This obscure Italian film made in the English language mixes typical elements of the giallo with a few sci-fi trappings, and adds to them a doppelganger theme. Incidentally, given that it deals with Siamese twins who haven't been in contact for years but are able to 'see' what one another is doing, it somehow feels like the long-lost sibling of two Brian De Palma films itself coming, as it does, in between his SISTERS (1973) and RAISING CAIN (1992)!
Anyway, it's mildly interesting (even more so for me, being a twin myself!), good-looking (the film was shot in the U.S. and Germany) and features an understated Ennio Morricone score but, in the long run, emerges as nothing especially remarkable. Besides, even if the supporting cast is decked out with veteran presences Geraldine Fitzgerald, Virginia McKenna and Cameron Mitchell they're all basically wasted (McKenna, for instance, is already dead within the first 5 minutes!).
The lead is played by Michael Moriarty, an actor noted for his intense performances and, here, we get double the dose (with the star, predictably, hamming it up particularly in his serial-killer characterization)! However, he's flanked by two lovely ladies whose contribution is above-average for this sort of thing Penelope Milford (ex-Oscar nominee for COMING HOME [1978]!) as the good Moriarty's girlfriend and Sarah Langenfeld (in one of only 4 films she did) as the daughter of has-been prizefighter Mitchell, whose cold-blooded murder at the hands of the bad Moriarty she witnesses. By the way, the film features a surprising amount of nudity (by the two girls and others) but it's not done in an overly sleazy or exploitative manner.
The 'face/off' situations between the two brothers provide the expected fireworks; the climax, then, sees Milford distracting the villainous (and impotent) Moriarty by letting him rape her thus enabling the police to track him down through his brother's ability to recognize the surroundings! This is followed, however, by a far-fetched CARRIE (1976)-like twist set in the city morgue...but which leads to an effectively unsettling 'curtain' where Milford is literally unable to tell which brother she's ended up with!
P.S. If all goes well, I should be getting to another of De Martino's horror films HOLOCAUST 2000 (1977) in the near future, which is one I've missed out on numerous times in the past...
