Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Spiral
User Score
6.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 15
  3. Negative: 2 out of 15

Review this movie

  1. Your Score
    10 out of 10
    Rate this:
    out of 10
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling

  3. Characters remaining: 5000 out of 5000

view
per page
  1. C
    Sep 30, 2008
    5
    This really didn't capture the feel of the manga for me. I highly recommend any of Junji Ito's comics if you like Japanese horror. I get sort of sick thinking about his work, but I think that is the point. The film adaptations don't do that for me.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. WilliamY.
    Oct 31, 2002
    8
    I felt compelled to rate this movie highly for it's sheer uniqueness. It really does summon a Lovecraftian mood with it's sense of unknowable horror and images of people going through grotesque physical changes, but it also evokes Clive Barker and Tim Burton. Many of the images resemble Barker's artwork, although I don't know if that was intentional or if I'm only making the connection myself. Yet despite these perceived influences, Uzumaki is definitely it's own creature, with a lot of imaginative force lent to it by the entire creative team. At times, it seems a bit too ornate, the acting a bit over-exaggerated, but these seem to have been stylistic decisions and they ultimately work well at establishing the appropriate surreal flavor for the piece as a whole.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. MandiA.
    Sep 27, 2002
    9
    Hugely enjoyable, beautiful on the eyes and the heart, full of stunning imagery and hilarious shlock-shocks - a total winner! I would suggest also reading the original Junji Ito manga, which focuses a lot more on horror and less on laughs...
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. Jovi
    May 3, 2002
    3
    If I am not mistaken, this movie was released a year and a half ago under the title, "VORTEX." If this is the same film which I think it is, then it does not deliver in the horror or suspense, but it does deliver cheese and sillyness. It doesn't really make any sense of how and why this shape appears or why it effects the viewers in the small town. This is a strange attempt at trying to be Village of the Damned meets Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. … Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. MichaelS.
    May 9, 2002
    7
    If someone came to your home and delivered the cheese and the silliness, you would consider that person to be a very good pizza-man, and you'd tip him generously. That's about how UZUMAKI works. It is funny, has a few genuinely disturbing moments, and while I admit that it peters out, it manages to entertain on the basis of its own audacity. (How many films are there in which a town is menaced by a design motif?) UZUMAKI is a bit like Tim Burton-does- J-Horror, and as such it is stylish, disposable, and well worth your time.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. YoonC.
    Sep 21, 2003
    4
    Genuinely eerie premise spirals into nonsensical effects and pointless horror. An interesting twist on horror films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a vision of a world where everyone seems to be falling under the spell of some disease that might be called spiralitis, psychologically and physically succumbing to spiral visons and shapes. At its most fascinating the movie seems to suggest that the world is a conspiracy of patterns and that we're all helpless in the long run against funneling into an hole into another dimension. Yet, like so many other Japanese horror movies, the idea lacks investigative depths and stops at second rate effects. … Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. KarlJ.
    Jul 17, 2007
    4
    I didn't like it. Not scary, not good looking.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. AutumnC.
    Dec 14, 2003
    10
    I loved this movie the first time I saw it! I have just recently started reading the manga for this movie, they are good as well!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. kammi666
    Dec 11, 2010
    7
    Ah, Uzumaki how I love you.. This movie is by no means a serious movie, nor was it meant to be. but it is pretty and original and good for laughs. At points its creepy as all hell (the bug scene is insane), then it goes completely bonkers (girl with the AWESOME hair). But theres nothing better than a side of cheese with a good movie, so if your a fan of b movies and cheesey horror, its definately worth a watch.… Expand
prev next
Page:
  • 1

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    83
    A mix of H.P. Lovecraft madness, David Cronenberg biological mutation and David Lynch small-town weirdness, it teasingly dangles explanations never delivered and escapes never sought, while diving into one of the most gonzo horrors to twist onto celluloid in years.
    Read full review
  2. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    70
    This deliriously unsettling film evokes H.P. Lovecraft's exquisitely creepy stories of encroaching madness -- not so much in story terms but in its perversely spooky ambience -- with a subtle dose of David Lynch's dark sense of humor.
    Read full review
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Edward Crouse
    70
    With playful, compelling gore having slowed to a near trickle stateside, Uzumaki demands attention.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »