By Melissa Antoinette Garza
At an age too young to remember, I saw TO SIR WITH LOVE (1967) and fell in love with the fearless blonde bombshell that is Judy Geeson. When I was around 13, I started scouring the huge books in video stores to rent her filmography. At that age in a small rental place in my hometown, I found GOODBYE GEMINI (1970) then titled TWINSANITY and thankfully the clerk was badass enough to let me rent it. Back then, those who worked the VHS shops were cool enough to let you get away with shit if you had good taste and I had remarkable taste. Video stores, vinyl shops, rock Concerts and Rocky Horror are the only places I ever truly find my kind and have fun socializing with new people
When I saw GOODBYE GEMINI at 13, I was already in love with the 60s-70s UK utopia I had in my mind. This bizarre beauty just made me enthralled all the more.
The movie opens with fraternal twins Jacki (Judy Geeson) and Julian (Martin Potter) hitting up a night club while celebrating spring break in London. Jacki meets Clive (Alexis Kanner) who she instantly takes a liking to. This makes Julian jealous. He wants Jacki for himself and doesn’t think it’s weird because he doesn’t see them as siblings, but instead almost the same entity. He explains it as having the same hive mind. He may just be trying to rationalize having an absolute goddess as a twin. Still, if I can accept that Riff Raff and Magenta are cool together because they’re aliens and The Dr. McKinley siblings from Dentonvale are just acting, then I’ll accept Clive’s hive mind rationale. Sure, why not?
Though, Jacki does spawn some of his advances, she is much closer to him than appropriate. They dance close and gaze at each other in ways that make all around take notice. Later, when Jacki leaves the party with Clive, Julian begrudgingly takes Clive’s sometimes chick Denise (Marian Diamond) and the four go together. Denise tries to be cool with Julian, but he gets drunk and angry.
Soon, it becomes apparent that Clive is a complete scumbag. He is a pimp who owes a gangster a lot of money. He takes Julian to a brothel of his prostitutes who are cross-dressers. He has two of them rape Julian. Denise stays back and warns Jacki. She tells her the truth about Clive and Jacki decides to keep her twin safe no matter what.
The twins get together and concoct a plan. They murder Clive, and in the process Jacki’s favorite teddy bear Agamemnon which holds particular significance is cut and she has a mental break. She ends up disappearing only to be rescued by Conservative Member of the Parliament James (Michael Redgrave). She has amnesia, but when the cops come calling James buys her some time.
Julian goes batty as well. He hides out in the hotel where he was raped. Jacki finds him after she figures out what happened to Clive. At this point, Julian is convinced all of the negativity and insanity that has come about is because the two haven’t had sex. Jacki tries to calm the situation, but Julian is too far gone.
The ending is 1970s Brit rawness at its best and I love it.
By this point in the review, you should gather that this is a weird movie so if it sounds too crazy for you steer clear. I think it’s fantastic insanity.
Martin Potter is fabulous as the strange, but sympathetic killer. I love his acting style. I just re-watched SATAN’S SLAVE (1976) a few days ago and the characters are so different from one another yet creepy as hell in their own distinct ways.
Judy Geeson is just brilliant as the lead protagonist. She’s always fabulous! Here’s she’s brave, but twisted; affectionate but restrained; cute but all woman.
Lastly, the soundtrack and score add so much to the atmosphere and peculiar nature of the film.
Currently, you can rent/buy this on AMAZON or check it out on YOUTUBE before the Copyright Cops take it down.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
