Asia Extreme is the name given to shocking films originating from the far east (mainly Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Korea). This aspect of Asian cinema has been dubbed ‘extreme’ due to it’s lack of inhibitions and limits; violence, nudity and psychological issues play frequently overemphasized roles in such movies - which is why a lot of Hollywood re-makes are essentially tamed for Western audiences. Consequently these Hollywood re-makes (sometimes good, but often just a shadow of the originals) have helped to turn Asia Extreme into a very lucrative part of Western film culture. The increasing interest in this area of Asian cinema has allowed companies such as Tartan Video to make some of the genre’s best titles available to mainstream [Western] audiences.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Asia Extreme films is the cinematography; Asian cinema tends to be more experimental and aesthetically adept in general, however Asia Extreme takes it to new heights with all sorts of innovative tricks and visceral optics etc.

Directors such as Park Chan Wook (Oldboy), Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale) and Hideo Nakata (Ringu) are some of the people at the forefront of the Asia Extreme migration, with their films being re-made, gaining critical acclaim at film festivals such as Cannes and/or even just being labelled as cult hits.

Some films that I would personally recommend to newcomers to Asian Extreme cinema are Oldboy, Ringu, Battle Royale, Versus, A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life and Ju-On; these were the films that originally sparked my interest and lured me into delving deeper into the genre.

External Links
• Premier Asia
• Tartan Video