Disturbing yet enthralling

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

David Cronenberg found fame making pretty 'out there' films which, due to their content, never really received much mainstream attention, destined to become 'cult classics.' His most successful outing was the remake of 'The Fly,' but that was what most people would agree on was an outright 'horror.' Next he made 'Dead Ringers.' It's a story about a pair of identical twins (both played by Jeremy Irons thanks to some clever editing and camera tricks - no CGI here!) who are both brilliant surgeons and yet succumb to some pretty distasteful vices.It looked like Cronenberg had finally left his 'body horror' roots behind, moved through an outright horror film and was now making high-quality dramas with an A-list cast. And, for the first half of the film, you'd be right.If you've never seen any of Cronenberg's previous films, you may not get that weird feeling of 'normality' at just how ordinary the first half of this film is. We meet the twins. As I mentioned, they're both played excellently by Irons - making each of his characters instantly distinguish by their contrasting personalities. They go about their business of being a little too clever for their own good and it does have a 'regular' feeling about it all that would put it in with most other mainstream dramas.Then comes the second half. I know this is kind of a spoiler, but if you're really not into your 'gross-out' moments which involve some pretty disturbing 'body horror' moments then you're going to have to have a sick bag on standby for the second half of this film. It was like Cronenberg was just lulling us into a false sense of security and teasing us with the opening.Maybe this film is more of a horror than Cronenberg's previous efforts because there are no monsters here and nothing hideous that comes from a drug-fuelled nightmare. Everything nasty here comes from real people and Irons makes you believe that the two brothers are quite capable of acting out their crimes.It's certainly not an easy (or light) watch. It's almost two hours long and you really need to give it the respect it deserves by paying attention all the way through. So, if you're in the mood for something that doesn't involve superheroes flying around New York fighting aliens, then give this one a go (if you can stomach the second half!).

It's an interesting story of twin doctors played by Jeremy Irons. They do some impressive technical things to have him play 2 characters in the same scene. Everyone's performance was convincing as well. I think emotionally it fell a little flat for me. When the story starts to get a bit more out there and intense, I started to feel bored. I never felt like they connected the emotional dots to really justify a descent into madness. It's an okay movie but Cronenberg has done better.

Director David Cronenberg also co-wrote with Norman Snider this adaptation of Bari Wood and Jack Geasland's novel "Twins" about identical twin brothers--acclaimed gynecologists, one an introvert, the other an extrovert--who switch off in their sexual relationship with a movie star client without telling her they're siblings. She's disgusted when she finds out their game, but eventually relents and begins falling for the more gentle of the two. Jeremy Irons does double duty here and, although he's a fine actor, it's too much of a good thing. Individual scenes with Irons and Genevieve Bujold (at the top of her game) are dramatically exciting. Cronenberg has excelled over the years with actors: he earns their trust and elicits uncanny moments of truth in their performances. But Cronenberg also has a nasty side; he likes to get ugly, and he likes his players to get dirty, so that there's always an undercurrent of kink and queasiness in his work. Here, the off-putting elements of either his screenplay or his visual concept take over and derail an interesting premise. Bujold's actress relents and is interested in knowing both brothers, but soon we don't know which is which, either. Irons has said the whole point of the film is in not knowing which brother you are watching. That's a clever concept to sell the picture with but it doesn't work for the movie--which is a psychological thriller, not a whodunit. *1/2 from ****

The more I think about this film, the more fond I am of it. Much like Closet Land, it sounds more like something I'd wish would be made rather than a real film. If you're content to stare at Jeremy Irons' face for two hours, this is for you. The characters of the twins are juicy indeed: Beverly is the woobie you could take home to mother, while Elliott is. . . Patrick Bateman. Dead Ringers kept reminding me of American Psycho, which is a compliment, as I love that film too. From the artificial late-eighties production design to Elliott's haircut, I wouldn't be surprised if this film informed many of the artistic decisions for American Psycho.Irons should have received his Oscar for this. The clear distinctiveness of each twin is downright eerie, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they made both of him appear on screen simultaneously. I have to give props to anyone who pulls off effects that look real. One review on this page postulates that Dead Ringers is hard for women to watch because of the mysterious mutilating devices. I can testify that I, at least, wasn't off-put except when one of the twins (you're not sure who is who at that point) mutilates the other. You'll better understand what Cronenberg is going for if you know it's supposed to be a horror movie. There is still definite eroticism throughout, at least in my opinion. Sick depraved things are often erotic. The weak link is the character of Claire, whose delivery I thought was too brusque and bleak. But I am very happy to have discovered this film. It is not for everyone, though.