Review of Twins Effect, The

Introduction

Buffy The Vampire Slayer but with a Hong Kong Twist, The Twins Effect certainly tantalises with the possibilities of Kung Fu Vampire staking action. The Twins are a popular Cantonese pop group comprising Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi, who while having starred in several films thus far, actually make their debut as action stars in The Twins Effect, aided by a cameo from Jackie Chan. Of course vampires in Hong Kong are quite different from the vampires we know and love in the west. They aren`t too bothered by stray crucifixes for one thing, and there are different types too. Hong Kong vampires have electric blue eyes, while European vampires have eyes of a more reddish hue. There`s a Royal family of vampires as well, who hold all the secrets and power in the vampire world. As for vampire slayers, it`s more of a job than a calling, and if your martial arts skills are good enough, then you can apply. You get an ingenious weapon, a sort of Swiss army sword that extends from a metal hilt, which also shoots out rope from the other end. They do have an ace up their sleeves, a little sip of vampires` blood before going into battle gives them the strength and speed of their prey, but go too long without taking the antidote, and they become vampires themselves.

Reeve is one such vampire slayer, who developed feelings for his partner, only to see her slain at the hands of a brutal European vampire, Duke Dekotes. Resolving never to get close to a partner again, he continued his battle against the fanged ones. His new partner Gypsy unfortunately develops feelings for him, as well as rubbing his sister Helen completely the wrong way. Helen on the other hand has just been dumped by her last boyfriend, but finds solace with Kazaf, a newcomer to Hong Kong. As luck would have it, Kazaf is a vampire prince, although he`s not that common as to actually chow down on human flesh, preferring his blood to be bottled and labelled. He finds Helen intriguing and asks her out on a date, forgetting of course that he doesn`t react too well to sunlight. Relationship problems are the least of their worries though, as Duke Dekotes is back and is systematically hunting down the vampire princes who hold the secret to the mystical Day For Night, and Kazaf is the last one remaining. If Dekotes gets his hand on Day For Night it would mean doom, destruction, end of the world type stuff.

Video

The Twins Effect comes with a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. The image is a little soft, a little grainy and there is a hint of print damage, but otherwise the picture is clear and sharp throughout. What lets the film down though, are the special effects. The CGI is variable, ranging from the average to the downright ropey. The stunts and action are fairly impressive though, with plenty of wire-fu and fast cut fights.

Audio

You get a choice between DD 2.0 and DD 5.1 Cantonese tracks. The dialogue is clear, the surrounds are put to lively use during the action sequences but are otherwise unexceptional, and the main theme during the first confrontation reminded me of Live And Let Die for some reason. It should be noted though that there is only one English subtitle track on this disc, and it translates the Cantonese dialogue only. The rare moments of English dialogue aren`t subtitled, so those who are hard of hearing should bear that in mind.

Features

The UK release of The Twins Effect comes with over an hour of extra features.

There is a behind the scenes featurette, The Making Of The Twins Effect, and it is presented in 4:3 letterbox and DD 2.0 sound. It is the usual PR piece with plenty of talking heads interspersed with film snippets and behind the scenes footage. This lasts 16 minutes.

Then there are the interviews with the cast and crew, all presented in 4:3.

Jackie Chan talks for 15 minutes on the film and the Hong Kong film industry. It`s a decent interview and certainly worth listening to. Actors Josie Ho, Edison Chen, Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi all contribute in their own sections, regarding the film and they speak for a total of 28 minutes. Finally action director Donnie Yen speaks about introducing the Twins to the action movie genre. His snippet lasts 13 minutes.

It should be noted that there are burned in subtitles translating only the Cantonese dialogue.

To round off the package, there are two theatrical trailers and two teaser trailers.

Conclusion

Well, lets get this out of the way first. This is one of those stupid discs that have an anti-piracy trailer come on as soon as you put the disc in, and you aren`t allowed to skip it. 90 seconds of the clumsily put together, poorly directed warning, telling us how piracy funds evil aliens posing as world leaders in an attempt to change our way of life and get us all eating squirrel brains or something. I think it may have been that, as the first time I just hit the mute button. The second time I saw it I popped away to make a cup of tea, only to find when I returned that the film had auto started. These piracy warnings are an inconvenience, and surely defeat the whole point. I don`t think FACT really want me thinking how much more convenient it would be if I had a copy of the film without the pesky warning. You can come back now, as I`ve finished ranting.

The film itself really shouldn`t work. For one thing it`s highly derivative, if you have seen Buffy or Angel then the teen angst, and the idea of vampires on the side of good will come as no surprise. The way that vampires are despatched in The Twins Effect is starkly reminiscent of Blade, as is the idea of a vampire society and one vampire seeking dominion over the others with a mystical weapon his goal. The effects are borderline at the best of times, with CGI bats, acrobatic vampires and CG sets and backdrops rarely fitting in with their surroundings. Some of the acting isn`t that much better, there`s one scene quite early on when Reeve and Lila are about to go into battle, so they take their vampire juice and nod to each other then leap into action. At least that is what is supposed to happen; only when they come to the nod, they keep on nodding at each other for about ten seconds. I wonder where the director was. The Twins themselves aren`t too bad, and quickly seem to get the hang of this action stuff, but neither really fits in that well to their role, and they do better during the teen angst than the actual fighting. Jackie Chan`s cameo as an ambulance driver is quite well judged and adds some comedy to the proceedings. The story is inelegantly put together, trying to be part romance, part comedy, part tragedy, part horror and part action. There are too many stories trying to be told here, and rather than engrossing, it becomes an almost impenetrable morass. Subplots seem to fade away, only to be recalled when you have forgotten about them, or just vanish altogether.

This film is redeemed though, by simple virtue of the fact that it is fun. Poor performances, effects and writing aside, I enjoyed every minute of The Twins Effect. The cast look like they are having fun, kung fu and vampires are a great combination, and I was reduced to laughter many times in the film. The film is made with a heart and a passion that is evident in every frame. This may not be much of an endorsement, but I found it infinitely preferable to this year`s mega budget Van Helsing.

The film ends on a positive note, with three heroes poised to do battle with the forces of darkness, and when I read that The Twins Effect 2 had been made, I briefly looked forward to the further adventures of Gypsy and Helen. Unfortunately it`s not a straight sequel, but another action film made with the same cast in another universe. (No vampires)

On the bright side, Universal took a wrong turn at the Atlantic, and it`s Region 1 that gets short-changed this time. The R1 disc, re-titled The Vampire Effect has 19 minutes of character development and minor violence edited out. It also lacks extras. We get the full version, as far as I can tell. The trailers hint at missing scenes, as do some odd cuts in the film. But the version we get has the same running time as the Region 3 version, though it lacks the DTS soundtrack.

The Twins Effect is perfect kung fu vampire butt kicking action that will keep you entertained if you want to keep your brain in idle. A guilty pleasure.