''The Twins Effect'', also known as ''Vampire Effect'' in the United States, is a 2003 Hong Kong martial arts comedy-horror film directed by Dante Lam and Donnie Yen. The film was derived from Cantopop group Twins, starring both members Charlene Choi and

Gillian Chung Gillian Chung Ka-lai (born Chung Tik-shan, 21 January 1981), known by her stage name Chung Yan-tung, is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is a member of the Cantopop duo Twins, along with Charlene Choi. Early life Chung was born in Hong Kong ...

in the leading roles. Co-stars include Edison Chen and Ekin Cheng. Jackie Chan makes a cameo appearance as an ambulance driver. Released on 8 March 2003, ''The Twins Effect'' was a box-office success in Hong Kong, became the highest-grossing domestic film of the year. The film gained huge popularity, mainly from fans of the Cantopop group Twins.

Plot

An evil vampire duke seeks to kill and collect the blood of a royal family of European vampires in order to become all powerful. The last surviving member of the family, Prince Kazaf, flees to Hong Kong with his servant Prada. There, they are introduced by estate agent Momoko to live in an abandoned church. Vampire hunter Reeve is depressed after his partner Lila is killed by vampires. He decides to train Lila's younger sister, Gypsy, to inherit her sister's duty and fight the vampire duke. However, Reeve's own sister, Helen, sees Gypsy as a rival. At the same time, Kazaf meets Helen and falls in love with her, after which he intends to lead the life of a human being, but he is tracked down by the duke. Helen helps Kazaf and lets him hide in her home, where they are later discovered by Gypsy. Meanwhile, Reeve falls into the duke's trap while hunting vampires. Helen and Gypsy team up to save him.

Cast

* Charlene Choi as Helen *

as Gypsy * Ekin Cheng as Reeve * Edison Chen as Kazaf * Anthony Wong as Prada * Mandy Chiang as Momoko *

Josie Ho Josephine "Josie" Ho Chiu-yi (; born 26 December 1974) is a singer and actress from Hong Kong. She is the daughter of the Macao casino magnate Stanley Ho. Acting career She has played many roles, including portraying the parts of prostitutes, whi ...

as Lila *

Maggie Lau Maggie Lau () is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She starred in ''New Police Story'', ''The Twins Effect'' and also had a small acting part in '' The Myth'' alongside Jackie Chan and Korean actress, Kim Hee-sun. She has had a minor musical care ...

as Nurse Maggie * Jackie Chan as Jackie Fong, the ambulance driver ( cameo appearance) * Karen Mok as Ivy * Chapman To as Ken * Mickey Hardt as Duke Dekotes * Cheung Tat-ming as Jackie's friend *Ricardo Mamood as Ethan *Winnie Leung as Deborah *Digger Mesch as Vampire Thomas *Marky Lee Campbell as Vampire Boz *

Mark Strange Mark Jeremy Strange (born 2 November 1961) is a British Anglican bishop. He is the current Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness in the Scottish Episcopal Church. He is the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, having been elected at an Epis ...

as Vampire Smashing *Philip Chen as Vampire Lebrow *Daniel Whyte as Vampire Ice *Simon Robida as Vampire Zoolander *Daniel O'Neill as Vampire Dan *Bey Logan as Vampire John *Robert Meister as Vampire Elron *Michael Clements as Vampire Nobals * Don Ferguson as Vampire Train * Philip Ng as Ambulance Vampire (uncredited) *Matthew Sturgess as Vampire Food (uncredited) * Spencer Lam as Jackie's father *Matt Chow as Matt * Yumiko Cheng as a wedding guest *Victy Wong as a wedding guest *Ho Wai-yip as a wedding guest *Yeung Yung-lin as a wedding guest

Alternate version

After its release in Hong Kong, the film was renamed to ''Vampire Effect'' and some sequences were slightly altered. The new version was released in the United States in DVD as well. The following are some differences between ''Vampire Effect'' and ''The Twins Effect'': *Several scenes and timelines in the opening sequence are altered *Some scenes' editing are different *Some dialogues were modified *About 20 minutes of footage were cut from the original film, but some new scenes were added *The new film length is shorter than the original version (88 minutes for ''Vampire Effect'') *Some film scores / music / instrumentals differ from the original version (different composer)

Release

''The Twins Effect'' was released in Hong Kong on 8 March 2003. In the Philippines, the film was released on 21 January 2004.

Home media

There are five versions of DVD, along with VCD, released in Hong Kong: *DAY FOR NIGHT Limited Edition (Limited 3000 sets. 2 DVDs come with Special Packaging, Vampire Slayer's sword, 4 autograph photos and individual printed code on the cover sleeve) *DAY FOR NIGHT Limited Edition - 2nd Edition (2 DVDs comes with Bronze colour Special Packaging, Bronze colour Vampire Slayer's sword, and 4 autograph postcards) *First Press 2 DVDs with Metallic / Silver Cardboard Slipcase *Second Press 2 DVDs with Cardboard Slipcase and altered disc print *Standard DVD (no slipcase) *First Press VCD with Metallic / Silver Cardboard Slipcase *Second Press / standard VCD with Cardboard Slipcase

Accolades

References

External links

*
''The Twins Effect''
at the Hong Kong Movie Database * *
''The Twins Effect'' official Hong Kong website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twins Effect, The 2003 films 2003 martial arts films 2000s comedy horror films 2000s martial arts comedy films 2000s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Dante Lam Hong Kong comedy horror films Hong Kong martial arts comedy films Kung fu films Martial arts horror films Vampires in film 2000s Hong Kong films