Three Extremes

Three Extremes is a well-made horror anthology by three Asian directors who have already made their name in the industry. Let’s separate the review in three parts.

Box – Directed by Takashi Miike
Dumplings – Directed by Fruit Chan
Cut – Directed by Park Chan-wook

Box — Directed by Takashi Miike

This tale was about the two sisters, Kyoko and Shoko, both trying to gain their mentor’s favor. Based on what was shown so far, the teacher is a pedophile, and the two minor sisters are in loved with him. The plot was, the other sister, Kyoko, was jealous of Shoko who got praised by the mentor first. She ended up accidentally killing her.
This was a treat to see, its very mystical and gives off that Cirque du Soleil-vibe. With an enchanting carnival-esque vibe, it takes the audience to a visual and audio treat. The storytelling was confusing at first, but as the story unfolds, everything falls into place. The music was eerie, yet you’d want to hear more of it. Loved every minute of it. A good intro tale into the Three Extremes anthology.

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Dumplings — Directed by Fruit Chan

This was the least scary but a pinnacle of gastronomic horror. A tale about a former gynecologist (played by Bai-Ling, who voiced the English version of Mui in Shaolin Soccer) who performed abortions, now offers her miraculous age-defying dumplings, the secret ingredient? You guessed it, fetuses. The effects were mediocre but it was enough to convey what was happening. The fetuses shown looked like gummy bears, it was funny but with a little imaginations it makes for a tasteful horror short. In the end, the supposed “chef” was able to escape to do her business elsewhere, appearing like a street food vendor. It was a treat to see gastronomic horror added in Three Extremes.

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Cut — Directed by Park Chan-Wook

The third film in Three Extremes is like something that came out of the Saw franchise. Starring Lee-Byung hun, the tale is about an extra who kidnaps his director who was rich and a genuinely good man, and this pissed the extra off because he thought it was unfair. He tied the wife of the director, a pianist, onto her piano, using many sharp strings, sort of like a puppet. The extra proceeds to chop the wife’s fingers off one by one until the Director confesses or does something unforgivable. The Director decides to strangle the little girl the extra brought in, tied onto the sofa. The wig of the little girl falls of and reveals that it was the extra’s son, which the extra had a hard time killing after killing his own wife. So he decides to let the Director kill the boy for him. In the end, the Extra slips off the bloody ring and got entangled within the sharp strings beside the wife, the wife saw the opportunity and bit the neck of the Extra, eventually killing him. The Director, traumatized and delusional, strangled his wife, thinking it was the little boy and that the extra was still alive. He ends up killing her.

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The “Dumplings” was expanded and made into a full length feature film titled “Dumplings (2004)” also directed by Fruit Chan. The endings do differ.

Conclusion

Three Extremes is a highly recommended horror anthology, we never see any of these things being made today, at least not at this caliber. It is so much worth your time because it will give you an idea of what these three known Asian directors would bring to the table. It may also open up your options in watching horror films. There was another anthology that came out a couple of years earlier entitled “Three” also directed by three known directors from East-Asian countries.