I'm always very cautious when people refer to the genuine brilliance of Asian horror productions (as I've been let down one too many times), but in the case of "ThreeExtremes" every single word of praise is more than justified! This movie is bound to make an everlasting impression on you, and most likely that impression will either be fear, disturbance or just plain repulsion(but the 'good' kind of repulsion). The format of a horror anthology isn't very common in Asian cinema, at least not that I'm aware of, but these three directors approach the format with the exact right attitude. There's no silly and overlong wraparound, the stories just follow each other without necessarily featuring common themes or characters. This results in three versatile stories, covering completely different horror styles. The first story by Fruit Chan aims at pure controversial shocks, with its plot about an ageing actress who desperately wants to maintain her good looks and young skin and therefore consults the mysterious "Aunt Mei". Her secret of eternal youth involves serving her customers dumpling-dishes made of  hold on to your socks for this  aborted human fetuses! Mrs. Li is very pleased with the results at first, but then gets sick after finishing a 'meal' made of the leftovers of an incest baby. Fruit Chan is the least famous director of the bunch, but his is definitely a name to remember and keep an eye on. The style of "Dumplings" is extremely brutal and nihilistic. People talk about the abortion of living creatures like it's the most normal thing in the world and the camera regularly zooms in on how aunt Mai professionally grinds the baby-flesh. Admittedly, you require a strong stomach to endure the make-up effects in this first episode, but even more disturbing is Chan's use of freaky sounds. The music is downright nightmarish and particularly the chewing-noises, made when Mrs. Lee eats the dumplings, sent cold shivers down my spine. Chan-Wook Park is responsible for the second tale and if you've seen any of the entries in his Vengeance-Trilogy ("Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance", "Oldboy", "Lady Vengeance"), you already more or less know what to expect. Namely a cruel and relentless tale of violence that brings out the absolute darkest side of the human mind. Chan-Wook Park is a genius when it comes to the drawing of his characters and he once more demonstrates that here, with his story about the home jacking of a famous director and his vain wife by a severely frustrated walk-on actor. The wife is imaginatively tied between the walls and her piano and the perpetrator threatens to cut off her fingers, unless the director has the courage to strangle a little girl the stranger kidnapped as well. The seemly honest and friendly couple gradually turn into selfish and aggressive monsters the more their lives become endangered. "Cut" is probably my favorite segment of all three! The tension is almost unbearable and you just know Chan-Wook Park isn't going to come up with a happy ending! People are crazy, evil bastards that only look after themselves and that's the ONLY message to communicate here. His segment also contains the most violent and gory images, as the house's artsy floor is literally flooded with blood near the end of the story. "Cut" is a harrowing piece of cult cinema that only confirms that Chan-Wook Park is a brilliant director. Die-hard fans of Takashi Miike that are expecting a short movie similar to "Itchi the Killer" or "Fûdoh" will be quite amazed that his contribution to "ThreeExtremes" is the most atmospheric and suggestive one! "Box" is a complex little mind-bender that is low on graphic violence and shocks, but nevertheless very intense and petrifying. The tale centers on a young woman experiencing nightmares about her childhood life as a circus artist. The competitive relationship with her twin-sister eventually led to unwanted murder and now the unfortunate girl comes back to haunt her. In all honesty I must admit I enjoyed "Box" the least, mainly because the complete change in tone and filming style came too unexpectedly. Miike puts a whole lot of haunting images in his film, but the plot is too abstract and raises too many questions for which there are no answers. Great ending, though. My guess is that Miike was merely using this omnibus job to experiment with horror styles and elements that are new for him. "ThreeExtremes" is a tremendously marvelous film that every horror fanatic has to see for him/herself! And that recommendation comes from someone who totally disliked the so-called Asian horror masterpieces "Ringu", "Ju-On The Grudge" and "The Eye".