A bit scary, a bit sad … and a bit boring – review of the movie “The Twin”

Initial stocking in The Twinit is fast, simple and clear. Upset, Rachel causes a car accident in which her young son, Nathan, is killed, and she is taken to the hospital. Although the wounds on her body heal, it is worse for her psyche, which has difficulty coping with the guilt and grief over the loss of the child. The situation overwhelms her to such an extent that, at the urging of her husband, she agrees to move to his homeland to escape her memories of Nathan. The small Finnish town where Anthony comes from is intended to be a safe and secluded place where a married couple will recover from the recent tragedy and will calmly raise Elliot, the twin brother of the deceased boy. Unfortunately, as you can guess taking into account the genre belonging to this film, things get complicated quickly and the fate of the characters is far from idyllic.

If two disadvantages give a plus, how many genre films give originality?

It seems that in order to keep the viewer in suspense, most scriptwriters decide to construct the plot so that the subsequent scenes do not suggest too much, and the recipient has an outline of the path in front of him, but is not able to prematurely fill this vision with details and spoil himself. the surprises accompanying the discovery of the ending. Is this what Mustonen and Hyvärinen’s story tell in The Twin ? Absolutely not!

The person watching this film will experience a kind of harvest disaster. The unpredictability of the plot is based not on the aura of mystery and gradual “unwinding” of the essence of things, but rather on throwing up so many false leads and jumping so smoothly between clichés and styles that we stop believing in the truth of any interpretation of events. If the twists and turns could have a physical effect on us, many viewers would certainly suffer motion sickness during the screening …

If, after the first scenes presenting an overprotective, screaming and irritating mother, an inaccessible, indifferent and not very responsible father and a mysterious and slightly disturbing child, you start – like me – to yawn and have unpleasant associations with anti-creative productions like the recent Brahms: The Boy II , I can somehow calm you down . In a moment your point of view will flip fancifully and you will start thinking about Omen . Then about Midsummer . And then on Rosemary’s Baby . Eventually, things will start to intertwine rather randomly, to the point where you lose your bearings – and with that, most of your interest in what the film is actually going to do.

The final dump of perspective in the finale makes sense theoretically, but for some reason it was unsatisfactory for me and did not give me any special joy at the fact that I survived and got to know the end of the story. And eliciting such an unenthusiastic reaction from me is hardly a reason to be proud, considering that, according to the assumption, the solution of the plot managed to surprise me – the reception of the film among my more “anticipating” friends was clearly worse.

Scary… or terribly sad?

In my opinion , The Twin is a horror movie that doesn’t quite deserve the name because most of the time it’s not really scary. Sure, there’s a jump scare going on sometimes, the themes used (disturbing dream visions, occultism, etc.) are also in place … but somehow there is no tension. Probably the only scene I managed to build them properly and make me sit in a chair a little stiffer in anticipation of the threat was at the old woman Helen’s house, away from the protagonists and the main plotline. And perhaps this is where the reasons for this state of affairs should be sought: despite all the disturbing surroundings, gloomy and dark shots and other tricks, not for a moment did I feel that the game was at stake, and Rachel, Elliot or even Anthony could become some harm here and now, in that sequence. The film wakes up from this bizarre lethargy only in the finale, but it is unfortunately too little, too late. After all, horror is the last genre in which we should feel that the heroes are protected by the so-calledplot armor , isn’t it?

Therefore, I would rather throw Mustonen’s work into a sack with paintings in the style of the Orphanage . This is not, as you might have guessed, a qualitative comparison, it is more about how the narrative is conducted and how The Twin affects the viewer. Fear, chills, violent jumps after the sudden appearance of a “terrible thing” on the screen, you will find here as a cure. We are going to the Finnish wilderness rather to experience a certain story, experience their trauma together with the marriage in the foreground and slowly, piece by piece, piece together the elements of the fictional puzzle, which in the end will turn out to be not so much scary, but overwhelmingly and deeply sad . So if there is something to be afraid of here, it is rather that the last minutes may squeeze a few tears out of you.

He cannot be denied the charms of the North

One of The Twin ‘s undoubted advantages is its distinctly Finnish character. It can be noticed in the very style of storytelling, i.e. in the overwhelming, depressive notes that the scripts do not hesitate to hit, and in the chaotic-oneiric narrative leading the viewer from stage to stage in which horror filmmakers seem to be fond of recent times. Northern European countries. We will be able to feel the typical atmosphere of Finland even without delving into the nuances of the plot, all thanks to long, refined shots showing us the beauty, but also the mysterious wildness of local nature, charming corners of a small Finnish town or even cavernous but in its own way warm interiors of the estate main characters.

Who to recommend, what to expect?

In conclusion, my feelings about The Twinare quite mixed. It is definitely not a bad, underdeveloped film or one without a message. Rather, it belongs to specific images that will appeal to a narrower group of recipients with more non-standard expectations. I myself cannot say that I am having a bad time or sitting through the whole screening completely indifferent to what is happening on the screen. Undoubtedly, the creators are able to play on emotions, build a gloomy, tragic story or distract the viewer with a storm of twists. The ending can also make the more reflective people think differently. Nevertheless, it is more a drama with elements of the genre cliché than a real horror movie made of flesh and blood. If you are looking for something dynamic and uncomplicated to watch with your friends or an intense experience that regularly throws you out of your chair with blows of loud sound and visual scarecrows, go for something else. And if you don’t mind a little melancholy, thinking about the plot and plunging into someone else’s trauma –The Twin will be as he found!

We would like to thank the Cinema City chain for the opportunity to watch The Twin !