1988
Directed by David Cronenberg
The Listmakers' only criterion for choosing horror movies seems to be, "will this movie disturb the audience for the rest of their lives?" And Dead Ringers is certainly fitting of this category. Good thing I don't have to get my next pap smear for awhile.
Jeremy Irons plays twins Elliot and Beverly, who are both gynecologists. The filmmakers kind of want us to think Elliot is the evil twin and Beverly is the sensitive one, but they are both rapists, so there really isn't as much of a moral gray area as the filmmakers desire. They share everything, including an actress on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
This movie taps into a latent fear in women that their gynecologists are secretly creepy perverts. I wish that he hadn't dived into the body horror as much as he had. But I suppose asking David Cronenberg to not do something gross with a body part is asking too much of the poor lad. I was much more interested in the psychology of the twins than watching them experiment with "radical" methods. I also wish the drug storyline wasn't included, as I find it more interesting observing sober people's actions. To me, then the explanations for their behavior are more intriguing than "drugs made them do it."
So another upsetting watch for our October creep-out. Ain't Halloween fun?
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Robert De Niro turned down the main roles because he didn't want to play a gynecologist. Is that really the upsetting part of this film?
Based on real life twins Stewart and Cyril Marcus.
Great review, and made me laugh with the first of the interesting facts. I mean, out loud.
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