25 - Twins of Evil (1971) aka Twins of Dracula

Explicit content warning

04/15/22 • 81 min

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General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast

Twins of Evil (also known as Twins of Dracula) is a 1971 British horror film directed by John Hough and starring Peter Cushing's in his first film after the death of his poor wife, Helen, along with Damien Thomas and the real-life identical twins and former Playboy Playmates, Mary and Madeleine Collinson. It also sees the return of one of General Witchfinders favourite cinematographers, Mr Dick Bush.*

Twins of Evil was the third film in Hammer's "Karnstein trilogy," following The Vampire Lovers and Lust for a Vampire in a series loosely based on Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla."

These pictures were produced incredibly quickly, -and they were lurid even by Hammer standards, bloody and relatively steamy, with an emphasis on heaving bosoms and vampire-enhanced girl-on-girl sexuality

Much of the interest of the film revolves around the contrasting evil and good natures of two beautiful sisters, Frieda and Maria. Unlike the previous two entries in the series, this film contains only a brief lesbian element.

The film was released in the U.S. as a double feature with Hands of the Ripper (soon to be featured here in your favour British horror podcast)

Ingrid ‘Wicker man’ Pitt was offered the part of Countess Mircalla Karnstein, but refused.

Harvey Hall and Kirsten Lindholm appear in all three films of the trilogy, although in different roles in each one.

Peter Cushing also played one of the leads in the first, The Vampire Lovers.

Special effects veteran Bert Luxford first employed Spam, then a marrow and finally resorted to using a large German sausage to simulate Frieda's decapitation for the climax of the film.

Australian indie rock band Turnstyle used a sample of Karnstein summoning Satan in their song Winter Rodeo, in 1999.

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*FYI Dick Bush also shot Tommy, The Phildelphia Experiment, The Lair of the White Worm, The Blood on Satans Claw, Phase IV, 2 pink panther movies and loads more - ‘Dick Bush Shoots’ could be a legitimate spin off podcast.

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Twins of Evil was the third film in Hammer's "Karnstein trilogy," following The Vampire Lovers and Lust for a Vampire in a series loosely based on Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla."

The film was released in the U.S. as a double feature with Hands of the Ripper (soon to be featured here in your favour British horror podcast)

Ingrid ‘Wicker man’ Pitt was offered the part of Countess Mircalla Karnstein, but refused.

Harvey Hall and Kirsten Lindholm appear in all three films of the trilogy, although in different roles in each one.

Peter Cushing also played one of the leads in the first, The Vampire Lovers.

Special effects veteran Bert Luxford first employed Spam, then a marrow and finally resorted to using a large German sausage to simulate Frieda's decapitation for the climax of the film.

Australian indie rock band Turnstyle used a sample of Karnstein summoning Satan in their song Winter Rodeo, in 1999.

$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$£$

Just in case anyone has too much money and wants to give a bit to us to help with our hosting n stuff. It would be amazing if you fancied sending us some pennies - thank you.

https://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders

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Previous Episode

24 - The Wicker Man (1973)

The Wicker Man is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Big Chris Lee. In his 7th appearance on The General Witchfinders. The screenplay by Anthony (frenzy) Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual, centres on the visit of Police Sergeant Neil Howie to the isolated island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl. Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practice a form of Celtic paganism.

The movie is well-regarded by critics. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as "The Citizen Kane of horror movies", and in 2004, Total Film magazine named The Wicker Man the sixth greatest British film of all time, and during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony the film was included as part of a sequence that celebrated British cinema.

In 1989, Shaffer wrote a script treatment for The Loathsome Lambton Worm, a direct sequel with fantasy elements. Hardy had no interest in the project, and it was never produced. In 2006, an ill-received American remake was released, from which Hardy and others involved with the original have dissociated themselves. In 2011, a spiritual sequel directed by Hardy entitled The Wicker Tree, was released and featured Lee in a cameo appearance.

Television actor Edward Woodward was cast in the role of Sergeant Neil Howie after the part was declined by both Michael York and David Hemmings. In Britain, Woodward was best known for the role of Callan, which he played from 1967 to 1972. After The Wicker Man, Woodward went on to receive international attention for his roles in the 1980 film Breaker Morant and the 1980s TV series The Equalizer.

The film was produced at a time of crisis for the British film industry. The studio in charge of production, British Lion Films, was in financial trouble and was bought by wealthy businessman John Bentley. To convince the unions that he was not about to asset-strip the company, Bentley needed to get a film into production quickly. This meant that The Wicker Man, a film set during spring, actually began filming in October 1972: artificial leaves and blossoms had to be glued to trees in many scenes. The production was kept on a small budget. Christopher Lee was extremely keen to get the film made; he and others worked on the production without pay,(Something he seems very keen to mention at every opportunity). While filming took place, British Lion was bought by EMI Films.

Iron Maiden released a single called The Wicker Man from their Brave New World album in tribute to the classic film.

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Next Episode

26 - An American Werewolf in London (1981)

An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 horror comedy film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and John Woodvine. The film's plot follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, who are attacked by a werewolf while travelling in England, causing David to question whether he will become a werewolf under the next full moon. The film made $62 million worldwide against the budget of $5.8 million and At the 54th Academy Awards, it won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Landis wrote the first draft of the screenplay for the film in 1969 and shelved it for over a decade. Prospective financiers believed that Landis' script was too frightening to be a comedy film and too humorous to be a horror film. After achieving success in Hollywood with the comedies The Kentucky Fried Movie, National Lampoon's Animal House and The Blues Brothers, Landis was able to secure financing from PolyGram Pictures to produce An American Werewolf in London.

An American Werewolf in London was the first film allowed to shoot in Piccadilly Circus in 15 years. Landis accomplished this by inviting 300 members of London's Metropolitan Police Service to a screening of his new film The Blues Brothers. The police were so impressed by his work that they granted the production a two-night filming permit between the hours of 1 and 4 a.m. Traffic was stopped only three times for two-minute increments to film the automobile stunts involving the double-decker bus.

An American Werewolf in London was released in the US by Universal Pictures on August 21, 1981. It was a critical and commercial success, winning the 1981 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and the first ever Academy Award for Best Makeup. Since its release, it has become a cult classic.

In December 2017, Max Landis confirmed on Twitter that he had completed the first draft of the script for a reboot of the film. But beginning in late 2017, accusations by a number of women that Landis had abused them emotionally or sexually began to emerge publicly. In the wake of those allegations, it remains unknown if Landis will be replaced or if the project will be put on indefinite hold.

In November 2019, Variety reported that Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead comic book series, was in consideration to serve as a producer for a new reboot.

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