Three... Extremes / Sam gang 2 (2004)

January 20, 2025 3:54 PM

[Trailer] An Asian cross-cultural trilogy of horror films from accomplished indie directors. --IMDb

Segments directed by Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, and Takashi Miike from screenplays by Pik-Wah Lee, Park Chan-wook, and Haruko Fukushima. Starring Bai Ling, Lee Byung-hun, Kyoko Hasegawa, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Meme Tian, Miriam Chin-Wah Yeung, Miki Yeung, Im Won-hee, and Kang Hye-jeong.

This is actually a sequel to the anthology film Three, but that one wasn't yet released in the U.S. and so after the success of this one, that one got renamed (confusingly) to Three Extremes 2.

85% / 76% on RottenTomatoes.

JustWatch listing.

Content warnings (I saw this a few days ago; this might not be all of them): cannibalism; incest; child sexual abuse; filicide; abortion; physical torture; psychological torture. The child sexual abuse is implied rather than shown--this film revels in breaking taboos but mercifully there are some lines it refuses to cross.

posted by johnofjack (7 comments total)

Is this refined horror? LOL no. It's fairly skillful but also gleefully grungy, the sort of thing which leaves you feeling slightly dirty for having watched it. It's also effective, and I've thought about it several times since I saw it a few days ago. So, perhaps against my better judgment, I'm posting it here.

I haven't yet seen Three (the first one/sequel-in-the-U.S.) but will seek it out eventually.
posted by johnofjack at 3:57 PM on January 20

'Dumplings' left me queasy.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 4:16 PM on January 20

Dumplings is in the first of the series not this one. This movie contains Memories, The Wheel, and Going Home.
posted by miss-lapin at 7:15 PM on January 20

No, this is the one with Dumplings, Cut, and Box. (I had to double check just now, curious if I posted about the wrong one by mistake.)

I haven't seen the other one yet (the original/faux-sequel) but it looks like it's held in high regard among horror fans.
posted by johnofjack at 3:44 AM on January 21

If it contains those three movies, it's the first one. This is the sequel.
posted by miss-lapin at 6:07 AM on January 21

Your link to "the first one" is... the second one which is what we're discussing?

I saw this around when it came out (so 20 years ago) and I remember being a bit disappointed since it didn't really stand out alongside the other works by Park Chan-Wook and Miike (I was devouring both at the time). Fruit Chan I'm not too familiar with by comparison, but I know he remade "Dumplings" as a full-length film shortly afterward.
posted by neckro23 at 8:57 AM on January 21

I liked two and a half of these; I thought the middle (Park Chan-Wook) segment started off strong but it lost my interest partway through. And I'm glad Miike didn't go as far as he did in Ichi the Killer (or even Gozu).
posted by johnofjack at 5:18 PM on January 23