THREE and THREE…EXTREMES: Aptly Named Anthologies

THREE & THREE…EXTREMES (Blu-ray)

2002 & 2004 / 254 min (2 movies)

Arrow Video 

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Three…Extremes was released on this side of the pond in the early 2000s, and I was aware of its reputation. More specifically, I was aware that Takashi Miike was one of the directors of this horror anthology. For those unfamiliar, Miike’s prolific career includes Ichi the Killer, Audition and the nastiest episode of Showtime’s Master of Horror series. So nasty, if fact, that Showtime refused to air it, and after later catching it on DVD, I could see why.

He’s a good director, but the films I’ve seen (those above-mentioned titles) wallow in levels depravity and violence that are tough to endure…and I can generally endure a lot. But the violence isn’t just graphic. The context in which it’s inflicted is what makes it so brutal. So, tail between legs, I took a hard pass on Three…Extremes.

But here we are, 20 years later, and Arrow Video has put it out on Blu-ray, along with the first film, 2002’s Three. And guess what…I was today-years-old when I learned the film I was reluctant to watch two decades ago was a sequel. Actually, that might surprise a lot of people, since Three was only released in the U.S. (as Three…Extremes II) after Three…Extremes made waves here. Not that it matters, since they’re anthology films anyway.

Not knowing what to expect, I put on my big-boy pants and dug in, fully prepared to witness stuff I’ll never unsee…

But Three is a surprisingly subdued and deliberately-paced trio of stories by directors from Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong. In fact, the overall tone is similar to what we now might call ‘elevated horror.’ The first tale, “Memories,” features a man who appears concerned about his missing wife. Concurrently, she awakens in the middle of the street with no idea how she got there, then proceeds to make her way home. There are some effective scenes here and there, but most horror fans will see the twist ending coming from a mile away. “The Wheel” deals with a cursed marionette that wreaks havoc on the man who took it for himself after its original owners died. “Going Home,” is about a cop whose young son goes missing. While searching, he’s taken captive by his reclusive neighbor, who is trying to resurrect his dead wife. There’s more plot here than the story really needs, but it’s the best of the three, with an ironic twist and an intriguingly ambiguous denouement.

Overall, Three is longer than it needs to be, with directors Kim Jee-woon, Peter Chan and Nonzee Mimibutr all guilty of a little self-indulgence. But for the most part, it’s visually interesting, with an emphasis on atmosphere over scares and violent thrills. In fact, it’s damn near bloodless.

You won't find these at a food court.

Conversely, Three…Extremes is aptly named. “Dumplings” is Fruit Chan’s sick and twisted tale of a former actress desperate to stay young. She hires the services of a mysterious dumpling maker whose secret to eternal youth is pretty shocking (to say nothing of stomach churning, thanks to some repellant visuals and sound effects)…and the story is just getting started. In Park Chan-wook’s “Cut,” a film director and his wife are held captive and tortured by one of his former extras, who forces him to make some terrible decisions in order to save her. This one is brutal and bloody, marred by a somewhat silly ending. 

The biggest shock is saved for last, with Takashi Miike’s “Box.” But what’s shocking is that this one is not driven by violence and gore. In fact, it’s an exercise in surrealism about a young woman who has spent her life mourning the twin sister she accidentally killed when they were children. Haunting and atmospheric, this one may disappoint those accustomed to Miike’s more bloodthirsty work, but I really enjoyed the director’s emphasis on mood over logic. As the final story, however, it does end the Three…Extremes rather anti-climactically, at least compared to the visceral viciousness of the first two.

These six stories play more like individual films - complete with their own credits - than part of a whole, and the tone is mostly serious (sometimes almost melancholy). As horror anthologies go, they don’t quite deliver the sense of fun that a Creepshow episode might, but are certainly worth checking out, although Three…Extremes is definitely not for the squeamish. In addition to solid 2K restorations of both films, Arrow has included an good batch of new & archival bonus features. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

THREE

INTERVIEWS - New and archival individual interviews with “Memories” director Kim Jee-woon, “Memories” cinematographer Hong Kyoung-pyo, “Going Home” director Peter Ho-Sun Chan, “Going Home” actor Eugenia Tuan.

MAKING-OF FEATURETTE

TRAILER

THREE…EXTREMES

INTERVIEWS - New and archival individual interviews with producer Peter Ho-Sun Chan, “Box” director Takashi Miike, “Dumplings” director Fruit Chan, “Dumplings” actor Bai Ling.

MAKING-OF FEATURETTES - One for each film.

2 TRAILERS - Three…Extremes; feature length version of Dumplings.