UNSOLVED MYSTERIES: JULIUS BENEDICT’S MYSTERIOUS ISLAND.
Lasting less than 2 minutes in 1988’s comedic masterpiece Twins, we’re given an introduction to the island where Julius Benedict was raised, trained and schooled before he would leave to Los Angeles to locate his long-lost twin brother, Vincent. During this brief encounter we get a look at the island’s pristine, scenic beauty and everyone cloaked in all-white clothing. Then Julius rushes away in an inflatable dinghy for a 25 mile trek and we never hear about the island again. For the most part Twins is a feel-good flick with positive intentions…except during these moments. There’s a feeling of uneasiness that sets in after the scene and sometimes I have a hard time concentrating on the remainder of the movie. Something dark and twisted surrounds this island that the storytellers are keeping from us. Something shrouded in mystery that forces me to hit the pause button and stare blankly at my TV like this:
Julius Benedict came into this world already very strangely. He was the product of a top-secret scientific experiment designed to create a physically, mentally and spiritually advanced human being. He also had six fathers. In addition to all of that, there’s a forgotten twin brother living in California that he’s never met (who measures 4 foot 2 inches or something). Still, these oddities are explained during the course of the movie. The unknown, “cult” paradise is not.
He grew up with the parental guidance of a Professor Werner, who apparently brought Julius to the island to help him with “research”. So he waits until Julius is 35 years old and then tells him about the existence of his brother. The Professor also narrates during these scenes, talking about Julian and saying creepy things like “he wasn’t equipped to deal with the outside world” and how Julius “was pure in body and spirit”. He also makes him wear tiny white shorts while walking around in his bio-dome.
Aside from a few other various views of the island and a 1-second scene of Julius doing some karate with a wise old sensei, that’s all the information we get. Oh, and this extreme-close-up of a room in the Professor’s home featuring some finely polished weight equipment, a book on HEALTH and several stacks of literature:
Maybe I’m reading into this just a bit much, but the place just feels uncomfortably cultish. From the Professor’s overall demeanor to the perfection of everything in sight, it rubs me the wrong way. But we’ll probably never uncover the truth.
The flip-side to this coin is that maybe the island was a genetic breeding ground for muscled-up, explosive action dudes that look like Julius Benedict. Perhaps in some cut storyline there was a secret plan about a team of scientists generating the perfect specimen for a blockbuster action flick on this very island . An ideal, undisclosed region of the South Pacific serving as a emergency plan in the event that in the “future” we experience a drought of action heroes. Oh wait…that’s today! An island like this would be totally useful during today’s severe lack of new and up & coming bad ass dudes of cinema.
This 2nd edition of TNUC’s Unsolved Mysteries has no leads. No further information. No update music. Once Julius lands in Los Angeles he meets his dwarf brother, beats some people up, has implied sex with Marnie on the motel room floor and never looks back!
[Be sure to read Vol. 1 of our Unsolved Mysteries feature here!]
uncletnuc.com 
I’ve heard there’s a rumor going around for “Triplets,” which will include Eddie Murphy as there long lost genetically conceived brother.
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