The Siamese Twins

How long
90 minutes

Foreword
Alert! This is not the Thai movie. It is one of the horror films made in 1980s and is among the rare ones shot by a female director, Mak Leng Chi. It is a haunting tale that warns of what might happen when the wrong Siamese twins are separated. My neighbour borrowed it from the video store and our families watched it together. Please email me if there is any mistake as I watched it 10 over years ago.

Brief Story

Mrs Kei (Tien Nei) gives birth to Siamese twin girls – Bo Yee and Bui Yee. She has to separate the two. In order to save Bo Yee, she sacrifices Bui Yee. Dr Fong (Kwan Hoi San) is the doctor who does the operation. Since then, Bui Yee’s soul keeps harassing Mrs Kei to blame her for the mishap – even when she is bathing.

Mr Kei (Yue Wah) and Dr Fong think that this is only post natal blues to dismiss it. Whenever Mrs Kei faces Bo Yee, she feels guilty and becomes a chain smoker. The three do not let Bo Yee know that she has a twin. In the end, she sends her overseas to complete her university degree.

Bo Yee completes her studies and returns to Hong Kong with her lawyer boyfriend, Chi Kan (Tong Chung Chung). She has a nightmare on the plane, dreaming of a girl wanting her soul back. She is puzzled to have this dream from young. Their friends, Michael (Mak Tuck Lo) and May (Lee Din Long) receive them at the airport. They are a couple who love dancing and are outgoing. Yet the two couples get along well.

Mrs Kei is uneasy to meet Bo Yee again. Bo Yee feels distant from her and confides in Dr Fong. Dr Fong treats her like a daughter and consoles her. Soon, strange things start to happen. Bo Yee starts to have Bui Yee following her around. Chi Kan finds something amiss when Bo Yee is behaving strangely. Later, Bui Yee possess Bo Yee completely and she becomes as liberal as May.

Bui Yee starts to like Chi Kan and wants to have him. Although Mrs Kei begs Bui Yee to let Bo Yee off, she will not stop. Bui Yee is still sour over the adults causing her demise. When Mr Kei and Dr Fong are in a car, both have an accident and die on the spot. Bo Yee is the cause of it. Mrs Kei is grief-stricken and ends up being killed by a power failure. Bo Yee makes it looks like a suicide.

Bo Yee is shattered to lose her 3 close ones in a day. Mrs Kei tells her the truth before her death and she yells, asking why Bui Yee doesn’t seek revenge on her instead but to harm the others. Michael and May are concerned so they move in to stay with her to take care of her under Chi Kan’s request.

Chi Kan has wished to keep her company but he has a few court cases to settle and can’t get leave. He makes it a point to keep Bo Yee company when she comes to look for him at work or he will visit her after work. Seeing how Michael and May get intimate in the living room, Bui Yee gets curious to learn from them. She kills May first before seducing Michael in the kitchen.

She appears topless (However, due to the past standards, this is shot in the dark.) but Michael gets frightened instead after both kiss hotly as she has an evil look in her eyes. In her rage, she kills Michael. Then she waits for Chi Kan’s arrival. Chi Kan sees her drinking wine upon arrival. He has thought that she is sinking her sorrow in wine. But after some words of exchange, he knows immediately that she isn’t Bo Yee as she doesn’t know the moments that both have shared in the past.

Here comes the highlight of the film. He tries running away from her from a room to another but to no avail. He starts to lose his clothing piece by piece. Bui Yee simply overpowers him by knocking him out with a lamp. She throws him onto the bed and undresses him completely in haste. She also removes her own clothes and immediately sits on top of him. It is obvious what they do next so I shall not elaborate further.

When Chi Kan is awakened, he immediately gets a ghost catcher to come and appease Bui Yee’s soul. Bui Yee finally gets out of Bo Yee’s body. Chi Kan migrates with Bo Yee overseas as they intend to forget this sad past together.

Interesting facts

It was said that Yuk Lin did not have a double for the baring her back scene. The passionate bed scenes caused my neighbour and I to drop the potato chips that we were eating in shock. So were our other family members did not believe their eyes either. Was this really Siu Long Nui that we know?!

It was rumoured that Yuk Lin took up this role after her breakup with Chow Yun Fatt as she was too sad over it. She was only 24when she shot it and married a Chinese American businessman soon after this when there was no breakthrough in her acting career. Mak was a close friend to her after this film.

Conclusion

It was memorable as the real life married couple, Yue Wah and Tien Nei act as parents here. During that time, it caused waves but now, many would find it conservative. Still, I find the theme as daring as ‘Lust Caution’ to match up to its standard. However, the earthquake rocking part was what made a sweetie pie actress take up this challenging role?

Although it was Yuk Lin’s first daring attempt, she makes a striking impression as the surviving Bo Yee. From having everything, she loses everything overnight. She has to face her dark past to solve a dangerous present when all who know her die mysteriously. It is not easy to act 2 different roles and she is very natural. The supporting cast also do their best to make it as frightening as possible from their startled looks.

I will not categorise it as a Category 3 movie as the plot shows a meaningful purpose over Bo Yee’s change. Those who wish to see how she sheds her demure image should watch this movie. You will get to see a very different Yuk Lin that you will not see before.

Sukting’s ratings :

On acting : ***1/2 (Scale of 5)

On story : ***1/2 (Scale of 5)