Movie Review: Three... Extremes (2004) (DUMPLINGS Section)
Hey yall- so recently I dove back into the realm of Asian horror films, a film genre that as a young boy I was somehow deeply interested in the span of years from 2008-2012. Last week I reinvigorated my love for this Genre! The movie at hand is titled "Three... Extremes", it is an East Asian horror film comprised of a compilation of three separate segments. The section that this movie review is the first in this film called "Dumplings" directed by Fruit Chan. So it is essentially a movie with three segments, each segments stands on it own with its own story-line. Each segment's story-line is separate from the others.
- I KNOW! I KNOW! His first name is apparently "Fruit" and the inner 5 year old is chuckling.
(I got the idea for this blog post by literally Googling "simple blog ideas" and was recommended to do a movie review... so here we are)
So anyways- the movie was absolutely positively fucking horrifying. 10/10 would watch again!
The basic premise/quick-and-dirty explanation for the film is as below (Wikipedia);
- Aging actress Mrs. Li wants to rejuvenate her youth and beauty to attract the attention of her husband, Li, who has secretly taken a mistress behind her back. She buys dumplings from Aunt Mei, a mysterious seller who claims to be much older than she appears. However, to her disgust, she learns that the dumplings are in fact made from aborted fetuses, which Mei takes from a nearby hospital that has a secret abortion facility, as well as working as an abortion midwife herself.
- Nevertheless, Mrs. Li decides to continue eating the fetus dumplings. One of them, made from a five month old fetus (the 'oldest' of the aborted fetuses thus far), seems to have a positive effect on Mrs. Li's libido, yet it also causes her skin to exhibit a fishy smell. Eventually, Mei has to move out when the authorities are about to capture her. Mrs. Li, now two months pregnant despite being declared infertile earlier, is still desperate for a rejuvenation and chooses to abort her own fetus, presumably to make it into dumplings.
The version of the movie that I saw was in Cantonese- but that was not a problem, because I was able to watch it with English subtitles. (I don't speak Cantonese or Mandarin)
Judging by the fact that the movie was filmed in Cantonese, I think it was filmed in and the story set in modern day Hong Kong. Not that this particularly matters to the viewer, but it is a change of pace for me because all of the chinese movies that I have watched are always set in the ancient dynastic times of China. (all of which have ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS costuming)
Something that I particularly had a small squeal joy about were the handbag choices of Ms. Li- from what I can see, she was carrying Hermes Handbags- one that I could identify was an red-orange Birkin GHW and also a red Kelly GWH. (GHW=Gold Hardware). I happen to be a big fan of nice leather handbags, I mean.... how else am I supposed to carry my Cheetos in anything but absolute style???
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| That handbag is definitely a Hermes Birkin 30cm or 35cm. Ms. Li definitely has expensive taste. |
Ok- enough about purses and handbags and back to the movie.
The movie definitely explores witch-doctor topics in regards to the consumption of aborted human fetuses (eww gross) that were made into dumplings. Now I have to say that though the dumplings definitely LOOK tasty, I would definitely not be able to deal with actually ever doing something like that in the name of physical beauty. Now I don't know if I will be eating dumplings anytime soon....
There isn't much gore in the movie, but there is definitely plenty of blood (there is a section of the movie where the Aunt Mei character DEADASS performs an abortion in her kitchen). The plop of the aborted fetus into the kitchen sink was definitely a sonic wonder. #BLOOP (I am laughing and also going straight to hell with a one way express ticket.)
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| The kitchen abortion scene. Probably not the most sanitary thing. I am horrified to say the least. |
If you are a fan of gross sound effects and ASMR, there are definitely plenty of crunchy noises from when Aunt Mei chops up the aborted fetuses in order to make her special formula dumplings that impart youth/vitality/beauty to the consumer. So I guess that's cool I guess. Gross, but cool.
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| Aunt Mei making her dumplings for Ms. Li |
If you're a squeamish one, particularly about human bodies- definitely avoid this movie. But, if you're not, be prepared to be properly GROSSED OUT. There were multiples times where I just had to literally say EWW out loud. Coming from me, a dude who isn't grossed out by much, that's saying something.
Below is a clip from the movie that I found on YouTube- this will help to give a basic feel for the movie. I hope you can watch the movie in full sometime! 😂
- Wikipedia: Dumplings (film) 2004 (please note that this link is for the full feature length film, which is not the same exact thing as the film segment titled "Dumplings" in "Three... Extremes"
Where to watch for free as of 08-15-20, see below link.
- I was actually able to watch it through the Pluto TV app that I have on my smart tv. If you have a smart TV or a smart device, download the app- its a free movie and tv show service that is powered by the revenue generated by ads.
- https://pluto.tv/on-demand/movies/three-extremes-2004-1-1?utm_medium=textsearch&utm_source=google
Yes- there are advertisements/commercials between some of the scenes in the movie, but it is otherwise a FREE SERVICE!
(Totally worth it-it is also where I watch "America's Test Kitchen"😂😂😂😂)
Further information for your consideration if you are a curious cat 😸😸😸
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| Particularly horrifying. Aunt Mei is referring to aborted fetuses. |
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| Aunt Mei: a witch-doctor and hot chick all in one. What more could you ask for? |
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| Ms Li gives Aunt Mei some Mid 30s Sass with that Resting Bitch Face |
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