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If you’re keen to experience a thought-provoking film featuring an unorthodox audition and profound commentary on gender roles and relationship dynamics, we’ve got a picture that might very well scratch that decidedly specific itch. But wait, there’s more! Celebrated director Guillermo del Toro is a fan of the film of which we speak and has even said as much on social media.

With that in mind, you can see all the particulars via the tweet below.

Film: Audition by Takashi Miike. Gorehounds will only get 2 or 3 moments of cringing violence but there's tension throughout.

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 3, 2016

While del Toro is absolutely right that Audition only features gore in brief spurts, that is more than made up for thanks to the undeniably visceral nature of said gore and the almost unbearable baseline of tension prevalent throughout.

Despite Audition’s status as a stone-cold classic, it...

Japanese horror, often referred to as J-horror, has captivated and terrified audiences worldwide with its distinct approach to the genre. Unlike its Western counterparts, which frequently rely on overt violence and jump scares, J-horror typically excels in creating a pervasive atmosphere of dread, tapping into deep-seated psychological fears, and exploring the unsettling realm of the supernatural. This unique sensibility has earned Japanese horror films global recognition and significant influence, particularly during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This article aims to delve into the pantheon of Japanese horror cinema, identifying the most consistently acclaimed films, examining their key features and cultural significance, and exploring their enduring legacy on the international stage.

Defining the Apex of Fear: Identifying the Top Japanese Horror Films

Determining the definitive “best” Japanese horror movies of all time is a subjective endeavor, yet a consensus emerges when examining numerous reputable sources, including film review websites,...

The impact Eminem’s “8 Mile” had seem to still sent ripples in the movie industry, with this time, a similar story being transferred in Japan through the titular school teacher. In the end, however, and despite some similarities, “Yukiko A.K.A” is actually quite different.

Yukiko A.K.A is screening at Asian Pop Up Cinema

Yukiko, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher in Tokyo, lives a rather normal life, dealing with her students and retaining a relationship with a fellow teacher. However, she is also disgruntled with her life, particularly when she realizes that she is not one among the favorite teachers in the school, while her relationship is not as fulfilling as she expects. As such, she channels her frustration in hip-hop, rapping at nights in a park along with some similar-minded friends. When she loses miserably in a rap fight, however, she realizes that she needs to make a change.

It's February! The month of cold weather, the Super Bowl, and of course, Valentine's Day! Yes, Valentine's Day, the most ridiculous of holidays, one that seemingly only exists to sell overpriced heart-shaped boxes of disappointing chocolates. If the onset of Valentine's Day has you in a romantic mood but you're still craving the blood and guts of the horror genre, you're in luck! This month's horror streaming column is devoted to romance-tinged horror flicks you can watch with your significant other, or all by your lonesome.

Read more: These Are The 35 Most Disturbing Movies Of The Century So Far

Audition

Streaming on Shudder, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Kanopy.

It's probably fair to say that "Audition" is the film that really introduced filmmaker Takashi Miike to a wider Western audience. In this nasty piece of work, a middle-aged man named Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) who lost his wife seven years ago teams up with his friend,...

Ryū Murakami’s cult 1990s Japanese horror thriller novel Audition is heading to the screen once again, courtesy of Speak No Evil writer Christian Tafdrup.

It is not hyperbole to say that Takeshi Miike’s Audition is easily one of the most memorable horror films of the 1990s. Miike is well known for his ultraviolent films, including Ichi The Killer and Imprint – the latter being an episode of the Masters Of Horror series deemed so gratuitously violent it was banned from broadcast, eventually surfacing on DVD. By contrast, Audition is a masterclass in restraint, the tension building to unbearable levels before its horrifying finale.

Based on the 1997 novel by Ryū Murakami and released on 1999, the plot follows Shigeharu Aoyama, played by Ryo Ishibashi, a lonely middle-aged widower who hatches a scheme to find a girlfriend by holding fake film auditions. Here he meets Asami, played by Eihi Shiina, a sweet,...

If you have seen the 1999 Japanese horror film Audition, you know it's a movie that means business. It's a bit of a slow burn, but once it gets going and heads towards its gruesome climax, you can't help but have to pick your mouth up from off the floor. It's one of those films that shouldn't be touched again because it's perfect as is but, this is Hollywood. Any film is in play for a new take, and it looks like it's Audition's turn to get the remake treatment.

Per Deadline, a new take on Takashi Miike's Audition is in the works, with a deal near to being closed for Focus Features, Hyde Park Entertainment, and Mario Kassar Productions to produce the film. What's promising here is that Christian Tafdrup, who directed the original Danish version of Speak No Evil, is co-writing the project with his brother Mads Tafdrup.

A new take on the cult horror classic “Audition,” one of the more influential modern horror films in the torture-porn genre, is coming to the screen.

Focus Features is nearing a deal to produce a feature adaptation of “Audition” based on the 1997 horror-thriller novel by Ryū Murakami, which was originally brought to the screen by Japanese master Takashi Miike in 1999 starring Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina.

Focus will produce the project alongside Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment and Mario Kassar Productions, who have tapped Christian Tafdrup to write and direct the film. Tafdrup is the Danish director behind the original “Speak No Evil,” which was last year adapted into English by Blumhouse and Universal. Tafdrup is co-writing the script with his brother Mads Tafdrup.

“Audition” starts as a domestic drama of a widower who is holding mock auditions in order to find a new wife, only to discover that...

Danish filmmaker Christian Tafdrup brought the incredibly bleak film Gæsterne, a.k.a. Speak No Evil (read our review Here) into the world back in 2022 – and when the American remake was released last year, Tafdrup let it be known that he wasn’t impressed by the new take on his story, because it didn’t leave viewers traumatized like the original film did. Now, Deadline has revealed that Tafdrup is on board to direct a remake of director Takashi Miike’s dark and twisted 1999 Japanese film Audition… and we can probably rest assured that he’s not going to take it easy on viewers with his take on the material.

Based on a 1997 horror thriller novel by Ryū Murakami, Miike’s Audition was scripted by Daisuke Tengan and has the following synopsis: Widower Aoyama decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend, Aoyama uses auditions for a fake...

A true horror classic, Takashi Miike’s Audition is impossible to scrub from your brain even 26 years after its original release, and a fresh take on the tale is now in the works.

Deadline reports today that Focus Features, Hyde Park Entertainment and Mario Kassar Productions are “nearing a deal” to produce a new adaptation of Ryū Murakami’s 1997 novel Audition, which served as the basis for Takashi Miike’s movie back in 1999.

Christian Tafdrup, who directed the original Danish version of Speak No Evil that was remade by Blumhouse last year, is co-writing the new Audition with brother Mads Tafdrup.

Executive Producers include Cineverse’s Chris McGurk and Yolanda Macias.

Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina starred in Takashi Miike’s Audition. In the Japanese horror film, “A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife.

By Justin Aylward

“Another Lonely Hitman” is a stark but textured character drama in the yakuza genre, starring Ryo Ishibashi as a man trying to reform in a world more ruthless than he remembers. A winner of three prizes at the Japanese Professional Film Awards in 1995, it remains a largely underseen work, forgotten by audiences but a unique feature from an overstuffed genre. The film challenges you with scenes of emotional despair, casual violence, but succeeds as a low-budgeted and tough examination on the emptiness inherent in crime-ridden life. It’s not a fun, uplifting watch, but a worthy one.

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Ryo Ishibashi is Tachibana, recently released from prison after a ten-year stint, who finds himself dropped back into a tumultuous den of violence. Tachibana has shown loyalty through sacrifice, and expects to be propelled up the criminal hierarchy. But times...

Horror films have existed since the dawn of the medium. Shortly after the invention of film, French director George Mellies created Le Manoir du Diable (The Haunted Castle), likely the world’s first horror flick. Though silent, The Haunted Casztle included comparably quaint scares of the 1890s. Since then, the genre has evolved considerably, and a movie won’t get many screams from a man in a bedsheet anymore. It needs something more, something substantial and shocking. By the dawn of the new millennia, one certainly couldn’t produce something akin to Mellies’ The Haunted Castle and expect a terrified audience. Moreover, these films faced a veritable haul of predecessors. By this point, filmmakers had thoroughly terrified audiences with all the traditional scares. Ghosts, ghouls, and demons were no longer novel concepts.

This was the conundrum facing Takashi Miike, and he answered with a film as controversial as it was groundbreaking.

The impact Eminem’s “8 Mile” had seem to still sent ripples in the movie industry, with this time, a similar story being transferred in Japan through the titular school teacher. In the end, however, and despite some similarities, “Yukiko A.K.A” is actually quite different.

Yukiko A.K.A is screening at Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival

Yukiko, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher in Tokyo, lives a rather normal life, dealing with her students and retaining a relationship with a fellow teacher. However, she is also disgruntled with her life, particularly when she realizes that she is not one among the favorite teachers in the school, while her relationship is not as fulfilling as she expects. As such, she channels her frustration in hip-hop, rapping at nights in a park along with some similar-minded friends. When she loses miserably in a rap fight, however, she realizes that she needs to make a change.

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

If you are a horror fan then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription you might be wondering what’s in store for you in October 2024. Don’t worry there is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month and we have listed the 13 best movies coming to Shudder in October 2024.

Hush (October 1)

Hush is a slasher horror thriller film directed by Mike Flanagan who also co-wrote the film with Kate Siegel. The 2016 film follows the story of a dead writer living in a remote house in the woods but when a masked killer appears in the window she must fight for her survival. Hush stars Kate Siegel in the lead role with John Gallagher Jr.,...

Regardless of their artistic merit, it’s understandable that it can sometimes be difficult for mainstream cinephiles to connect with movies about twisted bodies and grisly mutations. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that these films are any less deserving of praise – it’s just that not every critic has a strong stomach. That’s why it’s so satisfying to see a production like Coralie Fargeat’s satirical body horror flick The Substance get the recognition it deserves in spite of its disturbing mean streak.

And in honor of this Demi Moore / Margaret Qualley experiment wowing highbrow audiences worldwide, we’ve decided to come up with a list recommending six other arthouse body horror flicks for your viewing pleasure! After all, there’s no reason that fine cinema should be devoid of blood and malformed guts.

For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining “arthouse” as any film...

Surprise! The big twist in "War" reveals Rogue and Lone are the same person, leading to a deadly showdown. "War" ends with a shocking final fight where Lone fatally shoots Crawford after refusing forgiveness. Despite being criticized, "War" is part of Time Out's Best 100 Action Movies list - worth a second look.

Featuring the second cinematic showdown between popular action stars Jason Statham and Jet Li, War is a fun if forgettable action crime-thriller released in 2007. Statham stars as John Crawford, a corrupt FBI Agent tasked with tracking down a shadowy assassin called Rogue (Li) after killing his partner Tom Lone (played by Li and Terry Chen). Although the film was bashed by critics (13% on Rotten Tomatoes), the visceral stunt work and jarring fight scenes stand out thanks to the expert choreography by Hong Kong filmmaker Corey Yuen.

As Crawford wades through San Francisco's seedy underbelly to find Rogue,...

Despite having directed some excellent films, as in the case of “Dog Bite Dog” and “Love Battlefield” and a masterpiece in “Limbo”, Soi Cheang's filmography is actually filled with titles of questionable quality, to say the least. “Shamo” which is based on the homonymous manga written by Izo Hashimoto and illustrated by Akio Tanaka definitely lies in the second category.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

In an expectedly failed effort to fit 34 volumes of a manga into a 105 minutes movie, the script revolves around Ryo Narushima, a young man who ended up in prison for killing his parents. While inside, he is being tortured and abused, with the permission of the notorious warden, Principal Saeki, who seems at least as sinister as the convicts. Just before he commits suicide, though, Ryo is saved by Kenji, a karate master who is in prison for killing the Japanese Prime minister,...

“Words create lies. Pain can be trusted.”

Few things in this world are more frightening than dating. In addition to the fear of getting stood up or rejected, women have the added bonus of worrying that the person they’ve matched with might turn out to be a serial killer. It’s just smart to text your location and the photo of your blind date to a friend while asking for advice on which earrings best complement your impossibly sexy First Date Dress. Women talk about our hopes for a romantic adventure in the same breadth that we relay justifiable fears that we might end the evening as a collection of dismembered body parts in a trash bag at the bottom of a ravine.

Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) learns about this terrifying dichotomy the hard way in Takashi Miike’s insightful masterpiece Audition. Tired of the single life but terrified of women,...

Horror has come into its own in the 21st century. This is not to say that the genre has ever not been one of the most interesting and creative in the long history of cinema. Since nearly the beginning of the art form, using moving images to scare audiences has been a gateway for aspirin filmmakers to break into the industry—or for even veterans to creatively something about the greater world by painting a landscape of anxiety.

Nonetheless, the 21st century (particularly beginning in its second decade) has brought a renewed appreciation for scary movies’ abilities to speak to audiences with more than just “boo.” With that in mind, we at Den of Geek have polled our staff and collected the below list of what we generally consider to be the best chillers of the fast quarter-century or so. Enjoy.

42. Land of the Dead (2005)

Land of the Dead does...

Warning: This article contains mentions of extreme violence.

Some horror movies often go unnoticed by mainstream audiences despite their excellence in the genre. Films like "The Platform" and "Audition" offer social commentaries and push the boundaries of taste with their brutality. "Terrifier" has gained a cult following for its controversial and visually stunning portrayal of a sadistic killer.

Several stalwart cult horror movies are often forgotten even by long-time fans of the genre. Cult horror movies can vary greatly from obscure art films to radical spatter B-movies. Whereas some horror films are treated as blockbusters, others are regularly overlooked by audiences, even though some of those are among the best horror movies ever made.

Cult horror movies typically gain an ardent following, perhaps more so than movies outside the genre. In fact, many horror B-movies become beloved classics within the genre. Despite this, some of the best movies of the...

By Earl Jackson

For a long time, Japanese cinema of the 1980s was a closed book to me. I just could not engage with the soft-focus, candy-pastel dreamscapes, the ubiquitous permed hair for both sexes, the relentless innocence of the idols who seemed to have learned acting from hostage ransom videos, and the ramshackle macho veneer concocted with crayons and a bullhorn. But in 2004 I attended an immense and beautifully curated 1980s retrospective sponsored by the Japan Foundation held in an upscale shopping mall in Seoul. That intense exposure was a real education which included an introduction to the almost preternatural, haunting countercharm of Yusaku Matsuda, amplified by the devoted Korean Matsuda fans I met there.

In recent years, international attention to the work of Shinji Somai and Nobuhiko Obayashi has filled in vital pieces of the 1980s, however Matsuda's cult status in Japan has yet to spread beyond domestic screens.

J-horror films, the Japanese chillers that swept the globe at the turn of the millennium, could guarantee two things – ghastly ghostly apparitions, and sleepless nights for the viewer. Among the pinnacle of J-horror are the Ju-on films, a trilogy of terror named after a deadly curse spawned when someone dies in the grip of a violent rage – all who come into contact with it are doomed! The J-horror genre proved so popular, and so scary, that numerous titles were remade for the US market, including Ju-on, which so impressed Evil Dead director Sam Raimi that he invited the director to helm two Hollywood remakes.

To celebrate the release of Arrow Video’s Ju-on: The Grudge Collection on Uhd & Blu-ray, here are six of the best scenes from the most terrifying J-horrors – watch if you dare!

Ringu (The Ring) – 1998

Based on the bestselling book by Kôji Suzuki, and directed by Hideo Nakata,...

Dates can go very wrong in horror movies. Carrie White's prom date with Tommy Ross goes up in flames before the last dance, in both Stephen King's novel "Carrie" and Brian De Palma's film adaptation. In Sean Byrne's Aussie horror movie "The Loved Ones," poor Brett doesn't even make it to his school dance after rejecting Lola, who hosts a macabre dance of her own. All grotesqueries of romantic relationships find screen time in the genre.

So when Takashi Miike signed on to adapt Ryū Murakami's 1997 novel "Audition," he picked up on its themes of voyeurism, sexism, and exploitation in the entertainment industry -- its leading man Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) holds a shady "audition" for his next wife, launching the story's events into motion -- but left its nastiest moments for the finale, long after audience is embedded into the mysterious allure of Aoyama's chosen bride,...

Imagine the scene: A petite young woman, could be anywhere between 17 and 30 years old. She is strikingly pale with a heart-shaped face and jet-black hair, and struggles to maintain eye contact for more than a few seconds. She sits between two men who ask her generic questions, her replies are non-committal, the most revealing aspect she has disclosed is about how she is happy to have enough money to buy books and see movies. The not-unreasonable dreams of a normal young woman. She responded to a casting call for a film that will never exist, and she’ll change the course of one man’s life in an unimaginable way. In Takashi Miike's Audition, the enigmatic Asami (Eihi Shina) is offered a role by the much older Widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) in a film he intends to make. Without context, we’d believe this was the beginning of a dramedy.

This article contains spoilers for the film "Audition."

Based on the 1997 novel by Ryu Murakami, Takashi Miike's 1999 film "Audition" begins as a light, sweet, delightful romantic comedy about a widower named Shigeharu (Ryo Ishibashi) who, as a means to look for a potential new girlfriend/wife, stages a fake acting audition. The idea is that Shigeharu and his friend would be able to talk to a great number of women in a single day, giving them an excuse to learn about them, size them up, and judge them worthy of a date. Like speed dating, just staged with a little bit of harmless (?) subterfuge. Shigeharu...

The post One Of Audition's Most Disturbing Moments Wasn't In the Script appeared first on /Film.

“I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something wrong with her.”

When writer Tony Rayns met Japanese director for one of the first times in the 1990s, he spoke to him about his incredible output per year, which sometimes ranged somewhere between six to seven movies. According to Miike, the answer was obvious for he liked to keep himself busy with his films through the year. Additionally, rejecting a producer’s proposal, especially for an interesting idea, was something Miike could (and probably still can) not do, and in the end the people involved would find the right time and right place in his busy schedule to work everything out.

“Audition” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival

Interestingly, the year this encounter took place marks a significant milestone in Miike’s career. The Rotterdam Film Festival not only showed three of his movies – “Audition...

One Shot is a series that seeks to find an essence of cinema history in one single image of a movie.It’s one of those scenes whose pronouns get italics; that scene, the one at the end of Takashi Miike’s Audition in which the vengeful Asami (Eihi Shiina), wooed by Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) after an ersatz audition, pierces her lover’s skin with needles and slices off his left foot. She describes what she is about to do to him in calm, sweet tones (“This is a very painful spot”), and her coos are warnings to us too; this is what I’m about to do, are you going to watch? At the climax of the unflinching scene, Asami winds a wire saw around his ankle then swipes happily until, with a flourish, it’s off. For a moment, the camera shifts, and we are outside looking in...

“I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something wrong with her.”

When writer Tony Rayns met Japanese director for one of the first times in the 1990s, he spoke to him about his incredible output per year, which sometimes ranged somewhere between six to seven movies. According to Miike, the answer was obvious for he liked to keep himself busy with his films through the year. Additionally, rejecting a producer’s proposal, especially for an interesting idea, was something Miike could (and probably still can) not do, and in the end the people involved would find the right time and right place in his busy schedule to work everything out.

“Audition” is streaming on Mubi

Interestingly, the year this encounter took place marks a significant milestone in Miike’s career. The Rotterdam Film Festival not only showed three of his movies – “Audition”, “Dead or Alive” and...

The classic whodunit genre is seeing a revival of sorts, with tentpole Hollywood blockbusters like “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Knives Out” leading the way and recently even Netflix jumping on the bandwagon with the Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston starring “Murder Mystery” and the Hindi-language film “Raat Akeli Hai” proving to be hits for the streaming platform. Yet another project in the same genre which saw a fair amount of success was 2019’s “Masquerade Hotel” by Masayuki Suzuki, which is based on a Keigo Higashino book and was produced and released, like many Higashino adaptations, after a long drawn-out bidding battle over the book’s rights.

A serial killer is on the loose in Tokyo, three seemingly random murders only having a code left at the scene being the connecting factor between them. The code, when decoded, tells of the location of the next murder...

If one was to make a Low Ten of Miike’s films, “Waru: Kanketsu-hen” would have a very high place in the list, since it managed to be even worse than the original (which would also be included in the list alongside “Silver” and a number of other Hisao Maki-written films), something that can only be perceived as a true “accomplishment”.

As the film begins, Himuro is nowhere to be found, with his woman even visiting his grave, and Sakuragi roaming the streets trying to investigate a new case about a bunch of right-wing terrorists with ties to the corporate world. Eventually and expectedly, Himuro reappears, to almost everyone’s joy, and resumes his duties as a teacher of kendo, while having to face a young man who is also a master of the sword, yakuza members, and eventually scores of enemies near the finale of the film.

After watching “Silver”, I was actually wondering if Miike have reached his nadir with this film, and whether his collaborations with Hisao Maki could turn out even worse. “Waru” provided an answer to both questions.

The once more paper-thin script is based on a manga by Hisao Maki and revolves around Himuro, an expert martial artist who fights enemies with a bokken, and his boss, Sarashima, whom he has formed a bond with during their common stay in prison. The two of them are targeted by a rival yakuza gang named Kyokuto. The leaders of the faction are obsessed with their targets, and have assigned one of their henchmen to this goal, who ends up with an eyeball gouged after his first failed attempts. The rest of the movie actually revolvesaround these repeated assassination efforts that result in various, mostly absurd action scenes, while a number of flashbacks introduce Himuro’s story,...

Because of the rising amount of felonies, the number of trials has also increased all over Japan, resulting in a drastic change of the judicial system. Instead of a traditional trial in the new bench trail system, prosecution and defense face each other in an open trail and have three days to present evidence as well as cross-examine witnesses before on the last day a sentence is made. Young attorney Phoenix Wright (Hiroki Narimiya) is a very ambitious, but inexperienced attorney when he takes over his second case: the defense of Maya Fey (Mirei Kiritani) who is the prime suspect for the murder of her sister Mia (Rei Dan). During the trail, Phoenix also has to face his childhood friend Miles Edgeworth (Takumi Saito) who is the prosecutor, an infamous figure among his colleagues since he has never lost a case in court.

However, as the trial proceeds, Wright finds...

Audition

Blu ray

Arrow Video

1999 / 1:85:1 / 115 Min. / Street Date – February 12, 2019

Starring Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina

Cinematography by Hideo Yamamoto

Directed by Takashi Miike

It could be described as lyrically sadistic but de Sade himself might flinch at Audition – like its fragile leading lady, Takashi Miike’s film treads ever so softly before lowering the boom on its stupefied audience.

Ryo Ishibashi plays Shigeharu Aoyama, a middle-aged widower tired of sleeping in a single bed but ill-equipped for the dating game. Like the desperate anti-heroes of so many noirs, Aoyama makes just one mistake but it’s a doozy – he stages a sham audition as his personal matchmaking service. Into that not-so-tender trap steps Asami, a supernaturally shy ballerina with secrets all her own.

Miike spins their gauzy-lensed courtship with kid gloves and compassion and by the time the happy couple set sail for a seaside rendezvous we’re aching...

Love is certainly in the air this week, especially with our horror and sci-fi home releases, as we have plenty of tainted love on tap for those of you who tend to enjoy the darker side of romance. Scream Factory is ready to put you in the mood with both the Collector’s Edition of Valentine and their Poison Ivy box set, and Arrow Video has assembled an impressive Special Edition of Audition that fans are definitely going to want to pick up on Tuesday.

For those of you looking for some less romantically-inclined entertainment, Popcorn is getting the SteelBook treatment, and you can take a ride aboard the Horror Express as well. Other notable releases for February 12th include Possum, Killer Campout, Doom Room, Haunted Hospital: Heilstätten, Purgatory Road, and Nightflyers: Season One.

Audition: Special Edition

One of the most shocking J-horror films ever made, Audition exploded onto the...

Takashi Miike’s Audition will be available on Blu-ray From Arrow Video February 12th

One of the most shocking J-horror films ever made, Audition exploded onto the festival circuit at the turn of the century to a chorus of awards and praise. The film would catapult Miike to the international scene and pave the way for such other genre delights as Ichii the Killer and The Happiness of the Katakuris.

Recent widower Shigeharu Aoyama is advised by his son to find a new wife, so he seeks the advice of a colleague having been out of the dating scene for many years. They take advantage of their position in a film company by staging an audition to find the perfect woman. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu becomes enchanted by Asami, a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. But soon things take a very dark and...

The third part and final part of the trilogy, follows the basic rules of the other two, having Ryo Ishibashi and Sho Aikawa in the protagonist roles and no other connection in terms of story, since this one takes place in the future.

The setting is Yokohama (although the film was actually shot in Hong Kong), a city which, in 2346, has closed its borders completely, essentially becoming a city-state. Furthermore, Mayor Wu runs it as a dictatorship, with his harshest law forces the overwhelming majority of the citizens to take a birth control drug, essentially canceling births and the creation of new families. His laws are applied by a police force headed by Suzuki, an extremely harsh but very capable individual, who also happens to be a family man, having a wife and a son. As the story begins, we are introduced to Ryo, a man who...

Suicide Club is a Japanese 2001 horror thriller that makes you as an audience ask what happened during production? With a story that doesn't hold up, with bloods and gore fest mix with detective crime thriller, and with a cute pop group singing songs that are not what it seems. Story: Detective Kuroda (Ryo Ishibashi) and his team are investigating a troublesome case about multi suicide cult that plague the nation. 54 schoolgirls together holding hands and commit suicide together by jumping down the subway station while the train run through them. More suicide victim appears the next days, with all different ages and profession of work. The only clue Kuroda has is a rolled skin puzzle. The puzzle contain 200 pieces of human skin...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

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Our monthly round up of horror DVDs and Blu-rays, led by the wonderful and terrifying Audition...

So, it seems to be time once again to ask that age-old question: what’s your favourite cinematic depiction of conjoined twins? Ranging from the mutoid majesty of That Guy In Total Recall With The Talking Stomach Baby through to the Farrelly brothers’ gross-out gubbins Stuck On You, Hollywood has carved a progressive path in its depiction of wretched freaks of nature, magical otherworldly beings and monstrous killers. Following in this glorious tradition of stigmatising the disabled (insert Iain Duncan Smith reference here), this month sees the Bluray release of Frank Henenlotter’s classic splatter comedy Basket Case trilogy.

The director of the equally subtle Frankenhooker cut his teeth with his 1982 cult favourite Basket Case, which told the tale of the Bradley brothers, bemulleted Duane (Kevin van Hentenryck), the ostensibly ’normal...

Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura, Renji Ishibashi, Miyuki Matsuda, Toshie Negishi, Ren Ôsugi, Shigeru Saiki, Ken Mitsuishi, Yuriko Hiro’oka | Written by Daisuke Tengan | Directed by Takashi Miike

Takashi Miike’s Audition will always be a special movie to me, because it sparked off my obsession with Takashi Miike. It also put me off the meal I was eating when I first watched it, so it impressed me too. The fact that Arrow Video have given it a special edition should be enough to make it a must buy, but do they do the film justice with their release?

Audition (Ôdishon) is the story of Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) a widower who “auditions” prospective women to date under the rues of a film role. When Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina) is interviewed she catches his eye, and he takes her on a first date. Little does he...

There are some films that once seen are never forgotten. Audition is one of these films. Having first seen Takashi Miike’s arguably most famous and notorious movie some fifteen years ago, the memory of how it quite simply stunned me back then has never quite faded, and so returning to it for the first time in a decade and a half it was a pleasant surprise to discover that not only has Audition lost none of its power to shock and horrify in the intervening years, but that it’s actually a much deeper, entertaining and, yes, funnier film that I’d remembered.

For those unfamiliar with the film it works best going into it knowing as little as possible, but the basic plot revolves around widower Shigharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) being persuaded by his son Shigehiko (Tetsu Sawaki) that seven years of being alone is long enough and...

A demonic femme fatale, who tortures her male would-be oppressor, made Takashi Miike’s vengeance tale the horrifying launchpad for an entire genre

Japanese film-maker Takashi Miike pretty well invented the genre of J-horror as it came to be understood with this shocking, scabrous, satirical movie from 1999; adapted by Daisuke Tengan from the 1997 novel by Ryû Murakami. Above everything else, it has something which makes it very different from the vast majority of horror movies – a female evil-demon figure who terrorises the male.

Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) is an ageing widower in the film business who hits on an underhand ruse for finding a new wife; he will audition for a non-existent female supporting role in a movie – which will attract the right kind of submissive, non-diva woman, whom he can let down gently and ask out on a date. This premise on its own would be enough for a smart comedy,...

The jump scare is a uniquely horror movie convention. Where some movies use it as an excuse to play peekaboo and assault you with noise, others use it as a way to shatter your complacency as a viewer. It’s the purest form of scare: something bursts out of a dark corner, a loud noise cuts the tension, or a jolt to the plot comes on so unexpected, you don’t know what hit you. It may just be a momentary fright, but a good horror movie will put you on edge and keep you there.

****

Alien (1979)- No blood, no Dallas

Horror purists are of the mind that jumps are cheap, and, for the most part, they are. Yet, in those nerve-wracking scenes, when a director knows exactly what they are doing, it’s riveting. I’ve always prided myself on not being one of those people who gets jumpy during a horror movie,...

Here we are at what is a surprisingly modern list. At the beginning of this, I didn’t expect to see so much cultural impact coming from films so recently made, but that’s the way it goes. The films that define the horror genre aren’t necessarily the scariest or the most expensive or even the best. The films that define the genre point to a movement – movies that changed the game and influenced all the films after it. Movies that transcend the horror genre. Movies that broke the mold and changed the way horror can be created.

10. El laberinto del fauno (2006)

English Language Title: Pan’s Labyrinth

Directed by: Gullermo del Toro

It’s more a dark fantasy film than a horror film, but it would be tough to make a list of 50 of those. Plus, it has enough graphic, nightmarish images to push it over the threshold.

With Halloween fast approaching, EW is picking the five best films in a variety of different horror movie categories. Each day, we’ll post our top picks from one specific group—say, vampire movies or slasher flicks—and give you the chance to vote on which is your favorite. On Oct. 31, EW will reveal your top choices. Today, we’re ready to talk about those movies that hit a little too close to home. All horror movies prey on the psychological premise that there's beastliness roiling within everyone. But let's get real: You don't see news reports about werewolves, vampires,...

** Spoilers ahead **

I am not a horror film fan. I appreciate the genre but considering that my over-amped imagination will turn a sight of a little girl with long hair in ghostly white attire into a full epileptic seizure within me, I try to stay as far away from scary films as much as possible. But trying to be a well-verse film critic requires me to explore uncharted territories especially that of the horror realm and thoroughly challenge my threshold. Granted I haven’t seen films like the Japanese Ringu, A Serbian Film, It or even Cannibal Holocaust, but I know scary when I see it. Ahem, The Chainsaw Massacre and The Orphanage. But I can confidently say that these five films that I am about to list is still a terrifying film experience for the majority of viewers and one that cornered me to confront my fear resulting in...

Here we are at what is a surprisingly modern list. At the beginning of this, I didn’t expect to see so much cultural impact coming from films so recently made, but that’s the way it goes. The films that define the horror genre aren’t necessarily the scariest or the most expensive or even the best. The films that define the genre point to a movement – movies that changed the game and influenced all the films after it. Movies that transcend the horror genre. Movies that broke the mold and changed the way horror can be created.

10. El laberinto del fauno (2006)

English Language Title: Pan’s Labyrinth

Directed by: Gullermo del Toro

It’s more a dark fantasy film than a horror film, but it would be tough to make a list of 50 of those. Plus, it has enough graphic, nightmarish images to push it over the threshold.

Japanese horror Audition will receive an English-language remake.

Mario Kassar, who previously executive produced Terminator and Basic Instinct, is involved in the American project based on the 1999 film, reports Deadline.

Based on Ryu Murakami's novel of the same name, Audition follows a widower named Shigeharu Aoyama who puts out a fake casting call for a new wife.

Shigeharu is enchanted by one of the auditioning girls, who isn't what she appears to be.

The remake will be directed by Australian director Richard Gray, who previously worked on Mine Games, and is said to follow the novel but will take place in an American setting.

The original Audition, which starred Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina and was directed by Takashi Miike, is considered a cult classic.

Watch a trailer for the Japanese version of Audition below:...

Mario Kassar, who has served as a producer on blockbusters such as First Blood, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Basic Instinct, is mounting a remake of Takashi Miike's cult classic Audition.

The original film, which was adapted from Ry&#251 Murakami's 1997 novel, centered on a lonely widower (Ryo Ishibashi) who puts out a fake casting call to help find a new girlfriend. When he finds the one girl he likes, Asami Yamasaki (Eihi Shiina), his quest to find the new love of his life turns into a nightmare beyond comprehension.

The story is said to be quite similar to the original book and movie, only with an American setting. The plot centers on a widowed man named Sam Davis, who is convinced by his filmmaker friend to hold a casting call for a fake movie. The girl he falls for is a ballerina named Evie Lawrence.

Richard Gray is directing from his own adapted screenplay,...

"I'm ready for anything - bring it on!" says the ever-confident lead of Yûya Ishii’s latest film, Mitsuko Delivers. In a similar vein to his 2010 film, Sawako Decides, Ishii explores quirky characters learning to take control of their lives.

The heroine, Mitsuko (an excellent Riisa Naka), is heavily pregnant and left to deal alone with the imminent birth of her son after her American boyfriend dumps her. She doesn’t dwell on the past, fleetingly looking at a photograph of near naked guys partying and later matter-of-factly commenting "He was kind of big and really black". Her new neighbour rejects her offers of kindness and when she tries to sell items to make money to pay for medical bills, she ends up being charged a removal fee. Moving out with nothing more than a suitcase to her name, Mitsuko remains remarkably calm, giving her last remaining coins to a...

Give us a cut of Ace Attorney that clocks in at say, 90 minutes, and it would probably be gold. There's a lot to like about director Takashi Miike's take on the first game in the long-running series. What trips the ultimately enjoyable adaptation up is that it wears out its welcome at 135 minutes, and coupled with structural problems inherent in every courtroom setup requiring Phoenix Wright to delay for time, it feels like the movie overstates its case by the one hour mark.

As such things goes, Ace Attorney (Gyakuten saiban) is very faithful to the source material, the 2001 Gba title. That game, and the movie see awkward but well-coiffed defense attorney Phoenix Wright embroiled in a series of murder cases where he has to piece together contradictions to evidence and testimony from the prosecution, typically embodied by unscrupulous lawyer for the state and former childhood friend of Wright's,...

Director: Yuya Ishii. Review: Adam Wing. “When the wind blows your way, go with it.” Mitsuko Delivers is the new film from Yuya Ishii (Sawako Decides), starring Riisa Naka (Love Strikes!), Aoi Nakamura (Quirky Guys & Gals) and Ryo Ishibashi (Audition). Yuya Ishii is certainly making a name for himself; Sawako Decides won the Best Director accolade at the Blue Ribbon Awards, and the Best New Director Award at the Yokohama Film Festival. Hikari Mitsushima led an impressive cast in an enjoyable comedy drama that encouraged you to embrace the mediocrity of life and overcome it. Flawed yet fruitful, Sawako Decides was overlong and inconsequential, but it was also blessed with enough quirky charm to see it through. His latest release, Mitsuko Delivers, takes similar themes and waltzes amongst the clouds with them. Mitsuko (Riisa Naka) is in the closing stages of her pregnancy to an African American guy she met in California.