Review of Audition (2000) by Jorden L — 10 Mar 2010

I know I'm about 10 years late with this one, and as a fan of what I have seen of Takashi Miike, I don't really have an excuse.

I'd heard this film could shake even the most desensitised of horror fans, and testimonials from famous horror directors like John Landis and Rob Zombie stating even they couldn't stomach it, set expecations high.

Surpringly, I wasn't fully let down, despite having no problem sitting through it myself. It's brilliantly crafted, the vast majority of the film is a device, a deceptive build-up to the final scenes, with only a few chilling moments prior to the deranged climax. In all fairness, I found Miike's short film "Imprint" harder to endure, but that probably stems from the subject of torture in that one being a woman, and me being an old-fashioned sexist, for lack of a better term, find it less jarring to see such obscene acts being perpetrated on a fellow man.

Still, the fact that this isn't just a cheap shockfest, really goes in it's favour. The psychological context is arguably just as frightening as the immensely graphic violence. It's as disturbing as you'll find a film, sure, but thankfully it doesn't take away from the fact that despite a few inconsistencies, probably due to some things naturally getting lost in translation, and a lack of understanding on my part regarding certain cultural aspects of the Japanese setting, this is a great film, and one that you won't forget for a while.