Review of Audition (2000) by Daryl S — 15 Jun 2011

I haven't been a horror fan all my life. I read the hell out of Stephen King, but as far as watching horror movies......they were few and far between. That all changed in 2001 when I saw Takashi Miike's AUDITION.

I had read about it on the internet; the movie was being called the most controversial thing to come along in a while. There were massive walkouts of any theatrical showing. And the movie itself was being called a dangerous piece of art.

I had to see it. I ordered a copy off the internet and remember opening the package carefully, like it was a bomb or a pissed-off weasel. Later that day, I watched a movie that forever changed my perception of movies.

This WAS a dangerous film. The first 45 minutes are purely a melodrama. It lulls you into a false sense of security. You actually start to finish the movie in your mind; just knowing it's going to go the way you think.

Then, right around that magical 45-minute mark, the movie takes a HARD right. You begin to cringe, you get severly confused, and you get extremely nervous of where the film might go. The ending is the most famous scene and in the days before we were bombarded by the SAW movies and HOSTEL, it was one of the most harrowing things I'd ever seen.

But let's not get carried away with the shock. The movie disturbs just as much in it's confusion and ambiguity. It made me a true horror fan. I had never experienced such a ride. And I wanted to feel it again.

So I sought out any and all I could find. Does that make me crazy or sick in the head? Nah. People are just as psycho about sports. But this movie is the reason you are now reading these reviews. Miike, you're a sick basterd, but you just might be a genius.