[KFCC] Three: Extreme Review

Story: Three stories of terror from Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

BOX - As a child, Kyoko (Kyoko Hasegawa) performed in a circus act with her sister and her stepfather (Atsuro Watabe). But after being deeply affected by her stepfathers’ favoritism towards her sister, Kyoko explodes in a fit of jealousy, ultimately leading to a tragic event that can never be forgotten. Now a young writer, Kyoko is forced to continuously contemplate her past until it finally comes back to haunt her.

DUMPLINGS - Mrs. Lee (Miriam Yeung) is feeling down and out. It’s hard getting older and she is finding that out the hard way. Desperate to try any method to reverse her aging effects and once again become beautiful to Mr. Lee (Tony Leung Ka Fei), Mrs. Lee seeks out Mei (Bail Ling), who claims her special dumplings have magical effects. But is Mrs. Lee prepared to find out what the main ingredient of Mei’s dough-wrapped delicacies is?

CUT – A director (Lee Byung Hun) who seems to have it all is forced to appreciate the value of his surroundings after he and his wife (Gang Hye Jung) are taken captive and tortured by an old face from his past. With no one to help, the young auteur can only rely on himself to escape his horrifying dilemma in one piece.

Review: If you have seen the original THREE from 2002, you have a basic idea of what to expect with THREE… EXTREMES (A.K.A. THREE 2). You know that the film is composed of three shorts, each one made by different crews from different countries, all tied together only by theme. But the similarities stop there. Thanks to a group of all-star directors, THREE… EXTREMES is a complete upgrade from the sub-par, original film. Let’s just say that having “extremes” placed in the title is a complete understatement.

First up we have Takashi Miike’s BOX, which may be the least best of the three shorts. That doesn’t mean that the film isn’t good or anything like that, just that it wasn’t as good as the other two. BOX conjures up a disturbing story of jealousy and rage that takes equal parts from AUDITION and GOZU to develop a truly eerie and unsettling story with a certain subtle magnitude that hits you slowly but surely. Director Takashi Miike succeeds in creating a surreal atmosphere that challenges the viewer to keep his own dark curiosities at bay.

Kyoko Hasegawa (STAR STRUCK) takes the lead role as Kyoko (hmm…original), but seems to fail to bring anything special into the dismal and haunted character. Hasegawa was the only actor in all three films that I wasn’t completely satisfied with. She just didn’t do anything for me. BOX also stars Atsuro Watabe (HEAT AFTER DARK) in a role where he doesn’t get to really excel, as he has been able to in his past films. To be more understanding though, it must have been quite difficult for the actors to create these unusual, yet believable, characters. Especially without so much as even a typical amount of dialogue. Instead they were forced to utilize the extreme situations that happen throughout the film to sell the validity of the characters. Not an easy task with a film as surreal as this.

The second film in THREE… EXTREMES is Fruit Chan’s DUMPLINGS. Keep in mind that I had the opportunity to view the director’s cut of DUMPLINGS before the release of the shorter version included in THREE… EXTREMES. It is a difficult task to compare the two, because naturally you will feel that many important things were left out. But you can’t go into the movie feeling this way. It isn’t fair since DUMPLINGS was not originally meant to be a ninety-minute film, but rather a much shorter one.

What happens when you throw Bai Ling into a Fruit Chan (HOLLYWOOD HONG KONG) film, photographed by the great Christopher Doyle (AWAY WITH WORDS)? You get one hell of a cinematic experience, that’s what! DUMPLINGS is the most disturbing and horrific installment to the film…easily. It’s extremely potent and out does the likes of similar masterpieces like UNTOLD STORY. The haunting score by Chan Kwong-Wing was also a fantastic addition to the already mortifying film.

Apparently they saved the best for last. Park Chan Wook (OLDBOY) once again displays his unmatchable expertise with CUT, a film that he both wrote and directed. CUT shakes, rattles and rolls a successful director and his wife to the brink of insanity in this forty-five minute short that was definitely the best film of the three. Coming across almost satirical and comedic, CUT manages to shock its viewers will both laughter and fright. A task rarely attempted in film due to its tremendous difficulty.

The amazing camerawork and lighting deserve much of the credit for the success of CUT. So many scenes were exceptionally powerful because of these two things alone. The cast should not go unnoticed either. Lee Byung Hun (ADDICTED) excelled with his portrayal of the director who is terrorized by Lim Won Hee (NO COMMENT). These two big dogs were accompanied by the young and beautiful, Gang Hye Jung (OLDBOY), whose screams of terror echo in the very depths of your soul. CUT is truly a remarkable excerpt to this terrifying series.

Three of the most talented directors in Asia were more than successful with each of their respected installments to THREE… EXTREMES. Unlike the original THREE, each of the films were based on terror found within the individual and not your usual ghostly horror, thus creating more believable and frightening subject matter. We all know there are some sick individuals out there, so we all know that this kind of stuff happens or at least could. Thanks to this theme, it was inevitable that THREE… EXTREMES would succeed its predecessor with ease, regardless of the superhuman talents behind each film. One can only look forward to THREE 3!