This cross-cultural Asian horror anthology is a precursor to Three Extremes (2004). Curiously, it was marketed as Three Extremes II after its rerelease in order to cash in on its successor's popularity, despite being older.
I've seen the 2004 version a long time ago, and scarcely remember it. That's why I can't quite compare it to this one at the moment. But I do know that this one is, unfortunately, rather unimpressive as a whole. Only the first segment was interesting enough to be truly enjoyable IMO. I'll try to break the stories down a bit.
1. Memories - dir. Kim Jee-woon The Korean entry in the anthology is also the best for me. Kim already displayed his directing chops in his early days, so Memories is slick and stylish with strong atmospherics, acting like a preview of what's to come. Its story is insubstantial and kinda routine, but the visuals and mood largely compensate for that fault.
2. Wheel - dir. Nonzee Nimibutr The second entry is a Thai folk horror revolving around cursed puppets. This entry is only sporadically interesting, and only from a visual standpoint, mostly because of its unique setting. But it's completely lacking in execution, being marred by weak horror elements and a totally uninvolving story. The weakest segment in the anthology.
3. Going Home - dir. Peter Chan The final entry comes from Hong Kong and, like the second one, it is forgettable and underwhelming. In this case, the plot is actually promising, with good actors to complement it. The technicalities are also proficient. But it's the longest entry (around 50 minutes) and very patience testing. I don't expect constant shocks, but in this case they would be welcome to shake things up. The segment itself is more of a supernatural drama than horror, which might have contributed to my disappointment. I wanted something scary after that second segment, and this one failed to deliver too. But as I said, it has a few things going for it, at least, so it's not a total waste of time.
Overall, this just wasn't good enough to be recommended. If I had to choose, Kim's entry is the easy winner here because of its creepiness and psychological aspect. Otherwise, you're not missing much by skipping the film.
I've seen the 2004 version a long time ago, and scarcely remember it. That's why I can't quite compare it to this one at the moment. But I do know that this one is, unfortunately, rather unimpressive as a whole. Only the first segment was interesting enough to be truly enjoyable IMO. I'll try to break the stories down a bit.
1. Memories - dir. Kim Jee-woon The Korean entry in the anthology is also the best for me. Kim already displayed his directing chops in his early days, so Memories is slick and stylish with strong atmospherics, acting like a preview of what's to come. Its story is insubstantial and kinda routine, but the visuals and mood largely compensate for that fault.
2. Wheel - dir. Nonzee Nimibutr The second entry is a Thai folk horror revolving around cursed puppets. This entry is only sporadically interesting, and only from a visual standpoint, mostly because of its unique setting. But it's completely lacking in execution, being marred by weak horror elements and a totally uninvolving story. The weakest segment in the anthology.
3. Going Home - dir. Peter Chan The final entry comes from Hong Kong and, like the second one, it is forgettable and underwhelming. In this case, the plot is actually promising, with good actors to complement it. The technicalities are also proficient. But it's the longest entry (around 50 minutes) and very patience testing. I don't expect constant shocks, but in this case they would be welcome to shake things up. The segment itself is more of a supernatural drama than horror, which might have contributed to my disappointment. I wanted something scary after that second segment, and this one failed to deliver too. But as I said, it has a few things going for it, at least, so it's not a total waste of time.
Overall, this just wasn't good enough to be recommended. If I had to choose, Kim's entry is the easy winner here because of its creepiness and psychological aspect. Otherwise, you're not missing much by skipping the film.