Three...Extremes

Name: Saam Gaang Yi,
Three...Extremes

Director: Fruit Chan (Dumplings), Takashi Miike (Box), Chan-wook Park (Cut)

Release Date: August 20, 2004

Tagline: From the Nightmares of three horror masters

Introduction:
This is a wonderful omnibus of films from three different regions of Asia: Japan, China, and Korea. All three are fairly well established directors (Fruit Chan became known for Made in Hong Kong, Chan-wook Park directed the (in)famous Revenge Trilogy, which YOU SHOULD SEE and I will be reviewing them in the future, and need I even say anything about Takashi Miike--besides f*ed up perv, that is ^_~). Three...Extremes was supposed to be a sequel to Three, but because of Three...Extremes' much greater popularity, Three was later re-released under the title of Three...Extremes II. I will include a short description of Three...Extremes II along with the online video at the end of this review.

Synopsis:
Dumplings (Chan): Mrs. Li is a middle-aged former starlet bent on regaining her former youth and beauty. In order to do so, she goes to Mei, a ex-doctor turned "exotic" cook, to sample her rejuvenating dumpling recipe. Just what are in these miracle dumplings, and exactly how old is Mei?

Cut (Park): A director of horror movies has been captured by one of his deranged extras. This extra has also captured his wife, and in order for the director to save her life (and her fingers), he must play the sadistic game that this maniac has set up for him.

Box (Miike): Kyoko dreams of the days she was with her twin sister. When they were ten, they would perform together in a strange ballet act involving boxes and a very strange man. However, she cannot seem to separate dream from memory, and is continually haunted by tragic events of the past.

Review:
I absolutely loved this movie. I would say that "Dumplings" was probably my favorite because it's a different style of horror than I'm used to. The movie was not so much scary as it was twisted. Just what would you do to achieve beauty and longevity? Also, the atmospheric feel of the movie just really draws me. On the other, "Cut" was all too familiar. If you've seen Saw, you've basically seen the premise of "Cut," though it has a bit of 13 Beloved thrown in there(which I would also suggest that you watch, because I'm watching it as soon as I can find it!!). All three movies are definitely more visually appealing though. Colors are gorgeous and some of the images played across the screen (not to mention the crunching noises...) are a twisted orgasm for the eyes. I would say that "Box" was downright confusing. In my opinion, it was probably the scariest, and the storyline is mostly coherent, but the end just sort of throws it all out the window. I was enjoyable though, so I would suggest it!

All in all, Three...Extremes was a great movie and definitely worth your time. I would say that it's a fairly good intro to Asian horror, besides your usual Ringu and Ju-on movies. I would say that these directors tried to be more original. Check it out!

Ratings:
Entertainment: 9
Scares: 7.5 (more twisted and disturbing than scary, though)
Gore: 6 ("Cut" and some of "Dumplings" ...yummy...)

Go watch it, fool!

Video:

Veoh hates me, but I found them on Crunchyroll. Sorry for the inferior quality :(
Three...Extremes
Sequels:
I said that I would write a segment on Three...Extremes II and here it is! This movie was actually made before Three...Extremes and was originally titled Three, but as I mentioned in the introduction, it wasn't nearly as successful, so it was renamed and reintroduced after Three...Extremes.

The segments are pretty good, with the exception of the middle one from Thailand that even I couldn't watch, However, the one from South Korea called "Memories" and the one from China called "Going Home" are actually quite lovely, especially the latter. Once again, keep in mind that these are independent film makers, so the stories aren't as mainstream as most horror films you would find in movie theaters. Nevertheless, I would suggest this movie for one of those relaxing days at home when you want to be more stimulated. Of course, I will include a link to the Veoh video (NOTE: download the VeohTV player; it's actually pretty useful). Enjoy!

Also, there is an extended version of "Dumplings," which I will include at the end of this post. It's a little different plot-wise, but the general feel and message are the same.
Veoh is being mean and took down all of these videos as well, so here's the link from crunchyroll:
Dumplings

I can't find Three..., but I'll put it up when I can, promise!!