The Twin

A family driving through green and gold corn fields is torn apart within minutes of the film starting with a crash and mother Rachel (Teresa Palmer) screaming in her hospital bed. The cutting to her and husband Anthony (Steven Cree) sitting in a lawyer’s office having sold their home and moved to a rural village in Finland, Anthony’s place of birth.

The complete upping of sticks and location is being done primarily for their son Elliott (Tristan Ruggeri) whose twin brother Nathan was killed in the accident. He, as they, is still mourning him but Elliott continues to see Nathan, play with him and even asks for an identical bed to be placed in the loft bedroom he has chosen.

This troubles Anthony and initially Rachel, who feels the outsider in a small community that speaks one of the most complicated languages in the world. Though according to Helen (Barbara Marten) an Englishwoman whom she meets at a welcoming party, they can speak English just don’t. Helen is one of those quirky characters that writers and directors like to lob for local colour being an outsider on the inside.

Helen’s insight into the community acts as a warning to Rachel as she recounts her concerns about Elliott, and that she too is seeing Nathan. Added to that the secretive community is unsettling, leading her to suspect that there may be something more sinister afoot, and how far can she trust her husband who is increasingly tense with her.

A beautiful film that is perfectly paced with some fantastic camerawork shouldn’t be a task for the viewer. However because director Taneli Mustonen, co-written with Aleksi Hyvärinen, picks up from the likes of To The Devil a Daughter and Rosemary’s Baby with various folk horror tropes dribbled into the mix for good measure it does start to drag and interest could wane. That is until the third act where it all starts to come together into a not wholly original run to finale that won’t satisfy everyone.

Mustonen’s sensitive direction coaxes good performances from all with Palmer excellent as a traumatised mother who is desperately seeking a way out of her all-consuming grief at the loss of her son, while desperately trying not to lose her husband.

The main frustration with The Twin is that it doesn't build on its various influences, and never quite makes the best use of the inherent eeriness of the rural, snowy location and the family’s trauma to create true disquiet. As such it’s entertaining enough just not reaching the heights of psychological horror that it promised early on.

The Twin will screen exclusively on Shudder from 6 May.