Audition
Netflix | Amazon | iTunes | Vudu
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Takashi Miike
Starring Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura, Renji Ishibashi
Vitagraph Films
Originally Released: October 06, 1999

I love talking about movies with people, and so a matter that recently came up in discussion was a brainstorm/list of some of the most fucked up movies we’ve ever seen. While many suggested were ones I had seen, one stood out to me as one of those I’d always anticipated to see, but had never gotten around to it: Audition. So, taking the advice of a gypsy goddess, I dove back into my healthy obsession for horror and gore and challenging movies, and queued it up for my streaming review.

Audition is, in essence, a very deceiving movie. While it’s marketed and classified in the horror genre, the very cringe-inducing moments come much later in the film, though this does not diminish its impact. The story focuses on Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower, who after many years of raising his son Shigehiko Aoyama (Tetsu Sawaki) on his own decides that it is time to begin dating again.