Three (2002)

* I edited this review to include the newly changed title for the official American release. 04/20/06* The idea of making an anthology of horror films based on different beliefs from different Asian cultures seemed like a really great idea. But why does Three, or San Geng, bore you to death? Unless that was the overall viewpoint these filmmakers had on death, that it is nothing but boredom. The first film in this movie is called Memories. It's about a husband who is going through emotional turmoil over his wife leaving him. It is causing him to forget things, and he also starts seeing? brace yourself? a ghost woman! I swear, if I have to see another horror film with a pale girl whose hair hangs over her face, I?m giving up on horror! This segment's major problem though is its need to rely on ?cheap scares.? The music swells up to a strong chord, and then a scary image appears. Or the scary ghost girl walks slowly toward the camera, and her movements seem out of place. It?s all typical, and all not very scary. The second tale, The Wheel, is probably the worst though. It?s about a village of performers? or at least I think that is what is going on. Anyway, there are these puppets that have a curse on them, and after their original owner dies in a fire? after his wife and son drown? another Master tries to take over the usage of the puppets. What ensues is nothing more than dull. It almost seems like there was no thought put in this segment at all. And sometimes, it seems like elements were added in toward the end just to keep the film from being too short. Like the love triangle that doesn?t really go anywhere. While the last segment, Going Home, isn?t that great, it is the best in this movie. It's about a policeman who moves into a crappy apartment complex, and leaves his coward son alone while he works. The boy swears he sees a little girl who stares at him in the hallways, and his father just tells him to be a man. But the boy ends up missing, and the father goes looking for him. He ends up being capture by the only other neighbor in the apartment complex. And this guy has his dead wife in a bathtub, because he swears he can revive her. I know this doesn?t seem to make much sense, and afterwards you might have to think about this segment a little, but this is the most rewarding feature in this film. The whole thing about the photo shop seems confusing at first, but the more I think about it, it was a really neat aspect of the film. But the last part of the film wasn?t enough to win me over. If I would have known how bad this movie anthology was, I would have just skipped to the last segment. If you ever do manage to see this film, I suggest just watching the Going Home segment. You might be better off.