Rating: 
Summary: *sigh* Another butchered American edit...
Review: Okay, first things first: Jackie Chan is a "Special Guest Star," but in American, 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.
Rating: 
Summary: cute and stupid, but fun
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: A Light, Fluffy Movie
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Campy action with a blend of comedy, romance, and macabre
Review: The Vampire Effect, also called The Twins Effect, is a fun, slightly campy, Buffyesque vampire/martial arts flick from Hong Kong that has a distinct bubble-gum flavor.
As an example of Hong Kong cinema, there is a balanced blend of action, comedy, and romance that comes across more innocent than that we would find in the American films. If you have experienced the many action comedies to come out of Hong Kong, you won't be too surprised. This is a genuinely cute and thoroughly enjoyable film that reminded me a lot of Jackie Chan's films. Please note, however, that despite the billing, The Vampire Effect is not a Jackie Chan film. Chan's role in the film is as a supporting character, making slightly more than a cameo appearance. Of course, in usual Chan style, Jackie plays a charismatic and reluctantly heroic everyman named Jackie performing dangerous stunts and trying to avoid pissing off his lady.
The special effects are minimal, yet effective, and remind me of Jackie Chan's most recent American release The Medallion. As a matter of fact, the dramatic tension in that film matches this one. This is not a scary horror movie, and is certainly incapable of causing nightmares; nor is The Vampire Effect a gory film. Although this is a martial arts film, one shouldn't expect to find a non-stop fast-paced fists of fury action flick here. There isn't one.
Since The Vampire Effect is a film about vampires and vampire hunting, I would be remisce if I didn't discuss this film in terms of the genre. At its base, The Vampire Effect is modern vampire story that features an arch villain in search of an ancient tome that will enable him to walk in daylight (and presumingly do more). His only opposition comes from a pair of professional vampire hunters, members of a secret organization called The Federation. There is no backstory to the Federation. In this sense, The Vampire Effect may remind genre fans of Japanese anime titles like Vampire Hunter D.
In truth, the fact that the premise centers around vampires isn't all that important. The villains could have easily been replaced by a crime syndicate. This shows that the film's real story isn't too dependent on vampiric themes.
The Vampire Effect shows its cutesy romantic boy-meets-girl side when a young vampire prince falls in love with the sister of one of the vampire hunters. The film developments into a story about their awkward (and fun) courtship. Most of the film's comedy comes from this side story. There is plenty of well-choreographed martial arts action however that speaks of Jackie Chan's influence. This film borrows elements from a couple of popular vampire franchises. In terms of special effects alone, the influence of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer and Blade in the way vampires are depicted and slain is apparent.
What is missing is the mordbid darkness and violence found in Blade, Underworld, and latter seasons of Buffy. Considering the direction of this movie, this is actually for the best. The Vampire Effect doesn't intend to be a violent gore-fest, nor an emotional drama. The romantic overtones in the movie will not remind fans of the Dracula films; but not to worry, the bubble-gum campiness of The Vampire Effect will not remind viewers of Once Bitten.
My only real complaint is that there is some inconsistencies in the appearance of vampires based on whether they are evil or at least neutral. With memorable lines like "You shouldn't fall in love with food." I don't think I'm ready to call the other vampires good. While the CGI effects were good, the vampire teeth often looked like bad overbites instead of the fearful demonic teeth of Nosferatu.
The American release emphasizes the appearance of Jackie Chan in the movie. This is unfortunate as it only shows how hard it is to push a foriegn film here without putting a big name on the box cover. I should stress the fact that that Jackie Chan plays only a supporting role here. Fans of Jackie Chan's acting and choreography will still enjoy his contribution to this film however.
I really enjoyed The Vampire Effect. It is not thought-provoking or particularly memorable, but it is fun and engaging. I would feel comfortable watching this film in the presence of sensitive viewers, and I believe this film offers a little something for everyone.
My three-star rating is based on the quality and features of the DVD rather than the film's quality itself.
The DVD packaging may still say that the English track is 5.1. This is in debate, as some DVD review sites have pointed out that the English audio track is actually in 2.0. There is a 5.1 Cantonese language audio track. The English dubbing is good - about what is expected, but I thought the vampires' grunts and growls could have been more menacing.
The film is presented in crisp and clear Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 format. The quality of the compression remains constant even in frequent scenes film under low light. Extras are limited to trailers for other related films such as The Medallion, Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters, and Underworld. Basically, there is little else but the movie on this disc, but at least the movie's audio and video are high quality.
The two female actresses in this film are well known pop music stars known as Twins. I am surprised then that there isn't a featurette mentioning them, or at least a music video or two.
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