Director Fruit Chan has made quite a name for himself in the last couple of years. His films are interesting and usually quite accomplished in that the visuals, more often than not, are quite remarkable. He's not afraid to shy away from what some might consider unusual or risque content and he seems to have a handle on pacing and style. His latest film, Dumplings is a ninety minute version of a short that appeared in an anthology film entitled Three… Extremes that teamed him up with fellow Asian cult hitmakers Takashi Miike and Chan-wook Park, but Fruit Chan's short was the stand out of the three and is completely deserving of a full length cut – which is exactly what this DVD is.

Mrs. Lee (Miriam Yeung) is starting to get old. As she approaches middle age, she yearns for the days when she still had her youth and her looks and she starts looking into how she can turn back the clock a little bit. Mrs. Lee's husband (played by Tony Leung) isn't looking at her the way he did when she was younger and prettier and as soon she hears about Auntie Mei (Bai Ling) and her dumplings.

These dumplings, made exclusively by Mei, have a special ingredient that somehow manages to reverse the aging process in women and restore their youthful vitality. It doesn't happen overnight but if you stick to a regular diet of Mei's dumplings the effects will take place quickly and noticeably within a few days.

Mrs. Lee finally approaches May and she agrees to sell her some of the fabled dumplings. She devours them, her youth starts to restore itself, and everything seems to be working out great until Lee decides that she needs to find out what the secret ingredient is…

Wow. What a great film. For the horror fans out there, this one is certainly grisly enough to appeal to the gorehounds but there's so much more going on in this movie that it almost transcends the genre. The obvious statement that the movie makes about how women are constantly feeling forced to look young is obvious but no less important but the story throws such a deliciously sinister and truly disgusting curveball at you that you can't help but have this one lingering in your brain cells for a while long after the end credits hit the screen.

A large part of the film's success lays with the performances. Miriam Yeung and Bai Ling are fantastic in the lead roles, with Ling in particular giving a truly great performance as the devious Mei. She plays the part with just enough 'knowing' that her character is sinister enough and smart enough for the ending of the film to really work. Yeung's character isn't as far removed from Mei's as she'd like to believe it is and Yeung does a fine job portraying a few specific characteristics and traits to heighten the tension and make the comparison a more interesting one.

The film also works really well on a technical level. The cinematography is top notch with the camera, through the effects work, leaving just enough to the imagination until the right time to keep the suspense up so that when the twist is finally revealed, even if you did see it coming (and if you pay attention you will) you can't help but be repulsed by the whole concept of it all. The colors, the lighting, and the slow and languid camera movements suit the pacing of the film very nicely and it all just comes together and works.

Video:

Mega Star's 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is a true thing of beauty. The colors are bright and bold and alive and the black levels remain very deep and stark without breaking up or turning into a blocky pixelated mess at all. There is some mild edge enhancement and some noticeable line shimmering effects present but that's about the extent to which I can complain. There's no print damage and only a slight hint of very natural looking film grain. Dumplings looks great on DVD.