The Twins Effect
The Twins Effect
| 08 March 2003 (USA)
The Twins Effect Trailers

An evil Duke attempts to kill and collect the blood of a royal family of European vampires in order to become all powerful. The only surviving member of the family travels to Hong Kong, only to complicate his struggle by falling in love with a mortal girl who just happens to have a vampire hunter for a brother.

Reviews
YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10
Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews I happened to see that this was going to be on TV, and after looking it up, I instantly wanted to catch it. While arguably not a masterpiece, this definitely is an enjoyable, lighthearted ride. I don't know which version I saw, other than that it was subbed, not dubbed(frankly, I might have skipped it if I had found it to be the other way around), so apart from the little bit of English, the language spoken is Cantonese. This is about vampires and two partners who hunt them. The plot is engaging and interesting enough, and this is actually almost moving at one point. It holds surprises, and I certainly hadn't guessed the ending. The martial arts are awesome, amazing choreography(and I swear, they throw a few tricks in there that I haven't seen anywhere else), and the use of props(not to mention that kick-ass stick) is really good. I enjoyed Chan in this(note that he isn't the lead). The cinematography and editing are marvelous, apart from the occasional shot that is awkwardly close. They create a nifty visual style that doesn't seem flashy, and I did not at any time feel like I was just viewing a "show", nothing is gratuitous. The music is great, and fits. This has fairly well-done and well-integrated effects. The acting isn't bad(if they aren't asked to do an awful lot). This has what has to be the most shrill and screeching young woman ever in a film, but she isn't terribly obnoxious, no, instead, she's funny(as are the jokes and gags in this, with a couple of exceptions). The sense of humor leans towards the silly and goofy, with a tad quirkiness, and I did not find it irritating, as I usually do with such. The females are cute and charming(and hot), and the characters in general aren't annoying. If I get a chance, I'll probably watch the sequel. There is some strong violence and blood in this. I recommend this to any fan of fast-paced, cool action that doesn't take itself too seriously. 6/10
Ivan McKeon A vampire prince falls for a human girl, unaware that her brother is a famous vampire hunter. That's the underlying theme of this martial arts romp which borrows ideas from "Underworld" and "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" but manages to maintain a style of its own. I was bemused by the UK and Hong Kong title "The Twins Effect" as there are no twins involved in the story. It turns out that the two main female characters are played by Hong Kong pop stars who perform as "The Twins". Don't let this put you off. These girls can act (at least well enough for this type of film) and add a lot of charm to the proceedings. Jackie Chan turns up for a couple of cameo appearances adding a dash of his own brand of slapstick mayhem to the proceedings. All in all this is great fun for those who like their vampires served up with a helping of tongue-in-cheek humour.
Steve Lotsa action, cheesy love story, unexpected actors and overall great fun. The special effect are acceptable/decent, some of the fighting is kinda neat with some interesting acrobatic moves. The overall story moves along, and is cheesy enough to keep you wondering when the inevitable is going to happen, although there is a bit of a twist (just a small one). The overall naivety of the movie make it quite whimsical at times. Cute enough chicks too what more could you want. PS. if you're gonna review a movie like this, try to review it in terms of the category the movie would fall (not necessarily where it was intended to fall). ie don't bomb out good cheesy movies!
theghostoftroubledjoe2001 The twins effect is a vampire martial arts movie available in Cantonese with English subtitles. It is a Jackie Chan production and he does make a special guest appearance, although it is not for those that liked Shanghai Noon/Knights and the other recent Hollywood flicks he has become known for, this film is a lot more special than that.It was originally called The Vampire Effect but as a very popular Chinese female pop duo called The Twins (Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung) took the two leading roles the title was changed to cash in on their fame.The film will appeal to three types of audience: those who love martial arts films, those who love vampire films and those who loath the rubbish films Hollywood generally churns out.The premise for the film is that vampires are about and a secret society seeks to hunt them down before we all become snacks for the undead. This bloody work is carried out by some martial artists who drink a little vampire blood to give them the edge they need, well it must be thirsty work! Things are going pretty much for the course until a particularly nasty European vamp finds out that he if he obtains a set of keys held by all the vampire princes then he can walk around in sunlight etc and generally eat when ever he wants to. To say anymore on the plot would spoil the enjoyment of watching the film.The twins consist of one assigned vampire slayer (Chung) and the sister (Choi) of another. It is the twins that really make the film; with some of the freshest and funniest acting going. The fight scenes they carry out are fast and furious and well choreographed with a mix of genuine athleticism and wire work. To add the cherry on the cake the twins are both quite lovely to watch too.The direction is crisp and the script is sharp. There are only 3 things that let this film down: the make-up for the vampires is quite poor, Jackie Chan seems to be in the film just for the hell of it and adds nothing to its content, and some of the slapstick comedy attempted by the male vampire hunter is quite lame. Thankfully the twins save the day bringing an originality to the film normally only found in European films. The best scene for me was one of them (Choi) communicating only by screaming, her ability to convey her thoughts through this medium was a comic delight.Their are many other touches of originality in this film - I particularly liked the coffin complete with surround sound stereo and TV screen! And it is the films' many original touches and acting that stops this from being a tired old flop and turns it into a must see movie.