Sorry, this movie sucks

Good concept, poorly executed.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I've seen a few Herschell Gordon Lewis films and in general I'm not a fan. Admittedly, I've not yet seen any of his blood trilogy, but based on his films that I have seen this one is by far the best. The opening scene is wildly entertaining, featuring two wigs in a shop window talking to each other. It sets the tone for the rest of the film.The movie features many fun, engaging scenes that are enjoyable to watch even if they often have nothing to do with the plot, including several ridiculous minutes during which a man guzzles beer and stuffs his face with potato chips while his girlfriend tries to get him to tell her he loves her.Additionally, The Gruesome Twosome features more character development than other Gordon films I've seen, especially from the female lead and the quirky old lady who runs the wig shop. And I was honestly surprised by the acting at certain points. In particular, the guy who played the mentally challenged son of the old lady did a great job. Usually those roles seem poorly cast in low budget films like this. The actors can never seem to get it quite right, but this guy really nailed it. It made me wonder if maybe he really was mentally challenged in real life.The editing is very sloppy and I got the idea that the filmmakers didn't spend much time on it or care about it. They were probably in a rush to get it shown. But that makes it better and more enjoyable. Some scenes that otherwise may have been pretty dull become hilarious due to the bad editing. I get the feeling that the filmmakers had to have known this.The Gruesome Twosome is never boring and at just over an hour in length, I could watch it again and again. And I probably will.

The very beginning of this film might just be the stupidest introduction I have ever seen. Two styrofoam wig heads are decorated with paper eyes, brows, nose, ears and mouths--and look as if they were made by a talents 10 year-old. Then, the two heads supposedly begin talking and talking. Now the faces don't move in the least and what they talk about is pretty tedious. The total effect is super-lame to say the least.The next scene shows a young lady responding to an add for a room to rent. The old lady in this scene can't act and terribly overdoes the scene--she might just be one of the very worst actresses I've seen in a very long time. She pushes the young lady into a room--at which point the old lady's retarded son comes into the room and scalps her. There is tons of fake blood and it is a bit disturbing--until you notice that the actress is wearing a wig and the wig is being cut off--you can see the lines pretty clearly. It seems that these two psychos have a wig business and take the wigs from people!! The rest of the film is made up of a bunch of vignettes starring various people with no acting talent whatsoever. Some (such as the stupid lady who loves to accuse people of the crimes) are meant to be funny, others scary--but with such bad acting and difficulty reading their lines, it's unintentionally funny and not especially scary. A few of the blood and guts scenes look pretty good--as it looks like they used real livers and lots of blood (or very realistic looking fake blood). In fact, the gore of some of the scenes is the best part of the film--though this certainly isn't enough to carry the film. Due to bad acting and a poorly executed plot, this film is only for bad movie fans.By the way, this film is from director Herschell Gordon Lewis--the same man responsible for such masterpieces as BLOOD FEAST, A TASTE OF BLOOD and MONSTER A GO-GO. Among bad movie fans, he's a bit of a god--in the same league as such rotten movie directors as Al Adamson, Ray Dennis Steckler, Ed Wood and Ted Mikels.I give this one a 2--simply because some of the gore looked realistic. A thoroughly cheap and dumb film from start to finish.

You know you're off to a great start when two foam wig stands with pasted-on faces engage in a ten minute conversation about murder. This is a terribly amateurish but awfully engaging piece of Herschell Gordon Lewis schlock that probably influenced a dozen variations on a similar theme. An old nutbag, played by a woman in her twenties, runs a home-based wig shop with her demented son Rodney (there was an equally demented Rodney in Meir Zarchi's "I Spit On Your Grave"). This "gruesome twosome" don't make their hair pieces; they rip them off the scalps of pretty girls instead. And in graphic detail, too, which is why this movie exists. Rodney slobbers and cackles and acts even more retarded than he looks as he attacks, kills and scalps the campus cuties. He plays with their bloody insides, too, as you do. Parts of this "classic" reminded me of Charles Kaufman's "Mother's Day", even though that film is in a very different talent league. The ridiculous old lady constantly talks to a stuffed jaguar named Napoleon and keeps the lovable Rodney in a locked room most of the time. There is a bonkers plot involving a cute Nancy Drew-style student who suspects foul play at the Old Wig Shop. Some cute college gals dance on beds to hip music while brandishing KFC drumsticks in one scene and we're almost shown what's under their dresses, but Lewis, not shy of gore, is certainly shy about nudity in this repressed little number and it's a tragedy that we don't get to see any girly panties, let alone slits or breasts. For mine, I have always had a soft spot for this slow but fascinating piece of trash. It's a "good film", isn't it, Napoleon?

H.G. Lewis like to stage bloody set pieces. However in order to show them off he likes to make a feature length film. Many of them aren't very good and they're padded out to make the 70 minute mark. The gruesome Twosome is one of those films. The film revolves around a crazy old lady who makes nice realistic looking wigs and her ogreish son. She has a secret in her wig making that you'll find hair raising. They're many filler scenes placed through out the movie. The most notorious one (and clever) takes place in the beginning where two wigs are holding a conversation. The gore set pieces are cool but you'll have to sit through the movie to experience them.Recommended for campy cult fans.B