Three Extremes takes three highly talented Far East directors (one from Honk Kong, one Japanese and one Korean), and lets the dark side of their imaginations loose for thirty minutes each. The film is actually a trilogy of separate and unconnected horror tales, each one out to blur the boundaries between horror and art, and to produce something that is more than just to throwaway.<br /><br />First tale is "Dumplings", a shortened version of the full length movie of the same name, a satire about contemporary vanity and the desire and desperation of some people to feed it. I loved the full movie, and the shortened version doesn't disappoint but the ending is different but just as deliciously dark. Fine performances and directing make this a stellar show for anyone.<br /><br />The second tale is called "Cut" and surprisingly is the poorest of the three. A Korean short movie about one "nice guy" director and his wife held hostage by an extra from his movies who terrorises them both, trying to bring out the dark side of the director. Revelations and tension wrap this short up, but the violence is excessive at times and the story does seem to tail off very quickly. It starts off so well with some stellar camera work and movement, and the arty feel of this horror piece is quite intriguing, but the bulk of this piece turns stale and falls flat as violence overtakes all else. If you have seen an Austrian movie called "Funny Games" then you can see where this film likely got its influence from.<br /><br />The final part of the three is "The Box". If you have seen anything by Miike Takishi before then this is quite tame in comparison to much of his other work (if you haven't then don't ask as you'll either love it or hate it and it's a conversation for another day). The film is a menagerie of dreams, memories and images of a girl's past life in a circus act with her twin and mentor which is tinged with tragedy (surprise surprise). The most artistic of the three, this is incredibly beautiful and dark, haunting and frightening, and also intriguing and thought provoking. This episode will be the one of the three you are most likely will be pondering about at the end.<br /><br />I enjoyed this trilogy, although I had already seen the full "Dumplings" film which took out most of the surprise element, but even with the disappointment of "Cut" this is still a very worthwhile viewing for anyone into artistic horror. Each is different to another, and will offer something to everyone.