Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki

Seven years after the death of his wife, company executive Aoyama is invited to sit in on auditions for an actress. Leafing through the resumés in advance, his eye is caught by Yamazaki Asami, a strik...( read more  read more... )ing young woman with ballet training. On the day of the audition, she's the last person they see. Aoyama is hooked. He notes her number from her file, calls her and takes her to dinner. He hesitates to call again, worried that he'll seem too eager. When he does, Asami knowingly lets the phone ring for some time before answering. She's alone in her darkened room - alone, that is, apart from the writhing victim she has tied up in a sack on the floor...

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82% liked it

48,240 ratings

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Takashi Miike

Release Date: January 1, 1999

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DVD Release Date: June 4, 2002

Stats: 4,280 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (4,280)


  • November 10, 2009
    "She always gets a part"

    Widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all...

    REVIEW</
    ...( read more)font>
    While it takes some of its psychological cues from the early thrillers of Roman Polanski, and stylistic excerpts from Kubrick to David Lynch, "Audition" stands on its own as a disturbing, post-modern horror film with passages of genuinely nightmarish surrealism. Director Takashi Miike weaves a tale of an aging widower who holds a fake film audition in hopes of meeting the perfect woman; his intentions are sincere, and he seemingly finds his match in Asami, a physically and psychologically damaged 24-year old who hides a dark past...or does she? While a bit too deliberately-paced at times, overall Miike builds an unusual atmosphere drowned in mounting suspense; his actors sell the premise, and transform "Audition" into something more than a De Palma-esquire exercise in style.
  • September 14, 2009
    Audition is Miike's most subtle film to date but that's not to say it's not scary, in fact, it actually makes it more terrifying. It's what you don't see that scares you, an idea so many modern horror makers forget. It's only the second horror film that has ever given me a nightm...( read more)are. The first one was Jaws. Intelligent horror, from one of the sickest (and Brilliant) directors working today.
  • July 30, 2009
    I've always seen Takashi Miike as an interesting but very inconsistent filmmaker. Those inconsistencies are non-existent with this horror masterpiece. Even more amazing is that Miike, a director known for his excessively violent and gory films, shows amazing restraint. While t...( read more)his film contains disgusting, gut-wrenching, seriously disturbing sequences, they are few and far between. Much of this movie plays like a family drama interspliced with scenes of horror.
    Ryo Ishibashi plays Aoyama, a film producer who loses his wife, and, with some persistence from his son, sets out to remarry. He holds a fake audition to interview possible "contestants" and falls in love with Asami, who, as you may guess, is a psychopath.
    Audition isn't just expertly crafted, it is a serious comment on male and female roles in Japanese society. While Aoyama is a pretty decent guy, he doesn't view women as being anything more than respectful servants. He apparently has had sex with one of his co-workers, and has left her to wonder if that night meant anything to him. Aoyama seems to reflect how conservative Japanese males seem to view women. This is evident in a scene where one of his son's girlfriends unknowingly eats Aoyama's dinner, and upon such a discovery, vows to cook him another meal. Would Aoyama feel obligated to do the same if he unknowingly ate HER meal?
    However, Aoyama does not deserve the fate that Asami has in store for him. She has had an extremely troubled past, filled with abuse and neglect. Men have used her simply for their own selfish reasons, and then have thrown her aside like a piece of rotten meat. She has chosen to lash out at all males, who she believes are all the same.
    What follows is a brilliant and incredibly tense film that hurdles into a showdown of suspense that rivals the best of Hitchcock, and gore that outdoes the worst of Argento. Audition is a gem, a horror masterpiece that must be experienced, unless you're squeamish.
  • July 15, 2009
    Miike Takashi is a brilliant wacko who enjoys torturing psychologically his viewers and this psycho-horror is one proof!
  • May 1, 2009
    In the last 10 or 15 years Japan has managed to take the horror genre by storm. Here, with Takashi Miike's Audition (Ôdishon), they've even elevated 'gore' to an art form. It's hard for some, especially ME, to think of severed tongues and ears and fingers as 'art', but w...( read more)hen it's used to advance a story, not just for shock and awe, it becomes another color on the artist's pallet..

    For the first hour or so Miike leads you along a storyline that would fit into any serious drama or romantic comedy. You may even forget that you're watching a horror film. And then - zap!

    Personally, movies of this sub-genre aren't usually my cup of tea but, then again, this is no Hostel or Wolf Creek. When the blood letting began I was 'this close' to turning the thing off. If you're like me all I can say, without spoiling the film for you, is stick with it. The horrific sequences are powerful, yes, but a relatively small part of the film and the pay-off at the end is worth the wait.
  • November 22, 2009
    Heard some crazy stories about this one...
  • November 18, 2009
    Eihi Shina - Just Fantastic
  • November 18, 2009
    A real horror film from Japan. I am not an expert about this segment. As a resault of this, I did not like it too much.
  • November 13, 2009
    you'll forget it's a horror film all up until the kicker, absolutely brilliant! Frickin Absolutely Brillant!!!
  • November 4, 2009
    It's very disturbing, terrifying, and creepy!

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Comments


  • robvicary
    March 5, 2008
    I think the moral of this story should be: if your friends tell you that a girl is no good for you and to stay away from her - for God's sake listen to them! I know I could have saved myself a lot of grief from bad relationships if I'd listened to my friends. Although I definitely didn't have to suffer like the poor guy in this film!
  • mudbuddha
    September 10, 2007
    You gotta love this movie.
  • MADDISTYLE
    August 2, 2007
    freakiest movie EVER!!!!
  • twet47
    July 10, 2007
    This is one of my favorites!
  • thatsyiwonanemmy
    June 5, 2007
    I heard this scared Rob Zombi
  • nelicquel01
    February 15, 2007
    I dont know why people call this movie as gore. It doesnt even show what is happening when she tortures. If you want to see sth disgusting then go watch Hostel this movie is ok and a good drama.
  • ogeiD
    January 1, 2007
    A very good horror movie, a different one and, as is usual, only the Asians can make of this genre an interesting one.
  • xxkoreanxangelxx
    December 18, 2006
    The My Chemical Romance music video Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us was based on Audition. The music video is an entire reconstruction (on the band's part) and tribute to the entire movie compressed in 3 minutes and 50 seconds.
  • toimagineiseverything
    June 20, 2006
    um, just kidding about the whole idol thing... even though she's second in line...

    it's so twisted i love it!
  • toimagineiseverything
    June 20, 2006
    SHES MY IDOL!

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