Three Extremes 2 Review 2002 三更 Saam Gaang

Three... Extremes 2

Great suspenseful classic Asian horror... but not as good as the original!

Three Extremes 2 is a trilogy of short Asian horror films from veteran directors from South Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong. The full running time is 122 minutes.

Memories, from director  Kim Jee-woon(A Tale Of Two Sisters/A Bittersweet Life/I Saw The Devil) is a great supernatural and psychological horror following a man who keeps seeing disturbing visions of his missing wife, which his psychiatrist puts down to repressed memories of why his wife left him. Meanwhile, his wife awakens in an unknown street with no idea how she got there. 

A fun stylish horror film with an interesting story which never dulls while the two stories intertwine and the mystery unfolds.

The Wheel is a Thai film from Nonzee Nimibutr. And it is easily the worst of the 3 films. This is a period horror set in a small village. When an old puppet master dies, a curse is put on his puppets for anyone else who owns them. When someone comes along and finds the puppets, an evil curse starts.

This film didn't really grip me. No real plot or characters to care for and a dull ending which won't excite anyone.

And finally we have Going Home, from one of the great Hong Kong directors Peter Chan(Comrades/Perhaps Love/The Warlords). Although better than The Wheel, it doesn't quite reach Memories.

Going Home follows a man called Wai and his son, after they move in to a new apartment block they begin to notice they have a strange neighbour and a lot of freaky stuff happening including a strange girl and all the vacant apartment doors opening themselves. Things take a turn for the worse when they discover their neighbour Yu has preserved his dead wife's body...

Fun set of films, with a different theme and style for each film to keep you entertained. A little bit of everything for everyone to enjoy. Unfortunately, The Wheel brings it down, and overall it doesn't quite meet the height of the other Three Extremes... Which is a masterpiece.

6.5/10

Note. "Three Extremes 2" was released first in 2002 as "Three". And the Sequel "Three Extremes" was 2004 but released worldwide first.