Here we are. Again.
I feel as though I owe the folks who exclusively visit this site to read my thoughts and/or reviews (rather than on my letterboxd page) an explanation of sorts for why last year's marathon was never finished.....well, on here at least. Again, LETTERBOXD IS YOUR FRIEND AND YOU ARE A FOOL IF YOU DON'T USE IT (cheap plug time: find me on there as Woodshatter1985). During a pair of rather lengthy reviews that I had been working on for over two hours, Blogspot decided to just randomly delete all of my hard work. To say that I was not particularly happy would be the understatement of the decade. Seeing as how I only do this for shits and giggles and not for any extra income (though that sure would be nice), my frustration died down, and I put this silly thing to bed.
Alas, we are back to square one for now. Though I'd strongly prefer to just stick with the other website, I'll suck it up and continue here for the next thirty-one days. Plus, you can't embed videos on letterboxd, and that's a bummer.
Fun fact about Takashi Miike's Audition: I have been in possession of my physical copy for close to fifteen years. I've recommended it to any and every person who is remotely interested in the "J-Horror" genre, and often describe it as one of the most influential horror movies of the 1990s. But as I was finalizing my list for this year's marathon (cutting it down from 90+ to thirty-one flicks was HARD), I came to realize that I had never sat down and watched the film in its entirety. I remember specific parts and all of the praise that it received on Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments" countdown (funnily enough, its segment on Audition is included as a bonus feature here), but even then it never dawned on me until now that this picture was just sitting there collecting dust and waiting to be played from beginning to end.
Anyway, the plot to Audition is fairly simple: Aoyama is a widower whose son suggests that his father needs to start dating again, as it seems that the man's disconnect from humanity seems to be slowly fading away. Aoyama's closest friend Yoshikawa, who happens to be a movie producer, devises that they create a fake casting call to meet women who will audition for the part of his "wife." After a seemingly endless amount of women show up and just fail to capture their interest, Aoyama finds himself fixated on a very meek, yet alluring young lady called Asami. Surprisingly, they respond to each other rather well, and even begin to date. Over time though, her dark past begins to surface and "complicate" things between the two. That is where your synopsis ends, because anything beyond that would ruin the many surprises and more memorable aspects of the picture itself.
I'm actually happy that it took me so long to watch Audition from beginning to end, because oh boy is there a lot of dissect here. For starters, the characters and their decisions made throughout will severely affect how you view the product as a whole. I can see an equal amount of arguments on both sides about whether this movie is a pro-feminist piece or misogynistic torture. The character of Aoyama (played by Ryo Ishibashi of The Grudge & Suicide Club fame) doesn't come across as a scumbag per se, but making the conscious decision to go along with the initial sketchy concept of a fake audition just so he can meet girls doesn't exactly make him feel relatable. Still, when you see him and Asami begin to interact with one another, you do believe that he genuinely likes this woman and isn't looking to just get in her pants. On the flip side, Asami herself (portrayed by the wonderful Eihi Shiina of Helldriver and Tokyo Gore Police, which are also worth checking out) is written to be sympathetic at first, though obviously disturbed in ways that could make some male viewers want to see her just leave the picture entirely or "get what she deserves" during its final act. But this isn't Annie Wilkes we're talking about here, because the more that you discover about this very quiet girl, the more you can understand why she is the way that she is. This conflicting nature can be seen in later-day motion pictures such as Hard Candy, though that was a little more on the nose about who to root for considering it was about pedophilia. Personally I found it to just be about trusting outside advice rather than intuition before it bites you in the ass. The similarities to previous Unseen Terror entries like The Vanishing are uncanny, and it's just as much of a slow burn as that movie was. Then again, maybe I just need to watch this one again so I can truly make up my mind.
Movies like Audition aren't necessarily meant to be enjoyed by general horror audiences (there's only one "jump" scare found in its two hour running time), but few will get under your skin or leave you feeling completely uncomfortable like this one will. It's all about patience, and the payoff is unsettling enough (and seems eerily grounded in realism) to stick in your mind for quite some time. If you haven't gotten a chance to watch this yet, I'd highly, though cautiously recommend that you get a chance to do so. It's currently streaming on Shudder, and if you're like me and want to continue supporting physical media, the Uncut DVD from Lions Gate is still available, as is a recently-released Blu-Ray from the reputable heavyweights at Arrow Video.
Tomorrow, Toho makes their yearly appearance on the list, though kaiju eiga isn't the name of the game this time around!
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