Directed by Antonio Negret
Written by George Richards
Starring Edmund Entin, Gary Entin, Orlando Jones, & Samantha Droke

I reviewed this film a while back when it was in limited release as part of the After Dark Originals series. It’s been released on DVD & BluRay so I figured I’d report the review since you all have a better chance of catching it this time around.

Think DEAD RINGERS meets HEATHERS with a peppering of THE FURY and you’ve got this little After Dark Original down to a tee. Highlighting the simple eeriness of twins themselves, SECONDS APART is a surprisingly effective little horror film. The twins, Edmund and Gary Entin, are pretty fantastic as the leads with their soulless eyes and identical movements. There’s just something creepy about people moving in tandem, looking and moving in the same manner. It’s been the subject of many a horror film through the years.

I mentioned DEAD RINGERS because SECONDS APART could be retitled DEAD RINGERS: THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS. The story starts with a creepy Russian Roulette sequence where everyone ends up dead. Then we cut to the dead eyes of the twins watching a video of the game and attesting that they feel nothing while watching it. From the get-go, we know the twins are behind the murders. Finding a way to prove it is the problem, and these talented twins have the power to make proving it difficult. The narrative is reminiscent of Cronenberg’s twin opus as a girl comes between brothers and proves to be the one thing that can get through the psychic armor they’ve erected around themselves.

Orlando Bloom flexes his dramatic muscles here. Though I’m not sure if the role fits him perfectly, most of the scenes he’s in work decently. I think the main problem with Bloom’s obsessed cop schtick is that it’s a bit overwritten and melodramatic. Had Bloom played the role a bit more subtly, I think he would have been a better antagonist for the evil twins.

Director Antonio Negret does a great job of setting a feeling of unease, especially in the scenes involving the twins using their powers, yet even more so in the scenes following the twins through their everyday lives of serving their parents breakfast, riding their bikes, and playing piano in tandem. His camera hypes up the surreal nature of the double even while doing the most common of acts. SECONDS APART is definitely worth checking out when it becomes available on DVD. I’ve seen three of these After Dark Originals now and all of them have been fantastically original and fun. SECONDS APART highlights the creepiness of twins to maximum effect, even during the moments of banality.

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