Dead Ringers
Back in 2016 I was briefly writing for Rue Morgue. I had first written a piece on Critters (oh, those crites) that went down very well. I was asked to write regularly for them. It was agreed I'd do something 'retro' but with a modern slant.
For my second work I came back with a look at David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers (1988); I thought it was due an appraisal with then 2016 eyes. Long story short; after repeatedly being told to trim the article and make it more 'modern' I decided I wouldn't be a fit at Rue Morgue and carried on writing for my website Infernal Cinema (defunct since 2019).
But, as this is my new website that will aim to upload long forgotten reviews or stuff I did that have never seen the light of day before I figured it would be a little self gratifying to have that dusty, old Dead Ringers feature be the first thing I post here.
Dead Ringers: Double the Unexpected by James Simpson.
When David Cronenberg found worldwide success in 1986 with his explicit body horror remake of The Fly, you would be forgiven for thinking he would stick to this proven path for his next feature.
But David Cronenberg didn't, what he did next was unexpectedly different to The Fly. DEAD RINGERS took some by surprise. The Fly was a visceral, gooey body horror that used some impressive special effects to achieve the desired result. DEAD RINGERS is a stern body horror that hints at the imperfections and faults of the mind as well as the impact it has on the body.
DEAD RINGERS was released in the United States on September 23rd 1988 by 20th Century Fox. The story follows identical twin brothers Beverly and Elliot Mantle (both played by Jeremy Irons), highly respected gynaecologists in Toronto, Canada. They may be identical in a physical sense, mentally they are very different. Elliot is a womaniser, arrogant and abuses drugs. Beverly seems introvert and overpowered by his twin.
Yet they both abuse their trusted positions: Elliot starts sexual flings with patients at their clinic, only to 'pass them on' to Beverly. Somewhat immorally they do not tell the women about the switch, Beverly simply pretends to be his brother. He struggles to be someone he is not, despite their identical appearances. The pressure and consequences of this pretence become too much and mentally unravels.
Cronenberg's use of the twins job is maybe an allegory for the story. As gynaecologists they examine women internally in efforts to detect anything wrong. The patients may appear on the surface to be healthy, inside it might be different. This is the fate of Beverly. Throughout much of DEAD RINGERS he looks, acts and does his job the same. When the inner struggle with various emotions, traumas and drug abuse take their toll on his mental state he cannot cope.
His inner demons reach out from the brain and cause physical problems: his work, his relationships and dependency all suffer. At one point he says the patients “...they're normal on the outside, but not on the inside”, it's a statement that can be easily made about Beverly and Cronenberg's message. The body horror in DEAD RINGERS is all about the inside of the human.
This could ring true today. Now is an age where some people live out their lives on social media, posting selfies and living seemingly ideal lives. Diagnoses of depression, mental health issues and anxiety are increasing despite many living an apparent personal utopia. Studies have been carried out that link the two together, it is 'keeping up with the Joneses' on a cyber scale. Externally everything appears great, internally things are different. DEAD RINGERS is tackling a similar subject.
It is also a story about the bond twins have, told in an extraordinary manner. The attachment and devotion the twins have one for another is something many people may never experience in their lives. Eli and Bev have a bond that, strained on occasion, is unbreakable. Cronenberg touches upon it throughout the runtime with scenes where the Mantles discuss the first set of Siamese twins and Beverly has a nightmare he and Elliot are hideously conjoined at the stomach.
Not even love interest Claire (Genevieve Bujold) can match this brotherly love. She starts off as a positive for Bev only to add to his woes as he cannot cope with the guilt of having room in his heart for someone other than his brother. She features in that same conjoined dream, the role she plays in it reveals Bev's fears about her. One line in DEAD RINGERS sums up his feelings of losing the bond when Elliot asks Bev why he is crying, his answer is “Separation can be a terrifying thing.”
DEAD RINGERS shows the bond as something akin to an addiction, too, and all the negatives that would entail. The relationship with Claire is an effort to break the habit, only Bev cannot go cold turkey. The more he is distressed the more he feeds the habit. The Mantle Twins have actual substance abuse problems, the metaphor extends to more than one level.
Cronenberg comes dangerous close to unleashing the full power the body horror genre can have. As Bev's issues impair his judgement and reflects in his actions he horrifyingly has special gynaecology instruments created. These are to be used on the 'mutant' women he examines and the contraptions are sinister in their design and chilling due to their intended use. Cronenberg teases Bev using them, stopping short of the visceral visuals that could have been.
The special bond of twins has recently been explored in the Soska Twins stunning body modification/horror American Mary. The sister directors appear as twins that want left arms exchanged so they will literally be apart of each other. Even when not in the same room they will never truly be apart
The inspiration for the feature was taken from the fate of real life twin gynaecologists Cyril and Stewart Marcus. In July 1975 it is believed both died of drug overdoses in their New York apartment. They were 45.
DEAD RINGERS was unexpected for its style and message. But, when David Cronenberg is involved the unexpected should have been expected.
