Overview: A trio of ghostly tales of terror, each from a different country, form the anthology Three. Initiated by acclaimed Hong Kong producer and director Peter Ho-Sun Chan, the film would prove highly influential in its innovative approach to pan-Asian horror, and lead to the shockingly compelling sequel, Three ... Extremes. Dive into the ultimate omnibus of horror with both films lavishly restored and featuring a wealth of new and archival extras.

Korean genre maestro Kim Jee-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters) opens Three with Memories, where a husband and wife with no memory of how they fell apart discover the terrifying truth behind their separation.

In Thai filmmaker Nonzee Nimibutr’s (Nang Nak) tale of guilt and jealousy, The Wheel, a puppeteer fears his marionettes are possessed by the spirits of those he has wronged. Finally, in Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s Going Home, a widowed police officer and his young son move into a new apartment and uncover the chilling secret behind their new neighbor and his seemingly comatose wife.

Three ... Extremes’ unforgettable first story, Dumplings, directed by celebrated filmmaker Fruit Chan (Made in Hong Kong), sees an aging actor discover that the dumplings she’s been eating for their miraculous rejuvenating benefits contain an unsavory secret ingredient.

Next, in Korean legend Park Chan-wook’s (Oldboy) segment Cut, a wealthy filmmaker is caught in a twisted game when a vindictive actor takes his wife hostage.

Finally, Japanese Master of Horror Takashi Miike’s (Audition) segment, Box, sees a novelist plagued by nightmares of her past as a child circus performer with her long-lost twin sister, until she receives a mysterious invitation to return to the site of her old circus.

Blu-ray Verdict: Three is an omnibus supernatural horror film comprised of three one-hour long mini-features. Each one was produced in a different country, Peter Chan representing Hong Kong, Kim Ji-Woon representing South Corea, and Nonzee Nimibtr representing Thailand.

The opening film, Kim Ji-Woon’s Memories follows two individuals as they grapple with seemingly missing memories: a man whose wife is missing and a woman who’s trying to figure out who she is. The work actually foreshadows a lot of what will eventually show up in Kim’s following feature, A Tale of Two Sisters, which I really liked. While the film does feature a number of eerie moments, it also suffers from a lack of a strong story. There’s not much to its revelation and the characters are fairly static. To its merit, it’s probably the most technically proficient of the three films and certainly the scariest.

The second piece is Peter Chan’s Going Home and this is probably the best overall of the bunch. While its production values are actually the roughest of the three, the story is probably the highlight of the three. The story is divided into two segments, the first where a cop and his son move into an aging complex where few people live and is seemingly haunted. The second, the cop grapples with a seemingly mad homeopathic doctor who is appearing to pursue the resurrection of his dead wife. The film grasps well its theme and the story has a few interesting revelations to provide while also having something to say about the power of love/hope.

It’s not a scary piece for the most part, but despite the production values, the direction appears sure and makes great use of its setting and limitations.

The final film is Nimibtr’s Wheel, which is about an arts troupe grappling with the curse of an evil puppet. This is probably the weakest segment. While it does have some good imagery to offer, the story is confusing, aimless and the scares are without method or meaning. Some of the visuals are chilling, but because of the rather slapdash and sometimes illogical story, the overall effect of the piece is muted.

All in all, I have to say that Three isn’t a complete waste of time due to the solid piece by Peter Chan and the stylish opening act. On the other hand, it’s weakened by the third piece and while the three do try to take on the same overall concept, they seem to be too divergent to really make a cohesive whole, with Nimibutr’s Wheel really on a different plane than the other two.

Although a solid threesome of cinematic brilliance, as a whole, they are probably better viewing for genre lovers of horror or supernatural films and perhaps for more curious cinephiles.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
Brand new 2K restorations of both films by Arrow Films
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of both films
Original 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround audio and lossless stereo audio on both films
Optional English subtitles for both films
Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork for both films by Xinmei Liu
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Stacie Ponder and David Desser
Double-sided foldout poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by Xinmei Liu

DISC ONE: THREE
Cross-Pollination Horror Part 1, a brand new interview with producer and “Going Home” director Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Recalling Memories, a brand new interview with “Memories” director Kim Jee-woon
Making Memories, a brand new interview with Memories cinematographer Hong Kyoung-pyo
Terror Without Borders, a newly edited interview with Peter Ho-Sun Chan, filmed in 2005 by Frédéric Ambroisine
Between Life and Death, a newly edited interview with “Going Home” star Eugenia Yuan, filmed in 2004 by Frédéric Ambroisine
Peter Ho-Sun Chan: Cinema Without Borders, an archival interview
Kim Jee-woon: Memories from Beyond the Grave, an archival interview Making-of featurette
Original theatrical trailer

DISC TWO: THREE... EXTREMES
Audio commentary on the segment “Box” by director Takashi Miike
Cross-Pollination Horror Part 2, a brand new interview with producer Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Cooking Dumplings, a brand new interview with “Dumplings” director Fruit Chan
Something a Little More Beautiful, a brand new interview with Takashi Miike Taste, Taboo and Truth, a newly edited interview with Fruit Chan, filmed in 2004 by Frédéric Ambroisine
More Than Skin Deep, a newly edited interview with “Dumplings” star Bai Ling, filmed in 2005 by Frédéric Ambroisine
Making-of featurettes for each segment
Trailers for Three... Extremes and the feature-length version of Dumplings

Official Purchase Link

www.arrowvideo.com