5
(supernatural undead)
6
(violence)
5
(see once)
The Vampire Effect is also known as the "Twins Effect." Normally I hate it when studios change the title of a movie for English release (this is a Chinese made movie) because it makes trying to figure out what’s what more confusing (the movie previously titled “Fist of Fury” in English was actually “The Big Boss,” for example) at least for those of us that like keeping up with the elements of the original works. In this case I think it’s an improvement.
I had no idea that the female leads in this are known as “Twins,” a Chinese pop music group until I looked it up for purposes of this review, so the connection to the title was lost on me and likely anyone else who doesn't keep up with teen pop duos from Hong Kong. Why name the movie after the band the actors are in when the movie has nothing to do with the group? It’s an odd way to come up with a title.
What the movie deals with is vampire hunting. It’s not unlike Blade in concept although the style is a lot different. The initial premise is that a group of humans is dedicated to hunting vampires. They drink vampire blood to give them an edge in battle (the whole thing about vampires having enhanced strength and whatnot) and must take the antidote within a short time to control the effects.
The focus is on one particular guy, Reeve, who is revered as the best vampire slayer around. He can’t seem to keep a partner, though. That’s when Gypsy shows up. She’s a beautiful, young, up-and-coming hunter who has a crush on Reeve. She’s wanting to prove herself to him while he wants to fight alone.
Helen is Reeve’s sister. She and Gypsy (the girls known as the Twins I mentioned earlier) don’t get along. Helen has fallen for a member of the vampire royalty though she doesn’t realize what he is, of course. I don’t think Reeve is going to be very happy about that, do you? Kasaf is different from other vampires, though. He doesn’t attack humans, not even if he gets sick from lack of blood.
The villain of the story is the big, bad vampire Dekotes. He’s after Kasaf because killing the royal vampires allows him to increase his powers. What’s it going to take to stop this guy? Can Reeve and Kasaf team up to stop the killer? If the girls can stop fighting between themselves long enough maybe they could help.
The plot is a little more complex than I expected. Not that it’s tremendously deep or anything, but it does have several different things going on and not all of them turn out like I expected. For the most part this is a silly, fun movie, but occasionally there are more emotional moments. I think some of the emotion is out of place with the lightheartedness of the rest of the mood, but it still works to keep the story a little more interesting.
As much as this is a vampire movie it is a Kung Fu flick. With Jackie Chan behind the wheel it’s no surprise that this has a great number of intricately choreographed fight scenes. While it doesn’t hurt that two of the main fighters are good-looking girls (well for us that enjoy having good-looking girls on screen) not all of the fighting is impressive, Jackie Chan or not. Some of it is great, though. I thoroughly enjoyed the big fight between the Twins. (Do I need to mention again that they’re very pretty? Sorry for the bias. That’s not the only reason the fight is good, though.) However, the final fight more than any other looks too staged. It’s not even the wire-work that bothers me though I dislike that style; at least there is an establishment of the types of moves they do in that they are superhuman. It’s just that when one person hits another it often doesn’t feel like they are really connecting or like they can’t really do the moves they are pulling off. Even the pretty girls can’t save this one.
Going back to Jackie, he gets some screen time. At first it looks like it’s just going to be a simple cameo, but no, he gets some action later on that is one of the highlights of the movie. As a collector of Jackie Chan movies this makes all the difference in liking this movie and wanting to own it. It’s certainly not his greatest fight scene, but as a fan of his work I enjoyed it a great deal. I’m a little surprised this isn’t pushed more as a Jackie Chan movie. Maybe it is or will be in some marketing campaigns.
Morality
There is a lot of fighting with people, mostly vampires, dying. I don’t think it’s nearly so extreme as to warrant an R rating. This is a far, far cry from the type of violence you would see in a movie like Kill Bill.
I don’t recall hearing (well reading to be technical about it since I was using original audio and subtitles) any strong language. If there was any it was very minor.
There is, at most, some mild sensuality, no sex or nudity whatsoever.
The bottom line is that this movie is a lot tamer than the typical American action movie. I suppose some of the vampires may be too much for youngsters, but it’s not that bad.
Spirituality
It's possible to draw a parallel between the vampire's need for blood and sin. It's not a perfect allegory, but it works on some levels. You have two vampires, both need blood but while one gives into the need the other resists it.
We all have a sinful nature. We've all fallen short of God's perfection, but while some of us resist the sin nature others embrace it as part of who they are. If we say we are without sin the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). The answer for some is to justify their actions. If the wrong they do is not an affront to any god or if the ends justify the means then there is no need for examination of an action or lifestyle to judge if it is right or wrong.
It is the nature of the vampire to need blood. As we see, the lack of blood makes them sick. So is it truly evil for Dekotes to feed or not? I guess it depends on where you place the importance. Is his “right” to feed greater than the humans' “right” to exist?
Final Thoughts
This is a fun movie but far from spectacular. If you want a more teen-friendly Blade or want to see some Jackie Chan action check it out, but this isn’t anything to put on your priority list.
Buying Guide
To get the best version of "The Vampire Effect" (which I saw under the title “The Twins Effect”) you're going to need to look at getting an import although you will be able to find a Region 1 DVD if you prefer to purchase domestically.
You have 2 DVD options but no HD release at this time. Sony has a region 1 disc out under the English title. The “Twins Effect” import is a 2 disc DVD.
Sony's “Vampire Effect” offers 1.85 widescreen with 5.1 Dolby surround sound. I couldn't find any reviews commenting on the quality of the presentation. It doesn't appear to include any extras. The US version is said to omit or rearrange so many scenes that the story becomes a jumbled mess, however this release lists a 107 minute runtime which matches the length of the original cut.
Final Recommendation:
You may want to go with the Sony release to play it safe, but if you're careful you can grab up imported DVD's like the “Twins Effect” edition with no issues. You'll get some extras with the 2-disc import though the lack of any English translation for some of them hurts the appeal.
The “Twins Effect” DVD import is a 2 disc release. I must note that this was borrowed and therefore my notes won't be as thorough as I normally try to be.
Video
widescreen:
I couldn't find a listing of the exact ratio. The video quality is average. I was neither impressed nor disappointed.
Audio
5.1 Dolby & DTS:
The audio is clear and strong.
Packaging
The case is standard plastic.
The menus feature some fun animation, sound effects, and music.
You’re going to have to sit through some lengthy warnings and logos when you put in either disc. No skipping allowed past these.
This is definitely not the US cut of the film.
It's in an “all regions” format, but I had no issues playing it on my American entertainment system.
There is no English audio track, only subtitles.
Extras
-Disc 2 extras unfortunately include some things that those of us that only know English won’t be able to fully enjoy. There’s a behind the scenes feature that’s a little over 15 minutes long. It has some fun moments of filming fight scenes, flubs, and music recording, but there is no English audio track or subtitles.
-There are flimographies for 5 actors. Surprisingly Jackie Chan is not one of them. Most of these are only a page or 2 long.
-There are 3 trailers. These include English subtitles. Getting returned to the main menu at the end of each one is a bit annoying. You have to return to the trailers menu each time to see them all. There are also 6 preview trailers. Some of these have English translations, some don’t.
-Lastly is a photo gallery. It has a few headshots and few images from the movie. It’s not anything spectacular.