems like a stuffy old man in front of Karnstein and the twins. I liked the overall idea of the the evil twin in a vampire story. I don't know if it is original but I certainly found it interesting to see the contrast between the twins and the various ways in which it affects the story. Another thing I found interesting is the "chasing the bad boy" attitude (hey it might be centuries before but the attitudes remain the same!). We all want what we can't have and it is perfectly illustrated in Anton and Frida's preferences. I liked the idea of Cushing's character not being that clean cut. In the sense, we are repelled by his witch huntings but still somehow he thinks of himself as the nice man who fights for God. Somehow this seems like a changing of the times (post 1960s and all). He is also questioned, not like some pre 1960 movies where the religious authorities are not questioned that much. Both sides are portrayed as being evil in their own way and we don't really root for anyone other than maybe Anton who is able to see reason rather than act according to emotion.The twins Mary and Madeleine collinson are surprisingly good actors. They aren't just pretty faces in the movie, they have a large enough role and there is substance in the character. Damien thomas is also pretty good as the Count. For a guilty pleasure movie, the performances and the story are actually pretty good. Anyway I enjoyed the movie very much!8/10

Unimonster1964 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.