October 11, 2026
Two of a Kind: Between Two Waves and the Evolution of Twin Horror
As many know, a popular horror trope is the intimate betrayal (where the person closest to you causes your downfall). A few subgenres explore this dynamic, such as twin horror, which highlights that the ultimate threat to your being comes from the person you trust most. While mainstream films explore this topic, independent cinema still finds fresh ways to bring these ideas to the screen. A standout on the festival circuit, Courtney and Mark Sposato’s supernatural thriller Between Two Waves treats memory gaslighting and generational trauma as a haunting.
To see how Between Two Waves fits into this trope, I thought a close look at the film itself paired with a twin horror guide would be the best way to truly dissect the shared themes.
Between Two Waves
dir. Courtney Sposato, Mark Sposato
Synopsis: After her mother’s death, Cass Milligan returns home for the first time in years, only to find the house isn’t done with her. She’s convinced it’s haunted. Her twin brother thinks she’s unraveling. As buried memories surface, they must uncover the truth before the past swallows her whole.
In Courtney and Mark Sposato’s indie supernatural thriller Between Two Waves, which made buzz on the festival circuit following its world premiere at Dances With Films and subsequent stops like the Bushwick Film Festival, the film is anchored by the jagged dynamic between estranged twins Cass (Koko Marshall) and Tate (Dave Coleman). The film manages a rare feat in modern horror and treats psychological memory with the same visceral and terrifying weight that the genre highlights with active hauntings.
As Cass and Tate are forced back into their suffocating childhood home after the death of their mother to clear out her lingering affairs, it is immediately established that the house is an active participant in the siblings’ mutual destruction. For Tate, he was the protected golden child, as the house is a repository of warm nostalgia, whereas for Cass, as the designated black sheep, the house holds unhealed wounds of systemic abuse she endured. When Tate is eventually forced to physically witness the alternate realities of his sister’s trauma, his rosy illusions of their upbringing are shattered. Tate’s nostalgic haze dissolves, and the painful truth is revealed that they survived two entirely different households.
The Sposatos direct with an oppressive and claustrophobic eye, all while Marshall and Coleman sell the exhausting yet unbreakable tether of twinhood with authenticity. Between Two Waves succeeds because it recognizes that the most terrifying supernatural entities are the subjective truths we tell ourselves to survive childhood and the inescapable gravity of shared blood. The Sposatos have delivered a masterclass in atmospheric dread, and this memorable, suffocating entry into the twin horror genre marks them as exciting new voices in indie film.
Amplified Twin Dread in a Haunted Space
1) The Shining (1980) - dir. Stanley Kubrick
Synopsis: Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren’t prepared for the madness that lurks within.
How could I not begin a twin horror subgenre deep dive without the most iconic of them all? The first time I watched The Shining, I was convinced the Grady twins would be all over the film given how iconic they are in pop culture. But with under two minutes of total screen time, they prove that a twin dynamic doesn’t need heavy dialogue to define an entire subgenre. Their visual symmetry established the blueprint for how haunted architecture amplifies the eeriness of twinhood.
The Horror of Codependency
2) Basket Case (1982) - dir. Frank Henenlotter
Synopsis: A young man carrying a big basket that contains his extremely deformed, formerly conjoined twin brother seeks vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will.
Basket Case takes twin codependency to the most grotesque and literal place possible. I love how Belial lives in Duane’s wicker basket, and even though they are physically separated, they can’t be independent. Arguably, they are the most toxic twin dynamic on this list, but if you want representation for sibling loyalty, then this is the watch for you.
3) Dead Ringers (1988) - dir. David Cronenberg
Synopsis: Elliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire, but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness.
David Cronenberg is known for body horror and the grotesque, and Dead Ringers is no different. Jeremy Irons is in a double role as identical twin gynecologists Beverly and Elliot Mantle, and the brothers are deeply codependent. Irons pulls off one of the most hypnotizing dual performances as he portrays them both as deeply unsettling yet captivating. Even though it is more on the side of erotic body horror, the main message of how codependency is truly a fatal addiction still lies.
4) American Mary (2012) - dir. Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Synopsis: A young medical student struggling to pay tuition is drawn into the shady world of underground body modification.
While the Soska sisters stay behind the camera as directors, they do sneak in an unforgettable cameo as the Demon Twins. With the film highlighting glimpses into the world of body modification, the Soskas’ appearance only adds to the stylish, cult appeal of the film.
5) Goodnight Mommy (2014) - dir. Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz
Synopsis: In the heat of the summer lays a lonesome house in the countryside where nine year old twin brothers await their mother’s return. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before and the children start to doubt whether this woman is actually who she says she is.
Out of every movie on this list, this is the one that truly shocked me. The plot centers on identical brothers Lukas and Elias as they operate like a single unit against their mother after she comes home from facial surgery wrapped in bandages. Their growing paranoia feeds on each other, and although it is a slow-burn tension, it is a masterclass in psychological gaslighting with thriller themes.
Blood Legacies and Shared Destruction
6) House of Wax (2005) - dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
Synopsis: A group of unwitting teens are stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming the next exhibit.
House of Wax centers on killer twins Bo and Vincent. I know mid-2000s slasher remakes are either loved or completely hated, but with the massive set pieces and practical gore, this has always been one of my favorites to revisit. Watching the dynamic between the two brothers and the wax museum finale is one of the most memorable scenes in twin horror history for me.
7) Malignant (2021) - dir. James Wan
Synopsis: Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities with a mysterious tie to her past.
Parasitic twins take the subgenre to a whole other level, and that is exactly what James Wan did with this. Malignant acts as a Giallo-inspired action horror that isn’t afraid to go completely off the rails. I love that it creates a new concept and literalizes the fear of your own body turning on you.
8) Sinners (2025) - dir. Ryan Coogler
Synopsis: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
How could I not include one of the best recent horror movies featuring twins? Ryan Coogler putting Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack in 1930s Mississippi, of course, got amazing feedback and reception, but it's the clash of their paths that really makes it work. Sinners stands as a definitive modern period vampire epic and proves that your sibling’s actions might just be what changes the trajectory of your life.
