Sam Gang / Three (2002) - Three complementary types pf psychological and supernatural thrillers with a dark tone - 7/10 (13/09/19)

Three, internationally marketed as 3 Extremes 2, consists of three horror short films by renowned Asian directors. All three short movies had something different to offer and were quite entertaining since they didn't overstay their welcome. However, these short movies aren't among the directors' greatest hours either.

The first short film is entitled Memories and was created by South Korean director Kim Jee-won, who made masterpieces like the psychological drama A Tale of Two Sisters, comedy western The Good, the Bad, the Weird and grisly horror shocker I Saw the Devil. Memories tells two stories that slowly but surely intertwine. The first story is about a man whose wife has disappeared and who suffers from memory loss as he can't remember why or how she left. The second story revolves around a woman who wakes up in the middle of a street, can't remember who she is and tries to figure out her identity and what happened to her. On the positive side, the movie convinces with gloomy atmosphere and moody cinematography. On the negative side, the story is somewhat predictable and slow-paced.

The second short film is called The Wheel and was created by Thai director Nonzee Nimibutr, who is known for action movie Dang Bireley and the Young Gangsters, romantic horror film Nang Nak - Return from the Dead and romantic drama Jan Dara. The Wheel revolves around cursed puppets that haunt a group of puppeteers living and performing in rural Thailand. The curse starts when the master puppeteer puts his soul into said puppets but later on orders his wife and child to get rid of them. His wife and child drown and the old man burns alive in his house. A rival puppeteer plans on using these puppets but other grisly events soon start to take place as performers collapse on stage, commit suicide or start to see ghosts. On the positive side, this film is the grisliest of the three and includes several haunting deaths. The locations in rural Thailand are stunning to watch. The movie also introduces us to a part of Thai culture which isn't very known outside the country. The film's sinister conclusion is also memorable. On the negative side, the acting performances are a little bit stiff at times and the movie was obviously suffering from a very low budget.

The third and last short film is called Going Home and was created by Thailand-born Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Ho-Sun Chan, who directed movies such as romantic comedy drama The Love Letter, historical drama The Warlords and action epic Dragon. Going Home tells the story of a single father and cop who moves into a decrepit apartment complex with his infant son. His son soon befriends the strange daughter of the only other family living in the building and then goes missing. His father suspects the weird father of that family who nurses his mysterious wife back to health to be responsible for his son's disappearance. On the positive side, the characters in this movie are really strong, the story takes a few unexpected turns and the movie even has a romantic underlying message which one couldn't expect from a horror movie. On the negative side, several questions in this movie remain unanswered which make it feel somewhat unfinished. This movie should have been elaborated into a full length movie to have a bigger impact.

In the end, all three movies have their merits but also a few minor disadvantages. Expect solid psychological and supernatural thrillers but no grisly horror episodes. All of these short films were entertaining and are worth to be discovered, presented or watched again.