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| Audition (Uncut Special Edition) |
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| Actors: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura, Renji Ishibashi |
| Director: Takashi Miike |
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Studio: Lionsgate |
| DVD release: 23 August 2005 |
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Runtime: 115 minutes (1 disc) |
| Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC |
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Based on a novel by Ryu Murakami and directed by Takashi Miike, Audition stars Ryo Ishibashi as Shigeharu Aoyama, a lonely company executive looking for female companionship. Seven years after losing his wife, lonely widower Aoyama finally decides its time to find a new wife, and a friend suggests holding a fake audition to find the right girl. That's exactly what they do - but something isn't right in Whoville when Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina) walks in. I don't want to give away anymore of the plot, because this is sooo much more than a horror movie. In fact, it's really a powerful psychological thriller/drama with some horror elements in it.
The movie is well written, acted and directed. Audition (Odishon) is in the same vein as Fatal Attraction or Basic Instinct but way more intensely and spine-tinglingly horrific. The buildup could be perceived as laconic, but it's really a slow descent into a gut-wrenching ending that might be hard to watch for those sucked into the first sixty minutes of drama. The exploration of deep male fears and the stereotypical submissive Japanese woman elevates this film beyond its horror-soaked ending.
The DVD comes with a biography/filmography of Takashi Miike, an interview with him, photo gallery, and tour of Egyptian theater. An excellent and believable drama that devolves into the much-talked about bodily torture climax.
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