The Movie Diorama I've seen a few J-horrors to know that the genre is filled with some sick and twisted entries. But honestly, not seen anything quite like this. A widow attempts to find a wife again by hosting auditions for a fake film. He becomes captivated by a young girl named Asami who remains elusive until her true intentions are shown. A clear narrative structure where the story builds up the tension and releases all hell within it's harrowing climax. And what an ending! I can deal with Asami's torture methods. I've got that down. What I could not comprehend was just one scene. I shan't spoil it, but it does involve vomit. I've never seen anything quite like it. Scarred for life. Too much detail. My eyes. They are bleeding. What was left of my innocence, has now dissipated. The context of the story and its purpose are well explored and described. Portraying how rich greedy men view women as just objects. The beauty of this horrific nightmare, is that the character who was truly in control was Asami herself. She is able to manipulate his mind. Sure she has issues as a person, I won't deny that. But it's refreshing to see that the male protagonist is the vulnerable character. It works on so many levels. Takashi Miike's direction was interesting to observe. A variety of different camera techniques to convey control and power in the blossoming relationship. Aoyama always looks at the camera whereas Asami consistently looks down on the floor, POV shots to increase suspense, long stationary shots to let the characters interact...and then skewed angles for the nightmarish climax. Speaking of said ending, I do think it becomes slightly too crazy too quickly. The build up was exceptional, masterfully crafted with an unnerving undertone throughout...and then it happens. As if Miike knew that time was depleting so he had to quickly wrap it up. I did find the first two acts occasionally slowed down to a halt but the pay off is what we wanted, and it delivers. Needles, wires, drugs, clamps...Asami is well equipped!

quinimdb "Audition" is an incredibly effective horror film, but most of it is not actually horror. The first hour or so of the film is literally a romantic film, which is fitting, because Shigeharu Aoyama is a hopeless romantic. He lost his wife in the opening scene of the film, but the rest of the film takes place 7 years later. Shigeharu has been alone for a long time now, and a conversation with his son in which he is told that he should remarry seems to strike a chord with him. He suddenly feels he should find a wife, and his friend in the movie business suggests that he come to an audition for a film in order to choose his potential wife. It seems that he still feels as if his wife is watching over him, and it seems his criteria for a new woman that would be suitable for him is just all of the superficial things that made up his wife. He also seems to still be attached to her, still feeling guilty for being with a new woman, but he disregards the feelings and continues his search. He finally finds someone who seems perfect. Asami Yamazaki is a thoughtful, pretty young woman who seems to have felt loss just as Shigeharu has. But something is just not right. Her behavior is strange, and as we see from shots within her house, she seems... obsessed. And it is definitely implied that she has kidnapped a human being and put him in a bag. Obviously, the audience is constantly on edge at this point. Finally, they go out on a weekend retreat and the first thing Asami does is have sex with Shigeharu. She asks that he will only love her, and then the next morning, she is gone. With no goodbye. From here, the film slowly descends into a nightmare.Shigeharu has a conversation with his friend who set up the audition. His friend, Yasuhisa, he should just give up with this one, and that he really is just a boring middle aged man. But Shigeharu cannot accept this. He yells at Yasuhisa and storms out of the room to find Asami in person, where she lives. However, all he finds is dark, repressed secrets and memories. Then, in an ingenious shot that suddenly reveals itself to be a POV shot, we realize Asami has entered into Shigeharu's home, and drugged his whiskey, all without saying a word. Then Shigeharu comes home, and all we can do now is watch with horror as the incredibly disturbing and surreal dreams and memories unfold. It is revealed that Shigeharu once slept with his assistant who had been acting strange around him for the whole film, and it was possibly an affair. We also learn about Asami's dark past of being abused and neglected repeatedly, and eventually embracing the pain. She now only accepts all of someone's love and no less, and it cannot be shared with anyone else, wince that is what she believes she is giving them. And if not... well... let's just say she forces you to have only her and to appreciate her.I won't go into detail with the torture scenes near the end, but let me just say, not only was I hiding behind my hands the entire time, but at one moment, I legitimately had to look away. I watch a lot of horror movies, and I've seen torture porn. None of it is nearly as genuinely disturbing as this. If I had one complaint with the film, it would be that it was maybe a bit too slow paced in the start, but of course the payoff is entirely worth it.The film taps not only into the deepest, darkest depths of Shigeharu's psyche, but ours. For most of the film, it seems romantic, because that is the way Shigeharu looks at the world, and it's the way we look at the world. He convinces himself he loves Asami, but he is truly just using her to not be alone, and the only reason he uses her is because she is very similar to his wife. In reality, he (most likely) cheated on his wife with his secretary, and now, while he has completely neglected to acknowledge what he did, his secretary still secretly expected something more out of him, and the hints are clearly there, yet he decides to ignore them in favor of the happier story. This is what happens with Asami, and this is why the film the structured the way it is. All of the red flags for Asami are there, and even though he sees these, he refuses to accept them, and refuses to accept that he is really just a boring, middle aged man in order to fulfill his romantic fantasies. But as he is told in his dream after the gruesome torture scene, Asami is "the real heroine, not the one is the movie". Shigeharu wants the "movie heroine", but ends up revealing "the real one". After finding out about one gruesome murder Asami committed, Shigeharu is finally confronted, in the form of a question, with what the truth he has been avoiding this whole time: "Isn't the world a horrible place?"

astena There are a few moments of explicit gore, but nothing even marginally scary or suspenseful about this film. The plot is sadly kind of pedestrian, the dialogue is juvenile, the ending predictable, and I found myself struggling just to keep my attention focused on the screen. The lead actress does an adequate job of her role, but otherwise, this film is a real yawn. I'm a big fan and a bit of a connoisseur of Asian horror films, and so my opinion is not based on not understanding the twists or not appreciating Asian-style horror. But horror films should keep you guessing. They should shock you, disturb you, and the scenes should linger in your mind long afterwards. This movie offers none of those things. I suspect a lot of the reviewers who gush about what a masterpiece this film is are folks who will gush over anything that the media claims is genius, just to seem as though they are cultured and have a sophisticated sense of what qualifies as "art". If you want something that messes with your mind, you're much better off seeing "Ju-On" or the deliciously twisted "Tale of Two Sisters." But as for "Audition" being a top-ten Asian horror film, I wouldn't even place it in the top hundred. Two stars out of ten.

sorinapha After watching this film, I finally understand why so many people have had such strong reactions to it over the years. It's gut- wrenching, disgusting, and surprisingly emotional. This film, a favorite of many horror directors, proved to be a wild ride from start to finish. It began on a deceptively optimistic note, playing like an offbeat romantic comedy until halfway through. Then, little signs start to slop in-- for example, camera angles that don't feel right in an upbeat setting. The people around Aoyama start to get suspicious, and that's when the film begins to slowly descend into a spiral of madness. The sounds, to me, were the worst aspects of the climax. Everything sounds more authentic than in any film of this nature I have ever seen-- in fact, to compare this to any other films feels absurd now. Is this the hardest-to-watch film I've ever seen? Not quite-- though some might disagree with me, I had a slightly harder time getting through Kim Jee-woon's I Saw The Devil (2010), but this film was decidedly a close second.Proceed with extreme caution. It is not for everyone in the slightest, but if you can survive it, it's pretty damn amazing.