Audition (Collector's Edition) [1999]

Customer Reviews:

Disturbing and twisted, but not exactly original.......2008-03-05

H-e-e-y, it's a weird one. Because it's done for "The Bunny Boiler" genre What Gus Van Sant did for the Indie film genre - add that additional touch of surreality. Mix Jacobs Ladder with Play Misty For me, and this is what you get. Uncomfortable viewing, though no more so than any kind of American theatre-bound celluloid, just in a different direction.

There's no escaping what's going to unfold based on the cover of the DVD and the brief synopsis, but it shows a strength in breaking the convention and by the fact that there wasn't any right or wrong - it just was.

In days of yore films followed rules - horrors/chillers/thrillers - the innocent suffered and the evil were always punished - and as much as Hollywood championed those rules, I think the alternative was invented in LA LA Land too, just the same as the idea of the Anti-Hero. But it takes the obscurity of Asian cinema to really hammer home the rule of "no rules" - the fact that this film somehow found its way in front of us, either by recommendation (in my case) or self investigation, in itself is a testament to what's actually being achieved and therefore more effectively subverts, then utilises those conditions.

The set up was good, the way poetry was woven into the delicate love story, and the "Okay, so are we dreaming now, or is this real?" direction, as much as we're told by those in "the know" that this is a "no-no" added to it too. I was wincing through the entire second half and it'd be difficult for anyone to walk away from it unaffected.

To be honest, I wouldn't watch it again though - it'll be back on ebay tomorrow - as cerebral as it was, it didn't quite marry up with my tastes and also I figure it's one of those films that once you've seen, you know there's absolutely nothing that makes you want to watch it again. That said, I'm glad I did see it.

Overall: Stylish, different, creepy, disturbing, twisted, but ultimately, throwaway.

It's a 3 1/2 stars.......2008-03-03

Quiet good, but just lacking something to make it a 4.
I read some of the negative reviews before I rented this and I'm at a loss to figure out how many of the negative posters refer to it as boring. Unless you are expecting 'Die Hard' then the film moves along at a nice pace. The 'boring' sections are what those more enlightened might refer to character and plot development, but be warned the finale is disturbing to say the least although it does stop short from leaving you and the characters in entire despair..but just :-)
This film gets you thinking, which is always a good sign.

wicked.......2008-03-02

I was expecting more from this film, although i was throughly impressed. i think it slightly lacked a conclusion but if you've seen tartan movies before most of them do. the trick i think is, to keep you wondering. its not the most extreme film ive sen (as i am still searching) but it has its fair share of bone chilling, strange moments that make you're skin crawl. even though ive developed a strong stomach from watching these films they sometimes still surprise me and audition did do that. I think the actors were brilliant and if you loved films like Visitor Q then its worth the watch. it did creep me out a bit though so i wouldnt advise you watch it on your own.

intense in places, but as a whole...underwhelming.......2008-02-08

I do not consider myself in any way squeamish or easily disturbed, so it is a rarity these days that a film comes along that has the power to genuinely shock me. However, Takashi Miike's Audition managed to succeed in doing exactly that.
In what appears at first to be a simple love story, single father Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), on the advice of his son and his best friend, decides to start dating again, with the view to looking for a wife. Not having dated since the death of his wife 7 years ago, he turns to his best friend television producer Yoshikawa, who comes up with the idea of holding an audition for a fake film, allowing Aoyama to choose which girls get seen, and then choosing one girl from this group who will (hopefully) become his new partner. Everything seems to be going to plan (maybe a little to much to plan), when Aoyama meets Asami (Eihi Shiina), a girl whom he is immediately smitten with. The two begin dating, but as Aoyama tries to get to know Asami, strange inconsistencies and unsettling facts begin to surface about her and her past. As Aoyama pursues his fears, Asami decides to exact a hideous revenge upon him.
This is a film of three distinct stages. At first it comes across as a simple romance, although even then there are strange images and clues that point to an unsettling truth. As Aoyama tries to uncover the truth about Asami, the film becomes much darker and unsettling, tweaking a sense of rising fear from unsettling information, strange dreamlike sequences and some very odd encounters. However, it is with the final denouement that the film really gives you everything its got, with a scene so shockingly gripping that it will be hard to forget (not since Wolf Creek have I seen anything this graphic).
The film is never less than beautiful to look at (in particular one achingly beautiful scene of Asami standing on a balcony, sounds like nothing, but trust me it is breathtaking), and the film relies on a series of fractured timelines and dreamlike sequences rather akin to the Grudge to set the scene and the mood for what is to come. Unfortunately, the final scene, for all its intensity and brutality does not really bring the movie to anything like a satisfactory conclusion. Whilst we are aware of much of Asami's past, and I do not believe that audiences need everything spelling out for them, her motivation is left more than a little vague. Coupled with a string of characters that are never really fleshed out and a mystery that is left just too mysterious, the film fails to really pull it all together satisfactorily. Some people will love this film for its shock value, some will hate it for its shock value. This reviewer however, was left neither hating it nor loving it, but feeling a little under whelmed by the whole thing.

Strange but interesting.......2007-11-22

A train wreck in slow motion; you know it is going bad but you cannot stop it. This was a first for me; a Japanese film without swords and I enjoyed it. The gore is nasty in a different way to Hollywood and not that gory in reality, what gets to you is the tension and the build up which is done well. The pace is slow and a little too slow for me and I also found the structure a bit lumpy with a few extraneous scenes but this makes it sound worse than it is. A very good psychological study on obsession and it was nice to see the Ryo Ishibashi character Aoyama knocked out of his smug slack existence.

Average customer rating:

TROMA!!!!

Monster In The Closet [1987]
Starring: Donald Grant , Denise DuBarry , Claude Akins , Howard Duff , and Henry Gibson
Director: Bob Dahlin
Manufacturer: Hollywood DVD Ltd
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00013KCKY
Release Date: 2003-11-24

Customer Reviews:

TROMA!!!!.......2001-03-25

This is a classic Troma movie.The story is about a monster that kills people from closets and travels from closet to closet on a killing spree.But soon enough comes out... The funny thing is you dont understand the whole closet joke thing until the end (or you read amazons own little review which spoils a bit of it) In case your dumb or cant be bothered to read amazons summary thing so find the answer to the closet joke,the monstar is in fact GAY!!! See now it makes sense!! This is a funny film especially the shower scene This is a must for all Troma fans though it doesnt have as much sex and violence as most Troma fims its still a great film!!!!

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