Audition

1999

1h 55m

Horror

List

83%

Tomatometer

83 Reviews

80%

Audience Score

50,000+ Ratings

This disturbing Japanese thriller follows Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower who decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend (Miyuki Matsuda), Aoyama uses auditions for a fake production to function as a dating service. When Aoyama becomes intrigued by the withdrawn, gorgeous Asami (Eihi Shiina), they begin a relationship. However, he begins to realize that Asami isn't as reserved as she appears to be, leading to gradually increased tension and a harrowing climax.

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Critics Consensus

An audacious, unsettling Japanese horror film from director Takashi Miike, Audition entertains as both a grisly shocker and a psychological drama.

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Chuck Bowen

Slant Magazine

The film is a brutal examination of social isolation and malaise, and the gulf that often exists between men and women.

Rated: 4/4

Jul 1, 2019

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

A stomach-turning masterpiece.

Rated: 5/5

Dec 10, 2015

Full Review

Jim Sullivan

Boston Globe

This movie, at just under two hours, is a long crawl from inception to climax.

Rated: 2/4

Nov 30, 2001

Full Review

Stephanie Archer

Film Inquiry

Audition is a slow burner of a horror, an almost perfect example of a frog in boiling water.

Nov 2, 2023

Full Review

Carolyn Hinds

JoySauce.com

A film I’ve seen once and I’m not sure I’ll ever see again because it’s so effectively disturbing, which is exactly what you want with a horror film. I’ve never looked at piano wire the same way again.

Nov 9, 2022

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

What begins as a gentle romance based on a lie turns into a disturbed and disturbing psycho-horror nightmare that rockets into the Twilight Zone of obsession, sadism, and mutilation.

Oct 29, 2022

Full Review

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Jules N

Takashi Miike réussi parfaitement a faire grandir un sentiment de malaise autour du personnage de Asami. Ce film propose aussi une réflexion sur la place de la femme dans la société japonaise. Les relations entre tous les personnages sont toutes intéressantes.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/30/24

Full Review

Leaburn O

This is the kind of grotesque thing we don't need to see. Voyeurism for the psychotic. It was a good and intriguing film until it went insane. I just don't gain anything from seeing that. Watched on DVD.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/22/24

Full Review

S R

1001 movies to see before you die (2008). Better than average psychological horror, but too odd in places for my liking. I did like the Japanese cultural side of things. It was well made too. Saw on tubi.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/24

Full Review

Nadia V

Absolutely chilling slow burn psychological horror that everyone who is a fan of the genre should see.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/27/24

Full Review

S. C

With it's mellow, long yet entertaining build up filled with great details the movie eventually turns really disturbing and doesn't hold back until its very end. Body horror at its finest. The practical effects are great. Nicely shot and written. Structured just fine. Creative and cool editing choices to be found. Some nice acting there. Though the son's understated acting during the finale may almost throw you out of the realism of the movie it's still not hard to stay immersed.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/21/23

Full Review

Nate L

Great horror movie. Can be slightly dull and drawn out at some points, but it is worth it just for the ending.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/07/23

Full Review

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Takashi Miike

Director

Ryo Ishibashi

Shigeharu Aoyama

Eihi Shiina

Asami Yamazaki

Jun Kunimura

Yasuhisa Yoshikawa

Miyuki Matsuda

Ryoko Aoyama

Ren Ôsugi

Shibata

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Synopsis

This disturbing Japanese thriller follows Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower who decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend (Miyuki Matsuda), Aoyama uses auditions for a fake production to function as a dating service. When Aoyama becomes intrigued by the withdrawn, gorgeous Asami (Eihi Shiina), they begin a relationship. However, he begins to realize that Asami isn't as reserved as she appears to be, leading to gradually increased tension and a harrowing climax.

Director: Takashi Miike
Producer: Toyohama Yokohama
Screenwriter: Daisuke Tengan, Ryu Murakami
Production Co: Omega Project
Genre: Horror
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 19, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $110.8K
Runtime: 1h 55m

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