Three Extremes (Dir. Fruit Chan, Park Chan-Wook, Takeshi Miike)

A great starter for three if you have yet to be introduced to Asian horror as a genre, or to any of the directors of 'Three Extremes'.

Film Review by Bram Gieben | 13 Oct 2006
Film title: Three Extremes (Dir. Fruit Chan, Park Chan-Wook, Takeshi Miike)
Tartan Asia Extreme deliver another slice of arthouse grossout, courtesy of three of Asia's greatest auteurs: Fruit Chan, the new sensation from Hong-Kong, Park Chan-Wook of 'Oldboy' and 'Lady Vengeance' fame, and finally Takeshi Miike, whose 'Audition' was the first film to garner a large Western audience by mixing an avant-garde aesthetic with the elaborate, extreme violence of the Asian straight-to-video market.

Fruit Chan's 'Dumplings' is the best of the three: surprisingly so, as he is the least-known director. Evidently he knew how high the bar was set, as his contribution is a twisted, densely symbolic meditation on the female beauty myth, and the Asian tradition of alternative medicine. A woman who wishes to prevent the signs of aging turns to a method much more gruesome than Skin RePerfect ProCalcium (or whatever they're calling it these days). The use of sound effects and tight, claustrophobic camera angles heighten the gruesome parts unpleasantly, and the few gory moments on show are stomach churning because of their content rather than their severity. Darkly comic, and narrated in a wry, amused tone, 'Dumplings' is almost a cautionary fairytale, and as such, it is very well executed.

Park Chan-Wook's contribution is grand guignol - a revenge-themed torture episode with an elegant brocade of gothic imagery. Although 'Cut' does explore similar territory to his 'Vengeance' trilogy, and has a similar light-heartedness in its approach (the torture victim is a successful director, the torturer a failed extra - lending bizarre Ricky Gervais overtones to the whole thing), it feels a little bit throwaway, particularly the convoluted 'twist' at the end. Heavy cod-psychology is over-employed in the script, and all in all 'Cut' is most impressive simply as a visual piece. The sets, special effects, makeup, costume and lighting are all beautiful, and the violence is delivered with Park Chan Wook's usual flair, verve and musical timing.

Takeshi Miike's film 'Box' is perhaps the most unsettling of all three - there is little humour in his tale of orphaned twins performing in a circus, and again the theme of revenge dominates. With the whole piece depending on the nature of illusion and the reliability of the narrator, the complex story would perhaps have suited a longer exposition than in a short film of this kind. Echoes of Angela Carter and (bizarrely) 'Big Fish' abound, in what is an odd and unfamiliar piece for Miike fans. The themes of child abuse and revenge are more Chan-Wook's territory than Miike's, and it is odd to see how similar their approaches are to such material. One thing that both 'Cut' and 'Box' make clear is how much of the brooding menace of their films both directors owe to David Lynch. Their camera angles, acting, and in particular lighting recall various Lynchian visual palletes, from 'Eraserhead' to 'Blue Velvet,' to the "Third Place" of 'Twin Peaks'.

A great 'starter for three' if you have yet to be introduced to Asian horror as a genre, or to any of the directors of 'Three Extremes'. 'Dumplings' certainly makes you eager to see more of Chan's work - reviewed alone, it would earn 4 rather than 3 Skinnys. For those looking for the best Miike and Chan-Wook have to offer, it would be best to start with 'Ichi The Killer' and 'Oldboy' before watching these shorts.

Out now (August 26) on Tartan Asia Extreme.