Takes itself way too seriously

Not even bad in a good way

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is now the 3rd garbage horror film that I've seen which was directed by American, film-maker, H. G. Lewis - And I am now totally convinced that Lewis was nothing but the absolute worst and most pathetically incompetent movie-maker of all time.And I now refuse to ever watch another one of this moron's utterly awful movies ever again - 'Cause I'm totally convinced that they would be just like these 3 that I've already seen - Pure junk.Yes. Even though 1967's "The Gruesome Twosome" was a truly vile and amateur production - Its story did actually produce some genuine howls of unintentional laughter - But, in the long run - At a 72-minute running time - This story about a slobbering, dimwitted "psycho-scalper" and his wacky mother was so bad that it was downright unbearable to sit through.And speaking about idiotic dialogue and cringe-worthy acting - Between actresses Gretchen Welles' "Kathy" and Elizabeth Davis's "Mrs. Pringle" - These 2 women and their irksome performances were, without question, the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel.

Herschell Gordon Lewis splatterfests are always good for some genuine chuckles, although in order to get to the good stuff here, one has to sit through quite a bit of padding. And that's saying something, since this only runs 72 minutes long as it is. The gore is deliciously tacky and plentiful when it appears, and there are some brilliant touches. To start with, the movie is opened with the surrealism of two Styrofoam wig heads having a conversation about the upcoming plot - after which, one of them gets stabbed. Too bad most of the movie isn't that inspired. At the very least, much like other HGL efforts from this era, there's a lot of entertainment to be had with the antagonists, as demented a pair as you'll ever see.Elizabeth Davis stars as Mrs. Pringle, a dotty old woman who specializes in making realistic wigs. Just how does she craft these things? Let's just say that it involves luring young women to her place of business, under the pretense of offering them room for rent, and then ushering them into her back room, where they're promptly introduced to her drooling idiot son Rodney (Chris Martell), who's quite handy with knives. A college coed named Kathy (Gretchen Wells), an obsessive wannabe Nancy Drew, notes the amount of her peers disappearing, and makes a nuisance of herself playing amateur detective.Were it not for Davis and Martell, this wouldn't be that enjoyable. They just play their parts for everything that they're worth. Davis is especially hysterical. The rest of the acting is pretty much what you'd expect from anything Lewis directed. (Look for Ray Sager in a bit part; he went on to play the title role in Lewis's "The Wizard of Gore".) Still, some of the padding is amusing, especially when Kathy and pals dance about while about enjoying some KFC. While this doesn't reach the lunatic heights of "Blood Feast", "Two Thousand Maniacs!", or even "The Gore Gore Girls", "The Gruesome Twosome" is still an okay watch for people who favour the trashy and silly B flicks of decades past. Sometimes you can't ask for more.Isn't that right, Napoleon?Six out of 10.

Mr. Hershell Gordon Lewis, I'm a great fan of your twisted imagination... but you surely have issues!! "The Gruesome Twosome" may not be Lewis' best film (far from it, actually) it's yet another fun demonstration of his eccentric style and progressive horror visions. The story revolves on a sweet, yet utterly crazy old lady who talks to a stuffed wildcat named Napoleon and owns a little wig shop near a university campus. The wigs in her store look so realistic because they're made of actual girls' hair, bloodily scalped by her retarded son when they visited the house in order to rent a room! The sequences that are relevant to this story, like the slaughtering of the girls and the clumsy police investigation, maximally cover about 20 minutes of the 73 minutes playtime. The rest is pure padding, varying from morbidly funny gimmicks to hugely annoying and overly talkative scenes. I don't have a problem with a little bit of padding now and then, but Lewis slightly exaggerates here and he should have used the lost time better. The kinky intro with the gossiping foam heads was quite cool, but the overlong stalk-the-janitor sequence as well as the emotional girlfriend/glutton boyfriend scene were downright pointless. And what do you think about a bedroom full of college girls that start dancing out of the blue whilst eating fried chicken? Still, I can't possibly rate this movie any lower than 6 simply because H.G. Lewis is a horror pioneer and the gore in "The Gruesome Twosome" is so effectively nauseating and over-the-top gross! Poor Rodney scalps, cuts up and even fully dissects innocent girls with a careful eye for detail. Just make sure you haven't eaten before you watch this movie!

After viewing "2000 Maniacs", I wasn't sure if I would ever want to see a H.G. Lewis movie ever again! But I went out on a limb and rented "The Gruesome Twosome", an appropriately gory little number churned out in 1966. Boy, is this movie fun! Unlike "2000 Maniacs", there is no forced humor, no ridiculous music, and no shying away from gore effects. The scalpings of young co-ed girls are shown in full close-up (watch for blinking dead girls!), plus a gutting and a decapitation to boot! The acting is typically slip-shod (except for a bit part by a girl on the phone with the heroine's boyfriend). Lots of unintentionally funny moments, great rock/jazz music (some of which would later turn up in Lewis' "She-Devils On Wheels"), and crappy editing make this one of the better H.G. Lewis movies. Not known as infamously as "Blood Feast", "2000 Maniacs", "Color Me Blood Red", "She-Devils On Wheels", or "The Wizard of Gore", "The Gruesome Twosome" is a fantastic viewing experience, pure schlock, pure camp, pure entertainment! You might have to try looking around for this one, though, on either the old Rhino or Midnight labels. Something Weird Video offers a great print with beautifully garish cover box art!