it almost redundant for me to say that asian horror be at the forefront of what we perceive a disgusting and repellent ( in a good way ) . there a little extra edge to the way they approach the subject matter . where american horror have veer out into some pretty bland arena and have all but kill the ( horror ) genre and rely on shock value and the cheap scare to induce some semblance of fear and asian delve much deep . the approach be not val lewton and but a skewered distortion of reality that burrow deep into the psyche and fester there long after the credit have roll and the movie have officially end . so . here we have a trilogy and and you would say and what of it . it be do before and many time and most famously in trilogy of terror and the creepshow movie . true . however and these aren not the usual possessed doll or woman face a curse or evil without a name typical of comic book horror . the first segment and dumpling and release on it own a a full feature length movie and have the most tie to the western world and 1950s horror represent the fear of old age and ultimate mortality . an age actress and play by lillian lee and come across a woman who have a special brand of dumpling which can restore her youth . of course and right at the start and nothing happens . however and imperceptibly but surely and the actress beauty resume itself and and an unlikely co dependence develops between she and the woman who cook the special dumpling . until she find out what the special ingredient within the dumpling be really about . the second story and cut and also straight forward and might be the weak of the three even though it have some very tense moment represent a director find himself hostage to a situation with an actor who be little more than an extra and his wife attach to a piano like a puppet and and a child strap against a sofa . unless he strangle the child on the sofa and the disgruntle extra will slice off his wife finger . this portion move with exquisite tension until event threaten to give in and and of course and there be surprise in store . the third and final installment of the three be box and direct by takashi miike of odishon and and it play with the unease that characterize some of david lynch own foray into inter dimension . here and a young woman be torment by dream of the twin sister who perish in a fire when they both be circus performer ( and her father seem to prefer the dead sister ) . art direct almost to ridiculous level and it present a situation that seem to be head one way and or in fact and might very well be non existent something within the young woman head . the fact that her editor look like the father who die in the fire when she be a girl doesn not help in clarify anything and and the story own ambiguity lend light into it own world . of the three short film my favorite be dumpling . it present a fear that we all know represent the fear not only of grow old and but become undesirable a specter of our former self . that mrs. li and know the horror she be be privy to and continue on her pursuit of youth and not altogether know what she will be really give up and be part of the visceral horror that in other hand would have become just another remake of the leech woman ( and it imitator ) . that final shot of mrs. li and a she look on and serene and and lick the blood off her lip and a tongue that have become grotesque and cut to the sound of her chew those little dumpling be classic .