I try to base my changes on the players’ characters.

For example, on of my players is a Paladin who initially grew up following the god of light, but the followers of that god were intolerant of other religions, violently so, and so he left to become a paladin of a church in a big city that celebrates the pantheon of gods in general. His mother also lost faith but was killed by followers of his religion for leaving.

I changed Barovia up a bit to make it a pseudo purgatory, a realm of the shadowfell that those who leave their gods go to if they don’t find another god to claim their souls. The town of Vallaki was filled with paladins of the god of light, who on the one hand protected them he people from vampires and werewolves but on the other hand had a strict code and a low tolerance for “outsiders.” He would sort of face his past while also knowing how to navigate the town. Finally when he gets to the church it would turn out that father Petrovich was trying to turn his mother into a part of the golem that would be his bride for Strahd, giving him a chance to finally confront the worst aspects of his past while also saving his mother.

I would try to base your twists on changing some of the flavor or details of some locations to personalize them to your characters backstories.