Audition / Ôdishon (Takashi Miike 1999)

Looking for a new girlfriend / wife sounded like a fun idea. Shigeharu Aoyama sets up an audition for a film, only to use it as a cover for inviting girls and seeing which one could be a match. He finds Asami, and it seems they are good for each other, despite the strange behaviour on both parts, probably attributable to the awkward situation of mature mating. As it turns out, the first night they spend together is the start of a very different relationship from the one Shigeharu had in mind.
It is a very typical Japanese thriller, in many ways. It is not ashamed to be very cruel about human flaws and behaviours, it goes for the gore when the thrill has been done, and it does not stop to leave anything to your nightmares. The nightmare images are being delivered to your doorstep, and what I mean with typical Japanese is that this horror always seems to be coming with the face of a pretty girl, presumably innocent and fragile. Is that what the Japanese, Korean and sometimes also Chinese filmmakers are scared of: pretty girls, because they will mutilate them if you get too close to them? Is worth analysing back to the gender roles and perceptions of East Asia. In any case, it always makes for very interesting horror flicks for the not cringy.
http://www.best-horror-movies.com/audition.html Looking for a new girlfriend / wife sounded like a fun idea. Shigeharu Aoyama sets up an audition for a film, only to use it as a cover for inviting girls and seeing which one could be a match. He finds Asami, and it seems they are good for each other, despite the strange behaviour on both parts, probably attributable to the awkward situation of mature mating. As it turns out, the first night they spend together is the start of a very different relationship from the one Shigeharu had in mind.
It is a very typical Japanese thriller, in many ways. It is not ashamed to be very cruel about human flaws and behaviours, it goes for the gore when the thrill has been done, and it does not stop to leave anything to your nightmares. The nightmare images are being delivered to your doorstep, and what I mean with typical Japanese is that this horror always seems to be coming with the face of a pretty girl, presumably innocent and fragile. Is that what the Japanese, Korean and sometimes also Chinese filmmakers are scared of: pretty girls, because they will mutilate them if you get too close to them? Is worth analysing back to the gender roles and perceptions of East Asia. In any case, it always makes for very interesting horror flicks for the not cringy.
Nice website for hoor fans, by the way: http://www.best-horror-movies.com/audition.html