Takashi Miike's Audition is less a horror film than it is a romance thriller, and it surprised me by staying in the mode for a good hour. A man in the movie business uses the audition process to meet a marriable girl, they hit it off, etc., but he gets a lot more than he bargained for. Or does he? While the film can be appreciated as straight-up horror - the girl turns out to be a demented torturer - the second hour's sheer phantasmagoria makes the story ambiguous no matter how straight-forward the filmmakers seem to think the story is. Is it all in the protagonist's mind? There's a case to be made, and the "nightmare" could be attributed to his own feelings of shame (meeting someone under false pretenses, her being so much younger, what his wife would have thought) and fear (he doesn't really know who this girl is, and any new relationship has its anxieties). But while a lot of imagery IS expressionistic, there are also some irreconcilable "objective" moments. Due to the symbolic nature of the man's anxieties, I'm going to go with no solution at all, but rather proclaim that both realities are true, simultaneously, à la Mulholland Dr. A very interesting film, complex and surprising. Heck, to me, the horror scenes were actually the least interesting thing about the movie.
An incredibly unpleasant and effective film from Japanese director Takashi Miike, who after seeing this and Ichi the Killer is a director that I will be keeping an eye on. Audition is directed with absolute skill, filled with great perfromances and some very creepy scenes that will stick in your mind for hours after you have seen it.
The only way I can sum up this movie, is that to me, this has to be every guy's worst nightmare. And I am not going to lie, this will probably make you think twice before you go on a date with someone :)
Highly recommended, but stay away if you're very squeamish.
Well for anyone who thought "so what?" about the whole film, read this...
https://mubi.com/reviews/26849
it all makes perfect sense, the film is NOT a horror movie at all, it is the
blurred perception of the main character of what he wants his next wife to be like, each version of her is a different angle that he perceives her from
Really requires multiple viewings for one to understand all the symbolism and the subtext behind it. This film is not just an ordinary splatter horror, too much layered dreams and symbolism. Takashi Miike is too genius, Ryu Murakami's book it's based on is much simpler though.
I was little disappointed, all the horror was left in the end of the movie, but I don't mind that cos I am not really a horror movie fan. It was lack of connection between the end and rest of the movie I missed. But I do enjoy Japanese slow pace.
Statistically the most unlucky fella ever encountered. Lesson from Mike: Always do background check on the woman you choose to date. You can never know for certain.
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Comments 1 - 15 of 29
iCheckFilms
What the hell was that!! [And, I haven't yet completed watching the movie]....
....
Ok, I am done. Now, what the hell was that!?
IanWass
Great first date movie!Siskoid
Takashi Miike's Audition is less a horror film than it is a romance thriller, and it surprised me by staying in the mode for a good hour. A man in the movie business uses the audition process to meet a marriable girl, they hit it off, etc., but he gets a lot more than he bargained for. Or does he? While the film can be appreciated as straight-up horror - the girl turns out to be a demented torturer - the second hour's sheer phantasmagoria makes the story ambiguous no matter how straight-forward the filmmakers seem to think the story is. Is it all in the protagonist's mind? There's a case to be made, and the "nightmare" could be attributed to his own feelings of shame (meeting someone under false pretenses, her being so much younger, what his wife would have thought) and fear (he doesn't really know who this girl is, and any new relationship has its anxieties). But while a lot of imagery IS expressionistic, there are also some irreconcilable "objective" moments. Due to the symbolic nature of the man's anxieties, I'm going to go with no solution at all, but rather proclaim that both realities are true, simultaneously, à la Mulholland Dr. A very interesting film, complex and surprising. Heck, to me, the horror scenes were actually the least interesting thing about the movie.Groovy09
An incredibly unpleasant and effective film from Japanese director Takashi Miike, who after seeing this and Ichi the Killer is a director that I will be keeping an eye on. Audition is directed with absolute skill, filled with great perfromances and some very creepy scenes that will stick in your mind for hours after you have seen it.The only way I can sum up this movie, is that to me, this has to be every guy's worst nightmare. And I am not going to lie, this will probably make you think twice before you go on a date with someone :)
Highly recommended, but stay away if you're very squeamish.
guffaa88
Well for anyone who thought "so what?" about the whole film, read this...https://mubi.com/reviews/26849
it all makes perfect sense, the film is NOT a horror movie at all, it is the
dondyarizona
Really requires multiple viewings for one to understand all the symbolism and the subtext behind it. This film is not just an ordinary splatter horror, too much layered dreams and symbolism. Takashi Miike is too genius, Ryu Murakami's book it's based on is much simpler though.MarkE89
Not really a horror movie, but too much focus on the gore leaves many viewers to think soCundurs
I was little disappointed, all the horror was left in the end of the movie, but I don't mind that cos I am not really a horror movie fan. It was lack of connection between the end and rest of the movie I missed. But I do enjoy Japanese slow pace.NevertrustGoogle
Statistically the most unlucky fella ever encountered. Lesson from Mike: Always do background check on the woman you choose to date. You can never know for certain.Shingwauk
I wish there was a way to give only a 1/2 check as I couldn't watch most of the second part of the movie.lund218
I was shown this without knowing it was a horror movie. Made the ending so much more screwed up.Lord Magus
Wow I just realized this made it into the TSPDT list. Not my favorite Miike film, but nice going!BadSmile
I liked it.TheGallopingGhost
If you stick it out through the gore, there is a ham fisted and unsatisfying message.americanadian25
Great movie... might turn you off of online dating though.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUj4PF60y8
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