When Horror Becomes Cultural Catharsis

Read Time:5 Minute, 46 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Three / Three… Extremes [Limited Edition] (Blu-ray)

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Anthology
Year Released: 2025 Arrow Video Blu-ray
Runtime: 1h 27m / 1h 41m / 1h 46m / 1h 42m / 1h 55m / 1h 43m
Director(s): Kim Jee-woon / Nonzee Nimibutr / Peter Ho-Sun Chan / Fruit Chan / Park Chan-wook / Takashi Miike
Writer(s): Kim Jee-woon / Nonzee Nimibutr / Matt Chow, Peter Ho-Sun Chan / Lillian Lee, Fruit Chan / Park Chan-wook / Takashi Miike, Bun Saikou
Cast: Kim Hye-soo, Jung Bo-seok, Park Hee-soon / Suwinit Panjamawat, Savika Chaiyadej, Chumphorn Thepphithak / Leon Lai, Eugenia Yuan, Eric Tsang / Bai Ling, Miriam Yeung, Pauline Lau / Lee Byung-hun, Im Won-hee, Kang Hye-jung / Kyoko Hasegawa, Mai Suzuki, Yuu Suzuki
Where to Watch: available October 21, 2025, pre-order your copy here: www.mvdshop.com, www.arrowvideo.com, or www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: Horror anthologies often promise variety but deliver inconsistency. THREE / THREE… EXTREMES is the rare exception that proves how powerful the format can be when guided by vision rather than gimmicks. Across six segments and two feature-length films, this Arrow Video release captures the full scope of early-2000s pan-Asian horror — its atmosphere, its lawless spirit, and its willingness to confront fear as something deeply personal. This is not an anthology of jump scares and clichés; it’s a study in discomfort, obsession, and the ways cultural anxieties manifest through storytelling.

Originally released in 2002, the first film, THREE, united directors from Korea, Thailand, and Hong Kong to explore ghost stories rooted in emotion rather than spectacle. Kim Jee-woon’s “Memories” opens with a hypnotic sense of dread, following a husband and wife plagued by fragmented recollections of their separation. Its restrained pacing and dreamlike style make it as tragic as it is terrifying. Nonzee Nimibutr’s “The Wheel” takes a mythological approach, telling a story of cursed puppets and guilt that feels like a grim moral fable passed down through generations. Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s “Going Home” closes the set with the most human of horrors — grief, denial, and the haunting persistence of love. Each piece complements the others, forming a serene, melancholic trilogy that feels unified by loss rather than violence.

The sequel, THREE… EXTREMES (2004) is both a continuation and an escalation. If the first film lingers in shadows, this one stares directly into the void. Fruit Chan’s “Dumplings” has become infamous in its own right — a tale of vanity, body horror, and moral decay where Bai Ling’s unsettling presentation anchors the film’s elegance. What begins as a commentary on beauty obsession spirals into something uncomfortably primal. Park Chan-wook’s “Cut” shifts gears into psychological horror, an exercise in cruelty and performance where Lee Byung-hun plays a director forced to face the sins of his own privilege. The segment is a perfect distillation of Park’s early work — stylized, moralistic, and unrelenting. Finally, Takashi Miike’s “Box” delivers the most enigmatic entry of all. A story built on memory, guilt, and blurred realities, it leaves the viewer uncertain whether they’ve witnessed horror or tragedy — and that’s precisely the point.

This collection thrives because it captures distinct artistic voices at their creative peaks. There’s no shared tone, only shared ambition. Each filmmaker interprets horror through their culture’s lens, yet all reach the same conclusion: fear isn’t external; it’s inherited. The anthology becomes an unspoken dialogue about identity — Korea’s repression, Thailand’s spirituality, Hong Kong’s grief, Japan’s alienation — stitched together by producer Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s belief that horror can cross boundaries without losing its soul.

Arrow’s restoration is exemplary. Both films have been newly mastered in 2K, with pristine image quality that enhances the visual diversity of the segments — from Kim Jee-woon’s muted desaturation to Park Chan-wook’s surgical precision. The soundscape captures every creak and breath, amplifying tension without overmixing. The limited edition package reflects Arrow’s meticulous curation: reversible sleeve art by Xinmei Liu, a double-sided poster, and an illustrated booklet featuring essays by Stacie Ponder and David Desser. Most impressive are the extras that dive beyond surface commentary. Interviews like “Cooking Dumplings” with Fruit Chan, “Recalling Memories” with Kim Jee-woon, and “Something a Little More Beautiful” with Takashi Miike offer insight into the creative process behind each nightmare. Together, these supplements elevate the set from collection to case study.

Viewed in sequence, the contrast between THREE and THREE… EXTREMES is striking. The first is poetic; the second is confrontational. Yet both are driven by an underlying fascination with human weakness. In “Going Home,” love itself becomes a haunting. In “Dumplings,” rejuvenation becomes savage. In “Box,” guilt is both literal and surreal. Each segment reflects a deep unease with control — over memory, morality, or mortality. These aren’t just ghost stories; they’re meditations on what lingers after something human is lost.

THREE / THREE… EXTREMES is the kind of release that reminds you why anthology horror endures. It’s not about uniformity but variety — the thrill of seeing how different filmmakers translate the same unease. Arrow’s edition honors that spirit with reverence and care, preserving two milestones of modern horror with the attention they’ve long deserved. It’s haunting, beautiful, and deeply unsettling — a rare anthology where every story leaves a mark.

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[photo courtesy of ARROW VIDEO, MVD ENTERTAINMENT]

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