Audition (1999)
For as long as I can recall, I've never really found horror movies all that scary.
I love them - don't get me wrong. It's my favorite genre, above all else, but for some reason it's core purpose, to scare, seems to fall flat for me. So, I've decided to set out on a horror movie crusade to find a movie that truly gets to my core.
I grew up watching the Jaws and Critters series on repeat, starting at the age of 7. I recall a healthy dose of Tales from the Crypt episodes when I was 10 (Thanks Dad), and from there I think I just never truly felt scared during a movie. I think being exposed to grotesque horror at such a young age had the adverse affect on me. I became desensitized and enamored with these movies.
I'm not going to give a long commentary on the plot of the film, you can find the plots on countless other websites. Please note that there will be spoilers regarding the movies I cover. I'll just be giving a brief synopsis, followed by my personal feeling towards the movie, and rate them on a 1-10 scale in 3 categories.
How scary was the movie? (Will I actually feel scared during this movie, or take the feeling with me after I'm done? Will any scary visuals haunt me days after I've watched it?)
How upsetting/disturbing/shocking was this movie? (Rating the movie based on gore, disturbing images, upsetting story elements and so on.)
How enjoyable was this movie as a film overall? (Was this a good film, in my opinion, overall?)
I'm going to cover all sorts of sub-genres of horror, check out movies from other countries and all across the ages. I'll be watching these movies on my own, when possible, in the dark, with no other distractions.
With all of that out of the way, it's time to dig into my first pick for this journey, Takashi Miike's Audition.
"Everybody in Japan is lonely," a character states early on in the movie, and I find this theme to be present in a decent chunk of Japanese horror movies I've come across. From movies about seeking companionship through family rental services (which is a real thing) to the rise of digital socializing in favor of in person interactions (Pulse, which I'll get to someday,) the theme of loneliness pops up prominently in Japan.
This theme holds true for Audition, where a middle-aged man named Aoyama is persuaded to find a new wife and remarry. His film producer friend invents a scheme to audition undiscovered talent for a faux movie role, with its true purpose being a dating service for Aoyama. Out of the 30 women who they've narrowed it down to, Aoyama gains a strong interest in Asami; a quiet, slightly off-putting young woman. The two pursue a relationship and she turns out to be a psychopathic murderer with a thing for torture. After a prolonged dream sequence followed by a gruesome torture sequence, the movie comes to an end with Asami being thwarted by Aoyama's son.
What did this movie mean to me?
Audition really spoke to my disdain for the idea of dating. Trying to get to know who a person really is while also giving them your most personal and intimate of moments is a bizarre idea to me. Most women I've dated started out as a friends, because I think it's important to get a feeling of who a person is before starting to share your true self with them.
In my experience, both from my partner and from myself, you're putting on a facade of yourself for the person you're trying to woo. You want them to believe you're this amazing, always happy, always funny person who cooks frequently. Then, you start dating, and after a few months, this perfect version of your/themselves starts to fade away, and your true self takes shape. You suddenly learn that your partner is jealous, or dishonest, or whatever it may be, and the relationship can start to strain. Obviously, i'm only speaking from my own personal experiences and I don't think relationships are doomed to fail by any means.
Audition takes this to the extreme, obviously, as Asami's hidden trait is that she's a tortuous murderer. I never studied film, I'm a little dense and I'm sure this movie means a lot of different things to the people who watch it, or to the people who wrote the movie and the novel it was based on. I can see some viewing it as a form of female empowerment, or even misogyny, but to me, this movie was a cautionary tale of rushing into a relationship with a person you don't really know.
Was it scary?
Overall, I didn't find this movie to be scary at all. While there were a couple of moments of creepiness, like Asami's reaction to Aoyama finally calling her after sitting, presumably, for 4 days in that position.
It was a genuinely creepy moment accentuated with a mild jump-scare, a decent combination. Past that, however, it just didn't really get to me.
Another part that might stick with me for a bit is Asami's look of pure glee while she saws off Aoyama's foot. Her joy is palpable and believable, and far creepy/scarier than any blank faced mask a lesser slasher film villain might wear. While it's entirely possible I encounter a woman who decides she wants to cut my feet off, it's not something I left this movie fearing. I have to leave this movie with a 2/10 rating for scares.
Was it disturbing?
What Audition lacks in actual fear inducing scenes, it more than makes up for in shock value. This movie includes scenes of a 7 year old girl getting branded with an iron, a wiggling, severed tongue, close ups of a man's hand that is missing 3 digits, a lovingly prolonged garrote decapitation, and the infamous torture scene that this movie ultimately leads up to.
Unfortunately, the horror (or almost any movie these days) trope of "if there's a dog, the dog will die" also comes true here, and we see Aoyama's cute little beagle with his neck broken, making Asami 50% less like-able. The part that will definitely stick with me for a while is the horrific "foot sawing" scene with Asami's garrote. It's disgusting and her pure enjoyment of the act adds a lot to the scene, making it far more memorable than anything you'd find in a Saw movie. How disturbing would I say this movie is? It's my first movie so I don't want to rate the film too high, because I know there's going to be some truly horrific visuals coming my way in the future, so I'd have to go with a 7/10.
Was it good?
I'm glad I finally watched Audition, and I'm glad I made it my first choice for this journey. It's been on my radar for nearly 20 years. It's a generally engaging film, and while the extended dream sequence and fake-out "it was all a dream" false ending dropped the score a little bit for me, I still was genuinely entertained by this movie. I wish I'd watched it closer to when it came out, as the plot and "twist" of the movie have been spoiled for me many, many years ago.
For anyone who likes horror, revenge, J-horror, or tortue-porn styled movies, Audition is definitely worth the watch, even if you feel like you know the entire story already. I'll drop another 7/10 on this being a well made, engaging film. Not bad by any means, but not a new favorite.
-Breakdown-
Scare Factor: 2/10
Disturbing Content: 7/10
Overall Film Score: 7/10
If you read this, thanks! If you didn't, that's okay! I'm largely doing this for myself, knowing full well this will probably never get discovered by anyone. If you happen to find this entertaining, or at least have a suggestion for a movie that you think can scare me, please let me know.
This theme holds true for Audition, where a middle-aged man named Aoyama is persuaded to find a new wife and remarry. His film producer friend invents a scheme to audition undiscovered talent for a faux movie role, with its true purpose being a dating service for Aoyama. Out of the 30 women who they've narrowed it down to, Aoyama gains a strong interest in Asami; a quiet, slightly off-putting young woman. The two pursue a relationship and she turns out to be a psychopathic murderer with a thing for torture. After a prolonged dream sequence followed by a gruesome torture sequence, the movie comes to an end with Asami being thwarted by Aoyama's son.
What did this movie mean to me?
Audition really spoke to my disdain for the idea of dating. Trying to get to know who a person really is while also giving them your most personal and intimate of moments is a bizarre idea to me. Most women I've dated started out as a friends, because I think it's important to get a feeling of who a person is before starting to share your true self with them.
In my experience, both from my partner and from myself, you're putting on a facade of yourself for the person you're trying to woo. You want them to believe you're this amazing, always happy, always funny person who cooks frequently. Then, you start dating, and after a few months, this perfect version of your/themselves starts to fade away, and your true self takes shape. You suddenly learn that your partner is jealous, or dishonest, or whatever it may be, and the relationship can start to strain. Obviously, i'm only speaking from my own personal experiences and I don't think relationships are doomed to fail by any means.
Audition takes this to the extreme, obviously, as Asami's hidden trait is that she's a tortuous murderer. I never studied film, I'm a little dense and I'm sure this movie means a lot of different things to the people who watch it, or to the people who wrote the movie and the novel it was based on. I can see some viewing it as a form of female empowerment, or even misogyny, but to me, this movie was a cautionary tale of rushing into a relationship with a person you don't really know.
Was it scary?
Overall, I didn't find this movie to be scary at all. While there were a couple of moments of creepiness, like Asami's reaction to Aoyama finally calling her after sitting, presumably, for 4 days in that position.
Another part that might stick with me for a bit is Asami's look of pure glee while she saws off Aoyama's foot. Her joy is palpable and believable, and far creepy/scarier than any blank faced mask a lesser slasher film villain might wear. While it's entirely possible I encounter a woman who decides she wants to cut my feet off, it's not something I left this movie fearing. I have to leave this movie with a 2/10 rating for scares.
Was it disturbing?
What Audition lacks in actual fear inducing scenes, it more than makes up for in shock value. This movie includes scenes of a 7 year old girl getting branded with an iron, a wiggling, severed tongue, close ups of a man's hand that is missing 3 digits, a lovingly prolonged garrote decapitation, and the infamous torture scene that this movie ultimately leads up to.
Unfortunately, the horror (or almost any movie these days) trope of "if there's a dog, the dog will die" also comes true here, and we see Aoyama's cute little beagle with his neck broken, making Asami 50% less like-able. The part that will definitely stick with me for a while is the horrific "foot sawing" scene with Asami's garrote. It's disgusting and her pure enjoyment of the act adds a lot to the scene, making it far more memorable than anything you'd find in a Saw movie. How disturbing would I say this movie is? It's my first movie so I don't want to rate the film too high, because I know there's going to be some truly horrific visuals coming my way in the future, so I'd have to go with a 7/10.
Was it good?
I'm glad I finally watched Audition, and I'm glad I made it my first choice for this journey. It's been on my radar for nearly 20 years. It's a generally engaging film, and while the extended dream sequence and fake-out "it was all a dream" false ending dropped the score a little bit for me, I still was genuinely entertained by this movie. I wish I'd watched it closer to when it came out, as the plot and "twist" of the movie have been spoiled for me many, many years ago.
For anyone who likes horror, revenge, J-horror, or tortue-porn styled movies, Audition is definitely worth the watch, even if you feel like you know the entire story already. I'll drop another 7/10 on this being a well made, engaging film. Not bad by any means, but not a new favorite.
-Breakdown-
Scare Factor: 2/10
Disturbing Content: 7/10
Overall Film Score: 7/10
If you read this, thanks! If you didn't, that's okay! I'm largely doing this for myself, knowing full well this will probably never get discovered by anyone. If you happen to find this entertaining, or at least have a suggestion for a movie that you think can scare me, please let me know.
