The Twin (2022)

 

Streaming Service: Shudder
Movie Name/Year: The Twin (2022)
Genre: Horror
Length: 1h 49min
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: Don Films, Shudder, RLJE Films, Bir Film, Dutch FilmWorks, NOS Audiovisuais, Nashe Kino, Nordisk Film, Notorious Pictures, Falcon Films
Director: Taneli Mustonen      
Writers: Aleksi Hyvärinen, Taneli Mustonen
Actors: Teresa Palmer, Steven Cree, Tristan Ruggeri, Barbara Marten, Ergo Küppas
 
Shudder Blurb: Following the aftermath of a tragic accident that claimed the life of one of their twins, Rachel and husband Anthony relocate to the other side of the world with their surviving son in the hopes of building a new life. What begins as a time of healing in the quiet Scandinavian countryside soon takes an ominous turn when Rachel begins to unravel the torturous truth about her son and confronts the malicious forces attempting to take hold of him.

 

Cat’s Point of View:
I was genuinely intrigued by the psychological horror teased by the trailer for The Twin. It really captured my attention and stirred my curiosity. I also absolutely adore Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge, Berlin Syndrome, 2:22) so I’m glad to snap up any chance to watch one of her films. I wasn’t disappointed.
 
While on the topic of the cast, I found it interesting that The Twin acted as a bit of a mini-reunion for the cast, as Steven Cree (Outlander, Terminator: Dark Fate, Martyr's Lane) and Barbara Marten (Making Noise Quietly, Sanctuary, The Turning) also appeared with Palmer in the show A Discovery of Witches (2018-2022). I digress…

 
Let’s get to unpacking The Twin, shall we?
 
It is the highest of tragedies when a parent should have to bury their child – and it’s even more gut-wrenching if their lives were cut short in their youth. We get a taste of that here with The Twin after there’s a horrible accident and the child Nathan died. It’s palpable how the strain of grief has affected this family.
 
The Twin kept me guessing throughout its runtime. I chased the red herring and completely bought what the story was selling. The Twin really leaned in hard to where I started to question reality a bit, myself. I appreciated the dream symbolism as the story unfolded and events began to unravel.

 
This is one of those movies that you really appreciate more in hindsight once you learn the ultimate message revealed in the climax. So many things make more sense in retrospect and there are so many hinted layers and nuances leading up to it that were easy to miss at first blush. 

If you don’t speak Finnish, it’s easy to sink into the mother’s perspective. Subtitles weren’t available on the early release screener I watched – but I hope that it stays that way for the final copy hitting Shudder this week. I could only imagine what the Finnish residents were talking about and it made things feel more ominous. Though considering The Twin is getting a theatrical release in Finland, I am crossing my fingers that the dialogue doesn’t give anything important away.

 
The Twin was eerily atmospheric and I really enjoyed the various settings that were employed to bring this story to life. Most of the movie is set in Finland, though filmed in Estonia. It added to the isolated feeling from the mother’s perspective and I loved the architecture.
 
If you’re looking for a good psychological horror that keeps you at a simmer until it nukes you at the end, The Twin would be right up your alley. I enjoyed this experience as a benchmark of halfway to Halloween.
 
The Twin will release on Shudder on May 6^th.

 
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 5.2/10
 
Trust the Dice: Parental Guidance Rating – PG-13
 
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5
 
Movie Trailer: