Audition (1999) Movie Review - Unsettling J-Horror Classic

We are one day away from Halloween 2022 and that means we are down to the last two reviews of our K-O-Ween 31 Days of Halloween feature. We have a horror classic coming for you tomorrow. Today we are off to Japan for something entirely different. We are taking a look a Takashi Miike’s disturbing J-Horror hit “Audition” from 1999.

As much of a drama as it is a horror, Audition is an exploration into the effects and consequences of the patriarchal Japanese society. Offering a closeup look into the experiences of young girls and women. Audition has been described as a feminist movie by many.

Featuring a near two hour runtime, for much of its length, it is a heavy drama laced with grief and romance. For the final half an hour, however, it turns into something completely different and entirely horrifying. As always, I will give a quick spoiler free breakdown of the movie. You can feel free to skip this if you like.

Casting Call

Audition begins with Aoyama Shigeharu (Ryo Ishibashi) bending over a hospital bed. His wife is, tragically, coming to the end of her life. Shigeharu’s son arrives just as his mother passes away. Fast forwarding a few years, Shigeharu’s son, Shigehiko (Tetsu Sawaki), is now in high school and Shigeharu has less parenting on his plate. This can mean only one thing. It’s time to get back on the market. 

Struggling to find a date. Shigeharu’s friend, Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura) comes up with a plan. He will arrange a fake casting call. Giving his friend the opportunity to audition potential suitors. Little does he realise, one of which, Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina) will be more than a match for him.

Slow Paced, Compelling, and Utterly Disturbing

Audition was made during a time where the Japanese horror industry was booming from the success of Ringu. Wanting to capitalise on that success, production company Omega Project purchased the rights to Ryu Murakami’s disturbing novel Audition. Bringing the dynamic director Takashi Miike on board, the movie was greenlit and shot in just three weeks.

The result is one of the most surprising, shocking, and disturbing films to come out of Japan. Considering the success of J-Horror as a whole. The fact that Audition remains one of the best examples is truly commendable.

A slow paced drama for the majority of its runtime. Audition digs deep into the feelings of grief and isolation that come from losing a partner. Shigeharu never quite got over losing his wife. And, despite the time since her death, he hasn’t quite moved on. Prompting the casting call that causes all the trouble in the first place. 

Meeting a woman with a massively disturbed past, the age gap between the two is the least of Shigeharu’s concerns. We slowly learn more about Asami’s childhood and the horrific facts of her life unfold. A tale too commonly told by women all over the world; Asami was abused, molested, and taken advantage of. She seeks to find love and acceptance and wishes to be the main focus of someone’s life. And, on top of that, she seeks revenge for the way society has treated her.

More Than a Horror Movie

Audition regularly appears on lists of the best horror movies of all time. Even famous directors cite it as hugely influential; Quentin Tarantino, for example. It basically created its own a sub-genre and its influence can be seen heavily in the “Torture Porn” era of horror that followed. Movies like Saw and Hostel owe much to Audition’s final 30 minutes of macabre violence. Hostel, in particular, pays homage to Audition in a number of ways and features a guest appearance from Takashi Miike himself.

Focusing too much on the horror aspect, however, ignores just how multi-faceted of a movie Audition really is. Indeed, for the most part, it will feel as though you are not watching a horror at all. The first hour and a quarter introduce us to something far more akin to a drama movie about a man seeking love.

Shigeharu is a, somewhat, sympathetic person. But the fun and comical casting call process hides a deeper commentary on society’s treatment of young women. Shigeharu is a victim of life’s cruelty but the women being forced to pose and strip in the men’s silly game are victims of them. Miike has a lot to say and he does it in a layered and nuanced manner that focuses heavily on life’s grey areas.

There is a message throughout Audition to look deeper than the surface and to think about the consequences of how we treat people. A girl with a history that many women can relate to has lost her ability to love and experiences only pain. Believing the two things to be intrinsically linked, she is a product of the environment around her.

The fact that Shigeharu and Yasuhisa abused their positions of power negates any genuine feeling Shigeharu may have for Asami. Could he possibly ever truly love her if he lied to her so they could be together? We are responsible for our own actions and, indeed, the consequences.

Fantastic Acting

Audition is brilliantly acted, throughout. Ryo Ishibashi, as Shigeharu, is excellent. Seemingly very likeable and sympathetic, he manages to display a range of emotions convincingly. The wince inducing final act is made all the more impactful by just how good Ishibashi’s performance is. You feel everything he tries to convey in a horribly visceral manner.

Jun Kunimura is great as concerned friend Yasuhisa, desperate to help Shigeharu find love. Doing an excellent job of emphasising the complexity of the characters of Audition. He never comes across as particularly seedy despite abusing the power he has. Side characters are all really good. Prolific actor Renji Ishibashi, however, is disappointingly wasted in a small, almost b-movie style, villainous role that feels somewhat out of place in the otherwise serious movie.

Special mention has to go to Eihi Shiina as Asami. Shiina is a former model that had limited acting experience before Audition. That she manages to put on such a fantastic, multi faceted, performance is very commendable. Sympathetic, initially; she goes to dark places that make her performance all the more memorable. So many moments from Shiina’s portrayal of Asami stick with you long after the film is done. Her entire performance in the last half an hour is, to put it frankly, iconic. Say “kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri” in a high pitched, song like, voice to any veteran horror fan and they will immediately know what you are talking about. That is because Eihi Shiina makes it so memorable. 

Still Quite Disturbing

I remember catching a showing of Audition on late night TV in the UK not long after its release. Not really knowing what I was watching, I stuck with it as I was a big fan of, basically, anything Japanese. When I was done watching, I immediately called a friend to tell him to check it out. The final half an hour of this movie is legitimately pretty disturbing. Apparently, there were walkouts and people collapsing at showings. A woman sauntered up to Takashi Miike at the Rotterdam Film Festival and told him he was disgusting. Naturally Miike was delighted at this. He later went on to direct Ichi the Killer so this was nothing other than a compliment to him.

Of course, stories like this are worn as a badge of honour in the horror community. They are likely embellished to a certain degree but there is a lot of truth to just how unsettling some people find Audition. Not softened too much by time and the release of movies in the “torture porn” genre of horror. Audition may still be a tough watch today.  The final half an hour is a clinic in uncomfortable viewing. If you are not a fan of graphic violence, dismemberment, and just generally disgusting stuff, you may want to give Audition a miss.

Should You Watch Audition?

You should absolutely watch Audition. It a horror classic, one of the best examples of J-Horror and, perhaps, one of the greatest horror movies from the 90s. For much of its length it plays out as a drama so you need to stick with it. Time may have dulled how shocking it once was but the clever and nuanced story commentating on societal issues faced by women is just as poignant as ever. Oh and we can’t forget the horror icon that is Asami.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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