During a panel discussion entitled ‘So, what's Japanese cinema got to do with it?’ at the BFI Southbank cinema in London, on 5 December 2007, panelist Tony Rayns was asked if there is a dominant image or understanding of Japanese cinema in Britain. Rayns answered, describing the climax of Ring, ‘undoubtedly, it's a spectral woman with long hair over her face coming out of a well’. In reference to the worldwide proliferation of Ring-esque Japanese horror films, Rayns said, ‘Japan is sick of them. The world is sick of them.’

Rayns’ frustration at the enduring popularity of the same few Asian films should not come as any surprise. It is remarkable, though, that seven years after the theatrical release of Ring, its influence was still so strongly felt. The credit can only lie with Asia Extreme. This book has examined the changing meanings of cult Asian cinema in the UK, as both the basis on which the films were promoted, and the frames of reference with which critics consumed them, changed drastically. Orientalism is alive and well as a practice within both the marketing and reception of contemporary Asian cinema. While representations of the Far East as Other do not have to define the reception of these films by British audiences and critics, they inevitably will when an aggressive and targeted marketing campaign suggests such an interpretation. Likewise, ‘cult’ films can attain their status through these aggressive marketing campaigns; the term ‘cult’ should therefore no longer be applied only to those films which generate a spontaneous fan reaction.

What Tartan achieved with Asia Extreme remains unique and unprecedented, in spite of the company's many imitators. Tartan's broader efforts in releasing a much wider range of contemporary cinema were also successful: the company's highest-earning theatrical release was the American documentary Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004), and in 2008, the company released Michael Haneke's Funny Games, a shot-for-shot remake of the same director's 1997 Austrian film. What was significant about Funny Games is that Tartan also co-produced and co-financed the film, an experimental move into film production.

Tartan's boldest expansion of its activities, and its Asia Extreme brand in particular, came with the launch of ‘Tartan USA’ in 2004. Hamish McAlpine deviated little from his tried-and-tested self-promotion tactics, presenting the company as risk taking and taboo breaking.