Customer Reviews

Vampire Effect

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Playful Hong-kong actioner "Vampire Effect" is also known as "The Twins Effect" which describes its nature more precisely. The film was a big hit in summer 2003 in Hong Kong partly because its stars -- enormously popular singers, "Twins." The duo Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi play the main characters of the film, kind of the Oriental "Buffy" vamipre killers, and any mention of the name Jackie CHan means just a cameo (though it comes with a good action).

The story is too simple and unoriginal to take seriously. Reeve (Ekin Cheng) is a vamipre hunter whose sister Helen (Charlene Choi) falls in love with ... yes, a handsome and benevolent vampire prince Kazav (Edison Chen). But a villainous European vampire (Swiss-born Mickey Hardt) comes all the way to Hong Kong, to seek for the secret of the holy book, and so on and on. You also meet a novice vamire hunter (Gillian Chung), who naturally falls in love with Reeve.

Just because this film is a vehicle for the two pop idols does not mean "Vampire Effect" stinks. The fact is, because of the participation of Donnie Yen ("Blade 2" or Jet Li's "Hero"), the action sequence is more than satisfactory, and even the two heroines' actions are not bad. Donnie Yen provides very good stunts, especially when he uses swords, and though the girls are not perfect fighters, it is easily felt that they did hard training for the film.

I found the acting "Twins" acceptable, if not great. Though some may hate it, I thought their way of screaming or smiling very cute. And you should remember, this is "Buffy" not runner for the Oscars. If the girls look cartoonish (and they do), why complain? They know what they are doing.

Jackie Chan appears, but his extended cameo (he shows up twice) means a few (but respectable and funny) stunts. This time he uses an ambulance in his fight scenes, and some of them are really hilarious. And see his "marriage" with Karen Mok (opposite to Jet Li in "Black Mask" or the cop in "So Close"), which proves their great comic sense. Also you see Anthony Wong ("Infernal Affair") and Josie Ho.

The effects are sometimes cheesy, but overall decently done. (See the opening "London" station scenes which are in fact shot in Bangkok in Thailand). The film is making fun of some of the rules of vampire films, but the film belongs mainly to martial arts action.

It's a popcorn movie in a good sense, and never takes itself seriously. Still it has some great stunts, plus pretty girls (or vampire hunters). Just have fun, that's all you have to do.

Here we go again: no sooner do I brag about how I can't stand to watch vampire movies, how I simply won't watch another one no matter how many people sing their praises, than I'm sitting down in front of the television for yet another excursion into this tired genre. In my opinion I've seen too many Count Dracula knockoffs, too many stakes pounded through chests and too many wholesome maidens swooning in the arms of a cape wearing bloodsucker, to give a darn about the latest vampire effort. I should say I have seen a few films in this genre that I liked and would watch again, namely "Fright Night" and some of the Christopher Lee/Hammer pictures, but I have no desire to spend a day or two a month plodding through the expansive library that must surely now exist for these films. It seems like every young director with a love for horror and a dream makes a vampire flick on his first or second outing (zombie and slasher pictures rank high, too), and I won't have it anymore. MAKE SOMETHING ELSE! Use that gray matter between your ears and come up something original for once! Please, no more vampire pictures!

Having said that, I kneel before the alter of hypocrisy when I say that I liked "Vampire Effect." In fact, I think it's a dandy little picture with a lot of charm. It's a story set sometime in the future (amazing how the future looks like a couple of years ago, but that's o.k.) when vampires present a big problem. There's even some agency that trains people to go out and defang these monstrosities, an agency that provides its operatives with little glass vials of vampire blood so as to grant these soldiers a few minutes of supernatural fighting ability. "Vampire Effect" opens with one of these agents, Reeve (Ekin Cheng), and his female partner as they prepare to launch an assault on a pack of bloodsuckers in a train station. The resulting combat sequences involve shattering glass, lots of cartwheeling bodies, and a tragedy that forces Reeve to cast about for a new partner. Surprise! His next comrade is a female too, Gypsy (Gillian Chung), who is a sassy little firecracker with a secret love in her ticker for the stoic Reeve. In order to convince him she's up to the task ahead, Gypsy tries to make nice with Reeve's sister Helen (Charlene Choi) who is currently weathering her latest shattered relationship. Sadly, the two don't get along and end up battling on a rooftop with huge bamboo sticks

Enter Prince Kazaf (Edison Chen), a vampire who sets up operations in a church (!). He happens to fall in love with Helen and subsequently decides he doesn't want to drink her blood. What follows is as sappy as it is amusing: Kazaf's fellow vampires express dismay with the leader's newfound love, Kazaf calls Helen on a cell phone from his coffin, and the two even go out on a date during the day time. How is this last event possible? Because Kazaf puts on an ointment to protect his skin from the sun--at one point he starts smoking when some of it wears off--in order to hide his true identity from Helen. Helen would never notice her new beau is a vampire (she's a ditz), but events soon arise that reveal Kazaf's true identity. A European vampire by the name of Duke Dekotes (Mickey Hardt) and his minions want to kill Kazaf in order to procure a very special item, an item of great power and importance to the undead. It should go without saying that Helen, Reeve, and Gypsy soon end up in the middle of this epic series of events. Who lives and who dies isn't nearly as important as the fun special effects in the climactic battle scene. I should also mention that Jackie Chan shows up in a bit role as a man preparing to marry a promiscuous alcoholic. You have to watch to see how that fits in, let me tell you.

"Vampire Effect" is a fun, mindless movie. Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi are a lot of fun to watch as they ham it up endlessly in their respective roles. They spend most of their time onscreen mugging and gesticulating wildly, but somehow manage to pull it all off without coming across as ridiculous. What I liked best about the film is what I usually like best about these types of films: the action scenes. The bamboo stick fight is choreographed quite well and is great fun to watch. So are the combat sequences between the vampires and the vampire killers. Even Jackie Chan ends up caught in the middle of one of these showdowns (hanging out of an ambulance and using a light pole to great effect, respectively). Unfortunately, there isn't much in the way of gore here, but I think that stems from the fact that the two stars of the film, Choi and Gillian, are pop singers in their native land. For some inexplicable reason pop music fans tend to stay away from films containing exploding heads or flying viscera. No matter, however, as "Vampire Effect" is entertaining enough without lots of bloodshed. Heck, I didn't even mind the over the top CGI effects.

The only extras on the DVD that I saw were trailers for "Returner," "Tokyo Godfathers," "Underworld," "The Medallion," and "Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters." I might have to reassess my opinion of vampire flicks after watching this one--nah, I won't. I still want to stay away from the genre as much as possible, but movies like this one at least make me think once in awhile about what I might be missing. Give this one a shot if you like Asian horror, Asian comedy, cute Asian chicks, or if you wonder what all three of these elements would like under one roof.

The Vampire Effect (aka., The Twins Effect) is a campy Hong Kong fooey flick, featuring a pair of Chinese pop stars--the "Twins" Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi. So imagine, if you will, a Buffy-esque movie featuring a pair of uber-cute punk-adorable pop stars, a slick-yet-inexplicably-corny gang of "royal" vampires, a vicious pack of (one must assume) lesser proletariat vampires, and an extended cameo wherein Jackie Chan attempts to wed a staggering alcoholic.

In short, there is no taking this movie seriously; but this is acceptable and even enjoyable, because no one ever took this movie less seriously than the people who made it--with the possible exception of the people who are "acting" in it.

The plot is remarkably unremarkable: a froofy European vampire is nancing about the globe killing vampire princes in order to open a magical book that will endow him with extra super special Vampire Powers of Doom™. The last of these vampire princes has taken up residence with his entourage in a spooky church, which he uses as courting headquarters to gain the affections of (you guessed it) a bad-assed vampire hunter's baby sister. These star-crossed lovers spend their courtship giggling on the phone, crashing the occasional wedding (see previous reference to Jackie Chan), and slinking around behind big brother vampire slayer's back.

Of course, as part of this classist fable of economic disparity where wealth and social status equal moral virtue, the hot young vampire prince with a pre-teen spikey hair-do is really a good vampire--unlike the unwashed vampire masses, who eat babies and kick puppies. This upstanding royal lad becomes the target of Mr. Evil European Vampire, esq.,--a big blonde man with blood-red eyes and a deep-seated desire to be Anne Rice's lap cat when he grows up.

Wackiness ensues.

And by "wackiness" I mean, "Watch Jackie Chan, a helpful paramedic, stuff antidepressants into vampire goons' gaping maws--a course of action which turns the goons into very slow breakdancers with stilted white-guys-on-quaaludes moves, enabling our heroes to escape sharp-fanged, Mr. Roboto-style peril." So you see, I do not use the big "W" word lightly.

In the end, this movie is saved by the grace of its writing. The characters are charming even when they're behaving nonsensically, and the dialogue is so goofy that it's downright believable. Also, the people are hot and well dressed. Hot, well-dressed people can do a lot to save a poorly-made movie.

My friend and I were just coming back from seeing Van Helsing and were a little disappointed with that movie; so we decided to just rent something to fill out the evening. From the box and cover, this looked like a fun/campy vampire flick.

Boy were we surprised with how GOOD this movie actually was! It had some really great fight scenes; the acting was good; the special effects were surprisingly well done as well. Even the plot was decent!

If you like the vampire or kung fu genre of flicks, you'll love this one.

I'm definitely buying this flick for my collection!

Okay, first things first: Jackie Chan is a "Special Guest Star," but in America, that gets him top-billing. This is spite of the fact that the two female stars -- a pop duo known as "Twins" -- are one of the biggest things in Hong Kong these days. Not to mention co-stars Ekin Cheng, Edison Chen, and Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, all big box-office bucks in HK. (alliteration!)

Second, while this dub may be better than most dubs, it's still a dub. I risk sounding like a snob, but dubs tend to dumb-down the dialogue (more alliteration!) and you really lose something not hearing the original actors deliver the lines. Even if you can't understand what they're saying, you can hear the emotions in their voices.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this film has over ten minutes of footage cut, apparently to make it more appealing to an American audience. It only makes the film choppier and make much less sense.

If you've the time, look for the uncut, subtitled version, called "The Twins Effect" in the U.S. Still fluff, but at least it's fun.

This vampire action comedy is one of my favorites for the very fact that I was thoroughly entertained throughout the entire movie. First of all, the characters are memorable, contributing a myriad of classic scenes. Charlene and Gillian are naturally cute, charismatic, and humorous. This movie was my first exposure to them, and all I wanted to do was reach through my television screen and give them a REALLY BIG HUG. The remaining cast did well in their supporting roles, including Jackie Chan, Karen Mok, "The Duke", Josie Ho, Edison Chen, Anthony Wong, and the vampire bad guys (one of which looks eerily familiar to Will Ferrell). Even the abominably horrible Ekin Cheng was good in this one. Good characters are important, of course, because they avoid the feeling of boredom by keeping things interesting between action sequences.

And speaking of action, this film has plenty of it. More importantly, there is an emphasis of quality in the fight choreography. One aspect that helped in this regard is the featured weapon of the protagonists - a sword with a retractable spear-ended rope. This weapon, in and of itself, opened up a variety of moves that would have been otherwise impossible. Josie Ho and Gillian Chung, in particular, perform some wicked aerial maneuvers using these devices.

In addition, the swordplay is superb, and is highlighted by two great sword fights - one taking place during the opening train station sequence and the other occurring in the church finale. In fact, the blade-wielding maneuvers showcased in this film put some other highly overrated fan favorites to great shame, and I truly feel sorry for those who would cite the horribly choreographed garbage seen in Ashes of Time, Storm Riders, or A Man Called Hero with the well-planned, precisely executed sequences seen in The Twins Effect. It's not even close.

This film was so good that it actually set me up for being disappointed at other Chinese movies with the same actors and actresses. This especially applies to Ekin Cheng, whose other films almost always suck - and yes, this includes the obscenely overrated and exploitative wuxia crap mentioned in the previous paragraph. Even The Twins have never been able to match the value of this movie when both were lead actresses in a film, although they have managed to hit some good films when either one or the other takes the leading role (e.g., Beyond Our Ken, Good Times Bed Times, House of Fury) or when one or both are in supporting roles (e.g., Colour of the Truth, New Police Story, Just One Look). The Twins Effect 2 should have been a direct sequel, instead of a family fantasy. I am still yearning to see Charlene and Gillian team up and kick some butt in another movie, but the fact remains that The Twins Effect hits on all cylinders, optimizing their charisma while avoiding a descent into annoyance (as in Protégé de la Rose Noire).

All in all, this film has everything one needs to be entertained. And may I remind the reader that it is precisely this - ENTERTAINMENT - that judges the greatness of a movie, more so than artsy dramatic elements or meaningless awards from established academies of critics who usually have no idea what they are talking about.

In the end, the Twins Effect is a CLASSIC not to be missed.

Rating = 5/5 stars

P.S. - The Hollywood execs decided to slaughter this film when it was released in the U.S. by renaming it The Vampire Effect and cutting out 20 minutes of footage, which includes parts of the action scenes. However, the final fight of the U.S. version does have a better soundtrack than the original version. Therefore, I purchased both versions, which allows me to first watch the original until about the 1:20 mark, and then swap discs to watch the final fight on the U.S. version.

First of all it should be made clear to Jackie Chan fans this is not a film in which Jackie plays a central role. In fact, he has about two senes, and that's it. I guess they weren't able to get him as one of the main stars but were only able to have him on screen for a few minutes. That didn't stop them from putting his face on the cover, thus duping people into thinking he has alot to do here. The fact that this is marketed as a Jackie Chan movie when in fact he has scant running time is what makes me knock this review down a star.

That having been said, once you can get over that one disapointment, this is a really great action/vampire movie. The senes Jackie is in are quite funny. (When we first meet him, it's his wedding, and the bride has gotten drunk.) The plot is about veteran vampire hunter Reeve and his latest female partner Gypsy who take on The Duke and his army of the undead. The Duke has killed off four vampire princes and is after the fifth. If he can get the hearts of all four princes, he'll be able to obtain absolute power, which includes being able to walk around in the daylight. The fifth prince, Kazaf, meanwhile, is tempted to switch to the side of good when he meets and falls in love with Reeve's sister Helen.

Loads of action, great preformances all around (in terms of both acting and fight sequences), great special effects, (especially for a non-American film)cute actresses and some nice comedic touches make this one a film not to be missed.

Note: Chinese with English subtitles.

'The Twins Effect' is a suprisingly enjoyable film designed primarily to cash in on the popularity of the Asian pop singing duo "Twins" comprised of Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung. The two attractive young ladies fight their way through vampires, boyfriends and each other in high style with great special effects and fight sequences that won't disappoint.

Directors Dante Lam and Donnie Yen surrounded the duo with an excellent cast which includes; Ekin Cheng, Edison Chen, Mickey Hardt and a brief but memorable cameo by Jackie Chan as himself.

((First off, having read a few other reviews, you really shouldn't compare Hong Kong films to American Hollywood films. Please be aware that while many of the Chinese actors speak English and some were even born or schooled in America, the cultures are vastly different. Westerners may not "get" Eastern humor or references all the time. This does not mean Asian films are subpar by nature; It just means you may have to pick up some Eastern background to fully appreciate them. Doing so is worth the effort.))

As my first forray into the world of the uber-cutsie Twins (took me forever to figure out WHY this was called the Twins Effect), I have to say I was impressed. I am familiar with Eastern vamps (they are hideously ugly and hop. Yes, they hop) and the usage of a Western vampire was a very intriguing twist. Granted, most Westerners who see this movie will have no idea that this is an odd mix, but they chose a marvelous actor, Mickey Hardt, to play the Duke and I found the five sons of the Vampire King needed to open the Vampi Bible "Day for Night", was a suitable plot device. I liked that one of the Western-style vamps was also Chinese. The Vamp King is apparently quite profilic and likes variety; More power to him. The Vamp Prince, Kazaf, played by Edison Chen, was likable enough but stereotypical in that he was 'good' and refused to suck human blood despite the instructions given to him by his manservant and bodyguard, Prada, played by the inimitable Anthony Wong. Wong did a wonderful job, as per usual, and ended up one of the more enjoyable characters in the movie. Ekin Cheng, (ever a proponent of the Twins) playing the Vampire hunter Reeve, was likable enough and actually performed better than usual; he was less wooden than I think I had ever seen him. The Twins were okay, too, though nothing out of the ordinary when compared to other Hong Kong actresses, though they seem fairly natural at acting in a convincing manner. Donnie Yen adds impressive fight scenes/choreography and co-directing. Jackie Chan gives a good guest appearance and is always a welcome sight, as is the lovely and talented Karen Mok, both who are personal favorites of mine.

All in all, this movie was impressive. I have seen it perhaps half a dozen times from purchase date so far and have recommended it to others. (But not the American version! It cuts out some good stuff, even though it does add maybe 11 seconds of footage you won't see in the Chinese version.) The end battle in this movie is really well-done. Biggest complaint I have is the unnecessary narration from Reeve in the beginning. I hate devices that don't follow through in the movie or are just thrown in because the writer is too lazy to incorporate into the dialog or action. Very annoying. In the end, though, I give this one 5 stars; it was truly entertaining!

This was a truly fun movie. There are a few spots of sorrow, and, as typical with many Asian martial arts flicks, there's a lot of wire-work in the special effects. It might seem like there are also some plot holes, but I attribute it to the Oriental mindset, to how they view plot development as opposed to a Westerner...what we see as plot holes, they just don't see as relevant to the plot.
My wife and I laughed til we cried in some spots, and you will too as long as you remember to not take it as an attempt at a serious movie...after all, Jackie Chan is in it.
As a bonus, the out-takes at the end has a riotously funny segment on the perils of vampiric impotence...