Audition (1999)

I had best friend named Kayleen. We were young and angsty and pretty twisted little teens. One might have even called us weird, though we were just confused kids who liked confusing things. Emily the Strange, Marilyn Manson, Tim Burton and hating on posers--these were our passions. Once, Kayleen introduced me to a little Japanese film called "Audition". She was always the bigger horror film fan and especially liked the Asian stuff. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but eight years later images from the film from our giggly little freak night are still fresh in my mind. That's how scary this movie is.

Seven years after the death of his wife, Shigeharu (Ryo Ishibashi) is convinced by his teenage son to remarry. I expect it's a difficult process to be middle-aged and enter the dating scene again, especially when it was death and not divorce that separates you from your spouse. Shigeharu finds it difficult at any rate. But he works as a producer and a coworker gives him the idea to stage an audition for a film so that he might learn about certain girls and finally meet his future wife.

He does, and picks a quiet, beautiful girl with a troubled past. He doesn't tell her his true intentions, but a romance forms organically into something delicate and sweet. Troubling undertones begin to emerge though and soon it becomes clear that this girl is not all that she seems and by far a better actress than this producer expected.

It does take a very long while for the film to get going. You might even find yourself forgetting that it is a horror film as it takes about an hour to get through the setup. It isn't necessarily a bad thing. The first two acts are nice in their own right and would make a sentimental romantic tale of a man trying to cheat love. It is also acerbically witty making it perfectly reasonable to deviate from traditional horror plots.

The third act, however, is explosive and unforgettable. Its graphic intensity makes some moments too horrible to watch. Director Takashi Miike takes girls with daddy issues to a whole new level and makes it very clear that you can't short change the encounters between those you love. Its final 30 minutes are a fantastical set of memories and delusions woven around a nightmarish reality that will leave you white-knuckled. So long has passed since my initial viewing and I still remember quotes verbatim from those final moments.

I don't know if less back story would make this movie better or scarier. What we find at the end might have been cheapened if we weren't completely invested in two sad, lonely souls searching for each other. The final product, though, is gruesome and disturbingly awesome. Watch it and tell me you won't go to sleep hearing "Kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri!" over and over in your head.

3.5/4