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Audition
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 27 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Written by: Ryû Murakami (novel)
Directed by: Takashi Miike
Release Date:
Theatrical: August 8, 2001
DVD: June 4, 2002
Running Time: 115 minutes, Color
Origin: Japan
Language(s): Japanese (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, and Jun Kunimura
When a Japanese widower holds an audition to search for a potential mate, he finds more than he expected in this eerie thriller.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Dead or Alive Dead or Alive: Final Gozu Ichi the Killer One Missed Call The City of Lost Souls The Great Yokai War The Happiness of the Katakuris Three... Extremes Zebraman
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Slate David Edelstein
During the ghastly, surreal climax, I had fun closing one eye and with the other watching various ashen older men stumble toward the exit.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Audition's take on the war between the sexes is bleak and almost entirely devoid of hope. --It's enough to make you give up dating altogether.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Patrick Z. McGavin
Creates an atmosphere of frenzy that is both powerful and unforgettable, providing neither solace nor comfort.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
The images here are graphic and disturbing. But Miike somehow manages to stop just short of disgusting.
New York Post V.A. Musetto
The faint of heart might want to leave early. If you elect to stay, remember: You were warned.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
A diabolically adroit piece of filmmaking that goes even further than the films of Italy's excruciatingly macabre Dario Argento.
Read Full Review >New Times (L.A.) Andy Klein
A warning is virtually mandated: No one who's even the least bit squeamish should even think about seeing Audition. But, if you have a taste for the disturbing, it's a trip that will stay with you for some time.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
The picture is about victims -- but it's also a great, sick rush with a kicker on the level of "The Vanishing."
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Brazen shocker is never less than compelling -- even when you feel compelled to shut your eyes.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham
This movie can be recommended only to dyed-in-the-wool fans of the genre. Anyone who goes into one of Miike's films must be prepared to be put through the wringer.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Paul Malcolm
How Miike gets us from amiable point A to debilitating point B is a remarkable act of manipulation and control that may leave you feeling sucker-punched, even brutalized, but you won't forget the experience anytime soon.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Eric Campos
One of the most shocking Japanese horror films ever. It needs to be seen to be believed, but those with queasy stomachs would do well to stay away.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Somewhere beyond the extremes of "Fatal Attraction" and "In The Company of Men" festers this elegantly composed, outrageously violent psycho thriller.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
The first two-thirds of the movie are a kind of stumbling relationship drama, but the last third segues into a spooky feast of torture, mutilation and murder.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
Though I hate to ruin the complex experience of following a rather calm story about a lonely widower as it becomes something else, I feel obliged to point out that the hard-core gore and soft-core surrealism of this baroque morality play may not support any theme.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jim Sullivan
A long crawl from inception to climax.
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The most startling aspect of this slow-building horror movie is how unexpectedly it morphs from a quietly romantic suspense yarn to a flat-out tale of terror that may have some viewers hiding under their seats.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Possibly the sourest revenge movie ever, Audition starts off as a sweet, low-key romance, then abruptly turns into a grisly, sadistic thriller.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Dennis Lim
After simmering for an eternity, it derails, with spectacular, psychotic force, bulldozing its way toward an almost unwatchable theater of cruelty.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 27 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
T C gave it a3:
Not scary. Not disgusting. Boring.
rob z. gave it a10:
It's been a few months now, and the images of the movie are still vivid in my mind. It is disturbing, and shocking. But yet, that's what I look for in a horror movie. From the moment that phone rings in her apartment with the shock scene, the action never lets up.
R J gave it an8:
"Audition" reminds me of "Psycho" and "Deliverance" (both brilliant films) in that it leads the audience into thinking the story is moving along in one direction, when all of a sudden, one crucial scene appears that changes the nature of everything that has come before it and the viewer turns around to see the path they have been following is suddenly no longer there, and they are lost in the deep dark woods. After Marion Crane, the only apparent protagonist of "Psycho," with whom everyone in the audience has come to care about and identify with is shockingly murdered, the audience feels stranded and misplaced like a panicked kid who has lost his mother in a gigantic spooky department store. "Audition" has a scene like that which sneaks up on you and leaves you confounded, misled, and deeply apprehensive. It's a scene where the protagonist, Aoyama, calls up the seemingly sweet, soft-spoken young woman he has fallen for, and we see her at her apartment sitting in front of the phone as it rings. I won't go into detail, but what we immediately realize from this moment is that this young woman is severely disturbed, and to be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately we, the audience, like Aoyama, have fallen into the director, Takashi Miike's, diabolical trap. Quite disturbing and memorable.
Rich gave it a9:
This is Miike at his best, creating a film that will confuse and disturb you. The first half starts as a peaceful romantic comedy, and then, slowly builds up to the squirm inducing finale. Yes the start may seem slow, but it all adds to the effect of luring you into a false sense of security. Brilliant.
Peter B. gave it a2:
This movie was awful. I honestly cannot see what everyone else sees in it. Not only is it technically unimpressive--the cinematography was a subpar attempt to imitate a high schooler's video or photo skills-- the storyline was terrible. It took over an hour to even get into any kind of real story, and then the last half hour or so was a trippy, ridiculous and confusing rehash of the crap from first hour. Acting is poor, screenplay is unimpressive, and worst of all- IT'S NOT SCARY! Disturbing, yes, but scary it certainly is not. The unexpected turns that people talk about are not like you'd expect--they're just points in the movie where the director couldn't figure out where to go and instead said "ya know what? I'm gonna just completely change everything just to mess with people!" Avoid if at all possible.
nick a gave it a10:
Horrible, unnerving, grisly, haunting, this film works because it doesn't do what you think it will, some of the scenes are quite gut wrenching and difficult to watch but regardless this is another superb effort from Miike.
sidewinder572 gave it a10:
The best film of the past 10 years. There I've said it. It's everything that a great horror movie should be and it's genius is that it's extremely boring for about the first hour until it slowly creeps up on you and eventually ninja kicks you in the face. Anyone who even consider themelves as a horror fan must see this film.
