Movie Review
If you’re a fan of movies like The Omen, Children of The Corn, and Eli, you might be interested in this movie, because in this movie, a young boy named Elliot begins to exhibit some very strange behavior during this time. -familiar horror movie.
He is one half of a set of twins – the other is believed to have died in a car accident – and is the son of Rachel (Teresa Palmer) and Anthony (Steven Cree) who move with a young man to a small town in Finland. After experiencing the aforementioned tragedy, they start a new life together.
Do they live happily ever after? No, of course they don’t. As I have already referred to Elliot’s strange behavior, it is obvious that their lives will not improve after arriving in their new home. Almost immediately, strange things begin to happen to Rachel and her down-on-his-luck family, both inside and outside the home.
For starters, the rest of the townspeople are a grim-looking bunch. This is less of a concern for Anthony since he was originally born in the city, but for Rachel, the prying eyes of her evil neighbors at a party she attends is enough to give her the heebie-jeebies.
Life At Home
Life at home isn’t all that easy for Rachel
either, as she begins to have dark dreams about horrific events involving Nathan, her other son, and her family. His waking life turns into a nightmare as Elliot not only starts talking to an imaginary version of his dead brother, but also appears to possess him. Then he draws scary pictures that hint at Rachel’s death!
Horror Film
Twin is very much a horror film we’ve seen before, with suspicious-looking townspeople and a theme of possession. It’s like a cross between Midsommar and Rosemary’s Baby, but it’s comparable to many other films, including the ones mentioned at the beginning of this review.
Is there a better one? Not really, no. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any upsides. Writer/director Taneli Mustonen manages to create a sense of foreboding by using his camera in very interesting ways, and the musical score is quite ominous as well.
Teresa Palmer
Teresa Palmer, no stranger to horror since Warm Bodies and Lights Out, gives a surprising turn as a mother who thinks her son and her neighbors are turning against her. And the young Tristan Ruggeri, who plays Elliot, is suitably cool, if not quite as good as young Damian in The Omen by Harvey Stephens.
Unfortunately, the film falls apart because of the story. On the surface, it’s a horror film, but underneath it’s a drama about a woman torn apart by her own grief.
Not Strong Script
The problem isn’t with this mix of genres, as other titles like The Babadook and Hereditary have combined the two, but Twin doesn’t have a strong enough script to tie things together. There are too many twists and turns to make this tale really believable, and because those twists are sometimes illogical, they all end up being pretty silly.
Revealing anything about the way the story develops would steer this review into spoiler territory, so I won’t spoil any surprises here. But if you’re looking for a decent horror movie to watch, your time might be better spent elsewhere. Yes, this film has everything you want from such a tale – possessed children, haunted houses, pagan rituals, hallucinatory sequences, gore – but it’s all a bit over the top and less than satisfying.
Cinematography
It’s a shame it’s not better than it is. The cinematography is top-notch at times, the director’s talent is clear, and the story had a lot of promise. There’s even a fairly well-executed jump scare. But with a muddled screenplay overloaded with cliche dialogue and a not-so-surprising surprise ending, it has to be classified as a misfire.
Now Streaming
If you want to give this movie a try despite its flaws, it’s streaming now on Shudder. Because of the positives I already mentioned, it’s not a complete waste of time. But if you want something that will really chill your bones, check out some of the other acts mentioned in this article, titles like Hereditary and The Omen do most of what Gemini does a hundred times better.