StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

axapvov I always have a hard time rating shocking films. As a concept they often disgust me but at the same time I can appreciate this kind of tales based on the darkest side of humanity rather than ghosts and fantasies. They´re far more interesting alright but, are they really that good? I´m talking about Funny Games or Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. I find Audition to be a lot less shocking than those two, but it has a sub-plot on child abuse that makes it a lot richer. It´s more subtle and nuanced too, and tries to find beauty in all of this, even some twisted romance.At times it seems this kind of films rely entirely on their shock factor but I think it´s a mistake to base my opinion on it. That would be, for instance, like rating a thriller on a plot twist alone. What about all the rest? Audition stretches the mistery for about an hour and seems to have run out of time when it finally wants to unravel it. A rushed dream sequence is supposed to get it all out of the way quickly. That first hour is supposed to be tenseful since we suspect something is wrong and yet, when it finally does, it seems to come out of nowhere, unresolved. On top of that I don´t find the torture, which apparently is the most important part, to be any more memorable than the one on Marathon Man. Certainly not enough to glorify this tale as an all-time classic. If I had time to get a bit into the mind of the girl maybe the "deeper, deeper" would mean more than just "I´m gonna do this now, if that´s ok".In conclusion, I find myself in the middle ground. It isn´t either that good or that bad. It´s a fine example of that asian horror new-wave, with enough elements to become a cult film but too vague to really leave a mark.

rdoyle29 One of Miike's subtlest and most nuanced films, most of which is obliterated in most discussions of the film by a focus on the outrageously gory climax. A widower decides to remarry and is lured into a plan by his friend ... they will stage a fake audition for an actress and he'll use this to find a prospective bride. He finds a young woman who meets all his criteria, but she comes with some mighty baggage. This film is often spoke of as if it's a straightforward revenge scenario ... this man pays the price for his sexist ways ... but it's really quite a bit subtler than that. In a way, it's really about a man who has disconnected from the world after his wife's death being forcibly reconnected to another person, partly due to his own callous misdeeds, but also due to her legitimate desire to connect with him on her own terms. So ... it's really kind of a love story.

Sherparsa loved the concept, tolerated the so-so story, admired certain scenes and moments and the filming etc ... and there is no doubt its director CAN make watchable movies that many will applaud (as we can see by the so many positive reviews here too) but ...but i just had to quit watching it towards the end, about when the girl is alone in the room with the man, having her own ways with him ...maybe that was too much? dunno ... or maybe it's going to end much better than i expected? i doubt so 'cause the movie has finished off telling its entire story by then and left nothing to be desired unless one's into watching (and enjoying?) gore ... maybe i'll watch the rest later, maybe not ... after all, i'm not the only person who ''left the theater in the middle of the show'' when watching this movie ...back to the concept of the movie though, yes, it is a very important and sensitive issue the movie is addressing, and i am in full agreements with the writer of the story in pointing out today's emotionally troubled and "tortured" girls and women in highly advanced and materialistic societies, where art is for money and money's for the rich only, who may not care so much about the arts anyway ...only have one question here though: if badly treated women can treat potentially good men so harshly, then how would a badly treated man treat a potentially good woman? let's not forget: although "Women Are Always Right No Matter What!", we do however live in a time that many women cheat too, freely, openly, mercilessly, and at times even humiliating men to so high a degree one thinks maybe today's men are only the subjects of females historical revenge of males!? but there are quite a number of men who are cheated brutally by some women yet many of those men don't go around taking revenge on other women in such an unjust manner, do they? is the morale of this story then women are potentially more violent than men? i don't think so ...in the end, this movie is all about torture and violence and gore, and in a sick manner, unfortunately! from a really good start and rather good climax, it suddenly turns into a cheap gore movie the likes of which are so many around these days ... well, "these days" as of the 1990s and 1980s at least ... maybe this is a movie that ends that era? and tries to do it as most gracefully as possible? is it? i don't think so about that one either!that is why although i was going to mark this movie with a 10/10, i had to change my mind and gave it only 03/10 ... still would give the concept 10/10 anyway ...

Leofwine_draca AUDITION is a film I knew little about before watching - modern Japanese cinema is something I'm not very knowledgeable about and Japanese "horror" films even less so. I had heard about AUDITION being extremely dark, brutal and disturbing with some amazing twists during its cinema run, so out of curiosity I had to rent it. What I got was a mixed movie, sometimes gripping but definitely not one I would call "entertaining" to watch. For the first hour and twenty minutes, it's a slow-paced tale of romance with some mystery aspects which keeps you watching through some interesting, subdued direction from Takashi Miike. This gives the film its realistic edge, and it also incorporates some strong acting on the parts of the two leads; Ryo Ishibashi creates a portrait of a sad, lonely middle-aged man so that you have a ton of sympathy for his character and can relate to his desperation. In comparison, Eihi Shiina's almost unearthly look - there is something very fragile and beautiful about her - sits well with her mysterious and unexplained character whom nobody else in the film seems to know much about. Shiina is excellent in the role and deserves to go on to a big career in Japan.For the first hour and twenty minutes - normally the running time for a "normal" Western film - there isn't much horror here to tell about, other than a few flashy disturbing images of a severed tongue slapping on the floor, a man getting his head slowly and deliberately sliced off, and a great shock sequence involving a moving bag. Then, at around that eighty minute mark, the film begins to change and become colder and disturbing. Dreams are mixed with reality to create a visually confusing film and Miike delights in tormenting the viewer with a hideous image of a man in a sack with no feet and few fingers. You begin to wonder what the hell is going on, and then the films ends ambiguously making you wonder whether what you just watched really happened or not.Before that ending comes one of the strongest - in terms of physical torture - segments of a film that I've yet to see, which is tough to sit through. Basically it's a scene of a paralysed Ishibashi being slowly and deliberately tortured by Shiina, who delights in getting as much pain as possible from her victim. First via the use of strategically-inserted needles, and then in the film's most stomach-churning moment, she actually saws his foot off - in graphic detail. This is far stronger and darker stuff than many of the shoddy and amusing video nasties that were prosecuted in the early '80s, yet is released uncut today in Britain - it shows how much our society has changed. The realism of this sequence makes it pretty nauseous and you can't help but be grateful when it's all over. So did it really happen? I don't know, and I don't plan on watching this film again anytime soon to find out. It's very interesting stuff and highly disturbing, as well as being well-made, but an entertaining movie it is not.