You won't be disappointed!

Don't Believe the Hype

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

I'm nearly 100% sure that these were submissions for the first film that didn't make the cut. 'Memories' by acclaimed director Jee-Woon is oddly both totally predictable and yet full of interesting ideas that never come to fruition. This however is by far the most palatable of the bunch with some nice artistic touches here and there. The second feature 'The Wheel' is truly an exercise in tedium. Made on the cheap and a non-existent hackneyed plot, the word "unbearable" springs to mind. The last feature 'Going Home' starts out with promise but quickly fizzles out. What little story there is is ridiculous and paper thin. Above all, there is absolutely nothing extreme about these movies aside from a minute or two of totally out-of-place gore that seems to have been edited into 'Memories' though the scene serves no purpose, and the chills are virtually non-existent. It would be an enormous challenge to find much to recommend here.

Three is an omnibus supernatural horror film comprised of three one-hour long mini-features. Each one was produced in a different country, Peter Chan representing Hong Kong, Kim Ji-Woon representing South Corea, and Nonzee Nimibtr representing Thailand.The opening film, Kim Ji-Woon's "Memories" follows two individuals as they grapple with seemingly missing memories: a man who's wife is missing and a woman who's trying to figure out who she is. The work actually foreshadows a lot of what will eventually show up in Kim's following feature, A Tale of Two Sisters, which I really liked. While the film does feature a number of eerie moments, it also suffers from a lack of a strong story. There's not much to its revelation and the characters are fairly static. To its merit, it's probably the most technically proficient of the three films and certainly the scariest.The second piece is Peter Chan's "Going Home" and this is probably the best overall of the bunch. While its production values are actually the roughest of the three, the story is probably the highlight of the three. The story is divided into two segments, the first where a cop and his son move into an aging complex where few people live and is seemingly haunted. The second, the cop grapples with a seemingly mad homeopathic doctor who is appearing to pursue the resurrection of his dead wife. The film grasps well its theme and the story has a few interesting revelations to provide while also having something to say about the power of love/hope.It's not a scary piece for the most part, but despite the production values, the direction appears sure and makes great use of its setting and limitations.The final film is Nimibtr's "Wheel", which is about an arts troupe grappling with the curse of an evil puppet. This is probably the weakest segment. While it does have some good imagery to offer, the story is confusing, aimless and the scares are without method or meaning. Some of the visuals are chilling, but because of the rather slapdash and sometimes illogical story, the overall effect of the piece is muted.All in all, I have to say that Three isn't a complete waste of time due to the solid piece by Peter Chan and the stylish opening act. On the other hand, it's weakened by the third piece and while the three do try to take on the same overall concept, they seem to be too divergent to really make a cohesive whole, with Nimibutr's "Wheel" really on a different plane than the other two. Probably better viewing for genre lovers of horror or supernatural films and perhaps for more curious cinephiles, but I don't see that it's going to be particularly impressive for anyone else. 6/10 for Memories, 8/10 for Going Home, 4/10 for Wheel. 6/10 overall.Note: The US release of this film changes the order of the films around so that it opens with Memories, then goes to Wheel and closes with Going Home. I'm not certain how the Hong Kong and Thai versions of the film orders the three; I watched the Corean version.

Very entertaining if your interest lies in the cross cultural views of the supernatural. The acting and production values are very high. For fans of scary movies and those scared of the dark, this rates at least an 8 and is a must-see. For non-fans of the genre and those lacking the appropriate phobias, it's a way to learn how to scare your friends.The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project, The Shining and Psycho may be thought of as Western views of the para-normal which evokes fear and discomfort in the the viewer. The unknown and unexplainable often generate that eerie and queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach, or awaken a simple sense of curiosity. Are you afraid of what is behind the curtain or do you want to see what's there? Three is a good way of measuring your Asian Fear Quotient.

Peter Chan's 'Going Home' makes this collection worth watching. A haunting examination of loss and and the clash between Eastern and Western ideologies, 'Going Home' paints an elegiac portrait of isolation and longing in modern day Asia. The cool colors set a mood of emptiness and despair, while the understated performances are poetic in their simplicity. The child actor who plays Cheung is simply amazing; his emotions are utterly convincing and it's easy to forget that he's acting.Unfortunately, the other two pieces, 'Memories' and 'Wheel', leave much to be desired. 'Memories' somehow manages to be tense and predictable at the same time, so I have to give the director credit for at least being able to instill some sense of terror in the audience. But ultimately, the hackneyed plot is yawn inducing, though the scenes are shot beautifully.Finally, that leaves 'Wheel', a confusing mess if there ever was one. Throughout the short, I kept wondering if censorship was the reason I hadn't been scared yet.All in all, most would probably be happier renting Saam Gaang. Although regardless of your decision, I am sure that 'Going Home' will spark some thought-provoking conversation on the dangers of globalization and the dilution of culture to Americanization.