In Hollywood, Wesley Snipes may be the top dog when it comes to slaying vampires with martial arts moves, but in Hong Kong the title is shared by two frisky young actresses, also hugely popular Cantopop singers known as the Twins. They have earned it after starring together in Twins Effect, a knockout vampire actioner with something for everyone including the most polished action choreography yet seen from Donnie Yen, quirky romance and comedy, and lightweight, yet enjoyable performances from an A-list supporting cast that includes Anthony Wong, Jackie Chan, and Karen Mok. The film is uneven in places and adds little to the vampire myth, but pulls through with an energy representing the best of Hong Kong cinema and a polish to match Hollywood.

Although not new to acting, the adorable and petite Twins duo made up of Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung step into action heroine roles for the first time and perform well along with their fellow non-martial arts co-stars including Ekin Cheng and Josie Ho. Interestingly, almost all of the stars in this film are just as well known for, if not more popular as a result of their singing careers in Hong Kong. The Twins, Ekin Cheng, Josie Ho, Edison Chan, Karen Mok, and even Jackie Chan share in this distinction. Its a wonder and a blessing that someone failed to throw in a musical number with all of this talent, although Chan does join the Twins in singing the film’s bubbly title track. As a side note, it’s always been a frustration to hear seemingly generic Cantopop like this attached to Hong Kong films. Perhaps it’s a cultural thing, but these songs never seem to match a scene or evoke the correct mood, much as Alan Parsons’ synthesizers laid over the medieval-themed Ladyhawke failed to enhance the feel of a Middle Age fantasy.

The story of Twins Effect is standard and even a little flakey material for a vampire film and wouldn’t work nearly as well if not for the combination of quality martial arts and charismatic acting. Ekin Cheng is a hotshot vampire hunter employed by some undefined organization whose mission is ridding the world of bothersome bloodsuckers. Ekin and his old partner (Josie Ho) confront a mob of vampires led by one particularly nasty Caucasian vamp as played by Mickey Hardt in a train depot. This edgy and adrenaline-charged opening battle sets the viewer up for non-stop action, but the film quickly settles back into a slightly more subdued mode that thins the plot into a series of mostly comical scenes where love blossoms, friendly rivalries play out, extended cameos take over, and where vampires with accessorized coffins extol on the virtues of adapting to the 21st century. A fair amount of vampire action is mixed in along the way, but doesn’t hit full steam again until our heroes confront Mickey and his brood for the big showdown.

Twins Effect has the feel of being divided in it’s direction between the action and dramatic scenes. Not surprisingly, it is credited as being directed by Dante Lam with co-direction and action direction by Donnie Yen. With the exception of a tryst between the Twins, most of the action sequences are edgy and they all clearly have Donnie’s stamp all over them. Unlike some of his more aggressively unrestrained work in films like Legend of the Wolf, Donnie’s direction here is matured with more control and emphasis on creativity. For instance, both Ekin’s ability to temporarily possess the strength of a vampire and his weapon of choice being an advanced retractable sword and grappling line in one provide for nifty CGI and wire-enhanced action sequences. But the actual combat goes beyond simple swordplay and extreme CGI elements seen in Blade II to incorporate a mix of realistic and performance-based techniques including grappling and poles. Better still, the movements of the actors seem natural and the camera captures them with a healthy blending of dramatic money shots and longer takes. This film shows Donnie to be at a point where he is refining his existing style to near-perfection while continuing to innovate within the constraints of his projects.

The Twins handle themselves well in the action sequences with highlights that include their pole-sparring session and Gillian Chung’s final assault against Mickey, but their onscreen charms also help to keep a series of romantic entanglements, as directed by Dante Lam, from becoming tedious. The story pairs Ekin up with Gillian and they must confront the unpleasant aftereffects of injecting vampire blood to gain temporary super strength. Meanwhile, an ornery Charlene is dumped by a boyfriend, then wooed by a virtuous vampire prince as played by Edison Chen, and goes through all of the predictable scenes of Edison trying to hide his true identity. While not crucial to these scenes, Anthony Wong enlivens them with a quirky performance as Edison’s faithful attendant who tries to keep up with his master’s progressive ideas. Other fun, yet completely frivolous roles are filled by Jackie Chan as an EMT and his wife as played by Karen Mok. The only real fun to be had from their wedding reception scene where the two seemingly adlib a lot of clowning around is reserved for Hong Kong film fans content to see their favorite stars doing anything onscreen. Jackie returns briefly to join Charlene and Edison as they run from vampires in an ambulance. He busts out a few comedic moves under Donnie’s direction, but leaves the good stuff to the main stars. As another side note, this is one of the only horror-themed films Jackie has ever appeared in with Spiritual Kung Fu (1978) being the only other notable example.

As a horror film dealing with vampires, Twins Effect doesn’t score many points. On this issue, the film will feel much like a rehash of the Blade franchise with mildly gory action offered in place of chills. As lead villain, Mickey Hardt is imposing to look at, but his character isn’t central to the bulk of the film which meanders a lot. Mickey’s brood of faceless vampire cronies are simply fodder to be brushed away, but I am happy to see our friend, screenwriter and producer Bey Logan barring his teeth in one of these roles. As a vampire with a heart, Edison Chen is pretty lifeless in every way. Wong picks up some of the slack, with his best routine is relegated to the end credits. It almost goes without saying that old school fans can expect to see no hopping corpses or anything resembling the traditional image of Chinese vampires. This is a very Western Chinese film that appears carefully engineered to entice the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans, who in turn should be quite happy with the results.

Twins Effect is the kind of film that is more entertaining that it deserves to be. It’s a big budget beast (by Hong Kong standards) with all of the frivolous bells and whistles, populated by actors more comfortable singing than performing martial arts, features dimwitted dialogue, and a weak story that loses focus. But Donnie Yen’s fight scenes are first rate and most of the lead actors hold the rest of the film together with engaging performances. As a result, the film makes for a very solid popcorn movie.

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