THREE... EXTREMES

Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike, 2004

Starring: Bai Ling, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Lee Byung-hun, Im Won-hee, Kyoko Hasegawa, Atusro Watabe

Harkening back to the horror anthology films of the ‘60s like Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, and many more, Three... Extremes is a trilogy of roughly 40 minute horror films by Hong Kong director Fruit Chan, South Korea’s Park Chan-wook, and Japan’s Takashi Miike. Three... Extremes is a loose sequel to Three (2002), an earlier trilogy with films by South Korea’s Kim Ji-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters, I Saw the Devil, and many more), Thailand’s Nonzee Nimibutr (Nang Nak), and Hong Kong’s Peter Chan (Comrades, Almost a Love Story). Three did not do well in the box office, so more of a focus was put on finding higher profile horror director for its sequel, Three... Extremes. The latter was successful enough that Three was eventually re-released as Three Extremes II in a ridiculous marketing ploy.

The first film is Fruit Chan’s Dumplings. An aging, though beautiful actress is desperate to restore her looks and her husband’s affections. She tracks down a local woman offering special dumplings with a secret ingredient guaranteed to revivify her. But at what cost? Possibly the most affective film in the trilogy, Chan relies on some thoroughly gross sound effects and slow scenes of dumpling eating for a compellingly disgusting little film about the pitfalls of vanity. Hong Kong actress and pop star Miriam Young is great in the starring role and there is a nice appearance from Hong Kong veteran Tony Leung Ka-fai (Prison on Fire, A Better Tomorrow 3, The Raid; not to be confused with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) as her husband. Director Chan is known for such second wave Hong Kong films as Heart of Dragon, Made in Hong Kong, and Durian Durian. An extended version of Dumplings is available on the special edition DVD and as a stand-alone release from Tartan Films. 

Park Chan-wook’s Cut follows this, though it is unfortunately the most inferior of the three films. Cut can be described as Park’s first true horror film, though his Vengeance trilogy Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance are known for their extreme violence and often horrific subject matter. In Cut, a young, successful director making a gory vampire film is kidnapped by one of his extras. He ties up the director on the film set and also elaborately ties up the director’s wife. She is a concert pianist and the extra has promised to cut off one of her fingers every few minutes unless the director does what he wants. This involves such sadistic things as damaging confessions, strangling a child, etc. Though beautifully shot, the clunky script is very Saw-like and there is some dated CGI work. To a certain extent, and thanks to Park’s use of black comedy, this feels somewhat like a spoof of the Saw/torture porn wave, but it is not far enough removed to be really successful. Park is one of my favorite directors working today, so I was disappointed to find that I did not like this film. It is worth watching for a wonderful performance by Im Won-hee, who plays the psychotic kidnapper, and famous South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun gives a good turn as the director. 

The third and final film is Takashi Miike’s Box. For those of you familiar with Miike’s work, he’s known for his irreverently violent, shocking work, such as Visitor Q, Ichii the Killer, and Audition. Box is undoubtedly one of Miike’s most subtle and effective films and makes Three... Extremes well worth seeking out. A quiet young writer has disturbing dreams about being buried alive in the snow and begins looking for her missing sister only to discover/remember the horrifying truth. This slow, dreamlike short film is non-linear and flits back and forth between Kyoko’s present search for her sister and her childhood, with all manner of things in between. The story’s elegance lies in its simplicity and though it is somewhat similar in tone to Audition, complete with youthful ballet dancers and child abuse, Box is an excellent place to start for Miike virgins and a must-see for his fans. This comes highly recommended for the incredible visuals alone.  

Pick up the 2-disc version, released by Lion’s Gate, which includes the extended version of Dumplings and a nice commentary track from Miike on Box. As I stated earlier, Box makes the whole trilogy worth watching, though the other two films are also worthy of your time, particularly if you’re a fan of recent Asian horror. It is also a great place to start for genre newcomers, as all three films are thoughtful, well made, and put the travesty known as Masters of Horror to shame. 

13 ASSASSINS

Takashi Miike, 2010

Starring: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseya, Goro Inagaki

During peacetime, an aging samurai, Shinzaemon, is secretly charged with the task of assassinating the young, sadistic Lord Naritsugu. He is the Shogun's brother and has legal immunity, but his devastating acts of cruelty and murder have forced the council to move against him. Shinzaemon begrudgingly comes out of retirement to gather a small band of warriors for this suicide mission.

Shinzaemon gathers 11 other samurai and their apprentices. Among them are the experienced, sassy Kuranaga, his second-in-command, who brings some of his students, and Shinzaemon's nephew, who drinks, gambles, and otherwise has nothing to live for. Most of the band are either older, experienced ronin samurai looking for one last battle, or newcomers hoping to prove themselves. They also accidentally collect a dirty, renegade hunter who guides them through the forest and stubbornly stays on to fight.

With some incredible planning, the assassins intend to confront Naritsugu and his men in a village they have emptied and outfitted with a variety of nasty booby traps. When Naritsugu is successfully re-routed from his original path and finally arrives, they are dismayed to find that he has brought 200 men, more than twice the number they expected. It is up to the skill of the samurai and their military-style fortifications to trap Naritsugu and stop him once and for all.

Jusan-non no shikaku aka 13 Assassins is essentially a remake of Eiichi Kudo's film of the same name from 1963. Much to my surprise, I absolutely loved this film. I don't want to sound overly skeptical, because I'm a huge Takashi Miike fan, but I haven't been up to date with his releases over the last few years and wasn't sure what to expect. After the major disappointment of "Imprint," his Masters of Horror episode, I've tried to take his newer work with a grain of salt. Plus, I adore classic chanbara and tend to dislike modern samurai-themed films.

13 Assassins is an absolute joy. It's perfectly paced and has the right mix of adventure, justice dispensing, sword fighting, and general samurai awesomeness to thrill anyone who loves the genre. There are many welcome references to Seven Samurai and other beloved jidaigeki, a sub-genre of Japanese period drama that focuses on samurai and sometimes working class people from the Edo period. If you're unfamiliar, check out Kurosawa films like Ran and Throne of Blood, or the Hanzo and Lady Snowblood series for jidaigeki with a healthy dose of exploitation. A side element of the genre is the use of the supernatural. Films like Ugetsu Monogatari and Onibaba pit working class people against yokai. Miike snuck in an element of this with the character of Kiga, the hunter and guide, who may or may not be human.

There's a great mix of humor with the usual Miike touches of violence and depravity. In particular, there's a gruesome scene in the beginning of the film involving one of Naritsugu's naked, limbless victims. In general, the violence is spectacular. It doesn't feel at all like Miike's earlier, excessive horror films and is perfectly suited to the heroic-epic style of the film. The violence leads linearly towards the death of Lord Naritsugu, his men, and the end of the 13 assassins, though if you've seen films in the genre before, you have a good idea of where things are heading.

Another aspect I really enjoyed, and was again surprised by, were the well-developed characters. For the most part, all 13 of the warriors stand out clearly, even if they are just given little tidbits of personality and motivation. There is something especially touching about the fact that this is a group of men all born in the wrong century. They are sacrificing their lives to restore justice, but it is clear that they would rather be great warriors at one final battle, than live long, healthy, but flaccid lives in a stale time of peace.

I also have to applaud the acting. Koji Yakusho (The Cure, Charisma) is great as the serious, take-no-prisoners Shinzaemon. He's a wonderful actor in everything I've seen him in, but seems particularly suited to play a world-weary samurai. Hiroki Matsukada (Battles Without Honor and Humanity) is equally wonderful as the humorous Kuranaga, who is unmistakably deadly, but capable of some much needed mirth. Goro Inagaki is delightful as the spoiled, villainous Lord Naritsugu. Though he doesn't have an abundance of scenes, he does a lot with the little given to him and our understanding of his character shifts immensely throughout the film.

13 Assassins comes highly recommended and is one of my favorite theatrical releases of 2011. I saw the theatrical international cut, which is 126 minutes, but if you get a chance to see the 141-minute uncut Japanese version, go for it. The Magnolia DVD is the international cut, but the missing footage is included in the extras. If you have a Blu-ray player, you should probably view this like it was meant to be seen, in all its Blu-ray glory.