Three Extremes brought together three legendary directors in a field of Asian cinema with horror themed tales that were more shorts that full-length. It was really the Asian answer to The Masters of Horror series, though the television show has seen Japanese director’s at the helm of some of their tales. Three Extremes however doesn’t end with one movie but yet another; Three Extremes II which again finds names that you may know, others you may not, together in one collection.

From Ji-woon Kim, director of A Tale of Two Sisters come Memories. A man (Bo-seok Jeong) is having vague memories of his wife (Hye-su Kim) who hasn’t come home. As he tries to put things together, his wife tries to work her way home as the clues finally reveal what has happened and she isn’t “missing” as he has been claiming.

It’s really the editing in Kim’s short that keep it from being an absolutely boring film. He loves to do jump cuts amidst his often lengthy still shots. He does have a good eye however and really can paint a fantastic visual picture with a scene that looks like it’s nothing more than a still shot, and at times they are as the camera slowly pans across an actor laying still. I don’t feel though that this short has much of a horror element, though Kim throws in a few rather odd scenes. Memories is also very short on dialog, relying more on visuals to tell its story, and while it works and is an excellent example of how to perfectly tell a story using editing techniques, I fear that some will find themselves a bit bored with the approach.

Thai director Nonzee Nimibutr is credited with The Eye 2, Nang nak, and Jan Dara, though he isn’t an Asian director who I would say has made a name for himself just yet. Nimibutr brings us The Wheel, a tale of cursed puppets. When a villages puppet master passes on, his creations pass into the hands of another, but his overzealousness to pick up the craft may prove to be the undoing of the entire village.

So far, I really haven’t been overly impressed with the horror that I’ve seen from Thailand, and the same is true of The Wheel. First, it is a very Thai film with references to different art forms found in the country. While the introduction to the film gives us a little detail, I feel that not being fully immersed in the culture is really the downfall to Western audiences being able to fully enjoy the film. Nimibutr has a few shots that are great to look at, but The Wheel is really more of a short that requires a great deal of patience to watch. This may have worked well for Thai audiences, but Nimibutr really needs to work more on pacing and presenting ideas and aspects that draw in the viewer, and although this can be done with a number of the elaborate settings, but that doesn’t help the film. The horror aspect, much like Memories, seems to be a secondary thought.

Finally there is Going Home, a tale from director Peter Chan. A police officer and his young son have moved into an apartment complex that is virtually abandoned. The boy has become frightening of going outside, but eh little girl who seems to instill fear in him soon become a new playmate and the two disappear. The only person who may know what has happened is a lone neighbor and the officer soon finds himself prisoner as his strange neighbor tries to revive his dead wife.

Chan’s short is another where it is easy to appreciate some of the visual qualities, but it falls short in just about every other category. In many ways, this is more of a tale of the dark side of love with a few macabre elements. It’s much like a modernization of an Edgar Allen Poe of H.P. Lovecraft tale, but without as much sinister depth. It also could be compared Misery, but with more of a Chinese feeling to it obviously. Unfortunately, like the other segments, Going Home falls short of being truly frightening and is much more of a curiosity.

The release doesn’t include any bonus features, but there wasn’t much found on the first Three Extremes release, so I really wasn’t anticipating much in this category.

Like with many Asian films, Three Extremes II probably won’t be horrible for those who are just getting into the films by these directors, but this isn’t something that won’t come without a lot of slow moving portions to these tales either. Also, this isn’t technically a sequel since it was made prior to the original Three Extremes, but it’s all about marketing in this case, and if you enjoyed the first outing, the second just isn’t quite up to the same level, at least not if you’re looking for an evening of scares.

-mike-