There’s nary a hint of terror in the first half of “Audition,” a Japanese shocker which set an early standard for the subsequent torture porn tide.
But films like “Hostel” never told a story as impeccably as director Takashi Miike does here.
“Audition” follows a middle aged man trying to find love long after the death of his wife.
What he discovers is a nightmare audiences won’t soon forget.
The film stars Ryo Ishibashi as Aoyama, a kindly widower whose teen son suggests he find a new bride.
Aoyama’s friend, a fellow television producer, concocts a scheme to find a match for his pal. The two will hold auditions for a new production requiring a young, attractive leading lady.
All Aoyama has to do is sit in on the interviews and pursue any wannabe starlet he fancies.
He quickly settles on a former ballerina named Asami (Eihi Shiina), a lithe beauty with a very sad past.
Sad may be an understatement.
The first scare in “Audition” couldn’t be any more startling, and Miike’s restraint up until that point seems darn near genius.
“Audition” ramps up the terror from here, thrusting his characters into situations grounded by the well crafted narrative.
Our protagonist, all sad eyes and respectful glances toward the young actresses, reflects a callous disregard for women. And the ballerina, for her part, suggests a sly commentary on tables being turned in post-feminist fashion.
The film falls back on a tired melange of dream sequences and time shifting near the conclusion. But once our broken ballerina reveals her true intentions the film becomes a white-knuckle thriller.
“Audition” isn’t for the squeamish, but patient horror fans will be rewarded by a finale that trumps anything else the brief torture porn movement gave us.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s been several years since I’ve seen the film, I loved it mainly because of how different it is from modern American horror films. The main character isn’t a highschool kid or 20 something and they didn’t feel the need to inject humor into it.
If my memory is correct something disturbing is done with vomit that I’ve never seen done before and after seeing the film I’ll never go see an accupuncturist. The last part of the film is very disturbing.
Your memory serves you well … and I’ll never look at a canvas sack the same way again.
There have been some incredible horror movies from Asia the last few years and “Audition” is near the top. It makes “Play Misty for Me” and “Fatal Attraction” look like Disney flicks.
What Paula said.
The ending is one of the most disturbing scenes I have ever seen. It probably helps that I just stumbled on it on TV one night, having no idea what the film was about, and was totally unprepared for the visceral gut punch it delivered.