HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  Twins Effect, The Gillian and Charlene go vampire slaying
Year: 2003
Director: Dante Lam and Donnie Yen
Stars: Charlene Choi, Gillian Chung, Ekin Cheng, Edison Chen, Mickey Hardt, Josie Ho, Anthony Wong, Jackie Chan, Maggie Lau, Mandy Chiang, Chapman To, Cheung Tat Ming, Matt Chow, Lam Sheung Yi
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Martial Arts, Fantasy, AdventureBuy from Amazon
Rating:  7 (from 1 vote)
Review: Cutie-pie Cantopop duo Twins (sassy Charlene Choi and pouty Gillian Chung) are an Asian phenomenon. Selling records by the billions, their beaming faces grace every billboard, magazine cover and TV commercial in Hong Kong. They’re impossible to avoid – something that rubs more than a few grouchy, middle-aged, kung fu fans the wrong way. Whatever grandpa, Twins are cool. Following a handful of teen comedies, the girls achieved box office domination with this likeable action comedy. Produced by Jackie Chan’s production company, it features a starry supporting cast plus a cameo from the great man himself.

Vampires plague Hong Kong by night. A crack team of slayers swallow vials of vampire blood to acquire supernatural kung fu skills needed to combat the undead. However, they must consume an antidote within ninety minutes or become vampires themselves. Ace hunter Reeve (Ekin Cheng) loses his girlfriend/slaying partner Lila (Josie Ho) in battle with master vampire Duke Dekotes (Mickey Hardt), and vows he’ll never fall in love again. Reeve is assigned an apprentice, pint-sized Gipsy (Gillian Chung). Struggling to look cool for their first meeting, she glides in slow motion, strikes a cover girl pose and falls flat on her ass. Madly in love with her mentor, Gipsy is delighted to share his apartment, something that outrages Reeve’s hot-tempered kid sister, Helen (Charlene Choi). The girls settle their differences with a hilarious, slapstick kung fu duel and eventually bond. Meanwhile, Helen falls for Prince Kazaf, a benevolent vampire in exile who doesn’t prey on humans, drinks blood from a can, and hangs disco lights in his coffin. Jackie (playing himself as per usual in HK films) pops up as a groom whom gatecrashers Helen and Kazaf lend a helping hand on his wedding day, and repays the favour in a later guise as a paramedic. Vampires chasing Helen are given a crash course in kung fu, Jackie style! Everyone is after a magical book called “Day for Night”, which brings tragedy for Helen and Gipsy, but also endows them with super powers for their climactic face-off against Duke Dekotes and his thousand vampires.

A slick package concocted to showcase Choi and Chung’s star qualities, Twins Effect pleasingly – for this HK fan anyway – retains the idiosyncratic detours common to Chinese action-comedies. Vampire horror mingles with silly gags, fantasy swordplay, CG monsters, parodies of famous (in Hong Kong) TV commercials, teen romance, and fast-paced kung fu. The scattershot approach will alienate some, but the leads share a sparkling chemistry, whilst demonstrating individual strengths that enliven the film. Choi has a genuine flair for improvisational comedy (When Kazaf confesses he’s a vampire, an angry Helen bites his neck to see how he likes it), while Chung is a scrappy, little fighter and shows potential to develop some real acting chops. Their combined energy seems to have rubbed off on Ekin Cheng. Hitherto a bland leading man in the likes of Storm Riders (1998), he plays very well here and has since gone from strength to strength. Anthony Wong (as Kazaf’s vampire butler) is a waste of space as usual and Edison Chen – Hong Kong’s would-be answer to Leonardo Dicaprio – is pretty-boy bland as Kazaf. Watch out for a cameo from HK film expert/co-producer Bey Logan, as a pasty-faced vamp.

The sudden twist into tragedy redeems a lacklustre script, and is genuinely affecting thanks to solid performances from Choi, Chung, and Cheng. Donnie Yen’s fight choreography is sparse, but effective. Fortunately, he pulls out all the stops for Helen and Gipsy’s climactic battle against hordes of undead, which is rousing stuff. Gillian Chung steals the show here, with her pro-wrestling moves and a great moment where she spits her broken tooth in Duke Dekotes’ face and grins in gap-toothed defiance. However, it’s Charlene Choi’s wacky antics that provide the highlights in further Twins movies, none of which were a direct sequel to this one. Though this was the biggest HK hit of its year, Mainland Chinese authorities were so worried tourists would think there were real bloodsuckers on their streets, the vampire angle was dropped. That’s the Twins effect.
Reviewer: Andrew Pragasam

 

This review has been viewed 4560 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Mary Sibley
Enoch Sneed
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: