Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Uzumaki

Play trailer Poster for Uzumaki Released Feb 11, 2000 1h 31m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
61% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Kirie (Eriko Hatsune) and Shuichi (Fhi Fan) are friends in a small town who notice that Shuichi's father, Toshio (Ren Ôsugi), has become utterly obsessed with snails, videotaping them in his garden and gathering items that resemble the spiral patterns on their shells. Kirie sees spirals elsewhere, too, even in the way people dress and comport their bodies. When the curiosities turn to tragedies, Shuichi wants to escape to Tokyo, but Kirie is determined to stay and figure out what is going on.
Uzumaki

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Uzumaki uses its creepy, David Lynch-inspired atmospherics to effectively build a sense of dread, but ultimately fails to do anything with it.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (28) Critics Reviews
Scott Tobias AV Club Uzumaki progresses like the life cycle of a butterfly, only the subjects begin as human beings and contort into giant snails, powerless to stop their bodies from betraying them. Oct 19, 2018 Full Review Dennis Harvey Variety Pic duly places less emphasis on narrative than on the sort of surreal set pieces that might have worked better in the graphic-novel form. Feb 11, 2010 Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader Adapted from a horror comic by Junji Ito, this debut feature from Japanese music-video director Higuchinsky begins eerily but doesn't take long to descend into silliness. Apr 18, 2007 Full Review Jorge Loser Espinof ... A chimera in itself, so bizarre that it's disturbing, so extravagant that it becomes more and more valuable with each passing year. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 5/5 Oct 1, 2024 Full Review Jason Shawhan Nashville Scene The spiral is always turning, you know, growing outward even as it pulls you in, first by sight, then by thought, and by then far too late. Sep 9, 2021 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid A brilliant horror film with an original idea and style to spare. Rated: 4/4 Jun 3, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (443) audience reviews
Robson C Em uma pequena vila japonesa, uma estranha maldição relacionada com espirais está afetando pouco a pouco cada um do s habitantes do local. Uzumaki é um mangá de horror produzido por um dos mestres deste gênero, Junji Ito. O terror é psicológico, com as pessoas tendo fixações por espirais, mas alguma delas leva isso ao máximo e, então, o filme descamba para o body horror, com corpos retorcidos, como um pano molhado que torcemos para tirar o excesso de água. O filme passa um ar angustiante pois não há um inimigo físico a se combater. São espirais que se encontram espalhadas por toda parte: na concha de um caracol, no interior do cano de um revólver, no interior do ouvidos das pessoas, em um piolho de cobra se protegendo. Não há muito a se fazer. Apenas mergulhe no terror doentio deste filme. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/02/25 Full Review Audience Member Based on the delightfully horrific manga by Junji Ito, it is a film obsessed with its theme meaning "spiral", there is also a subtle undertone of H.P. Lovecraft's "Shadow over Innsmouth". The color palette, cinematography and subliminalness work so well with this strangely splendid little movie. The brilliant ending imagery goes directly back to the manga as it could only be done for a finale, and with such an artistically somber flair. Shot in two weeks, it is a quirky flick, more weirdly unsettling rather than scary, although there are a few jumpy and creepy moments. The film is a classic example of j-horror done beautifully. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/24/24 Full Review Tony L The first hour is definetly a pretty faithful adaptation to Junji Ito's manga in terms of eerieness and horror but the last 30 minutes was way too rushed and the ending went too far of from the book, but I do like the mysteriousness behind it. It wouldve definetly been better if it was a longer movie but its still an enjoyable experience non the less. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/05/24 Full Review Joshua H One of the worst adaptations of a manga i've seen,fails to capture the fear and terror of junji ito's horrifying manga,you're better off spiraling away from this one Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/02/24 Full Review Khalil F Just read the book, they skipped 90% of the book, stuff all the chapters into one chapter with everything happening at the same time, removed characters pivotal to the story, ending completely changed, and none of the chapters actually finish. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Great. Effects still hold up. Ending a little lackluster though. Final chapter could have been done better Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/02/21 Full Review Read all reviews
Uzumaki

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All Cast and Crew
View All Uzumaki photos

Uzumaki

Uzumaki (2000) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Kirie (Eriko Hatsune) and Shuichi (Fhi Fan) are friends in a small town who notice that Shuichi's father, Toshio (Ren Ôsugi), has become utterly obsessed with snails, videotaping them in his garden and gathering items that resemble the spiral patterns on their shells. Kirie sees spirals elsewhere, too, even in the way people dress and comport their bodies. When the curiosities turn to tragedies, Shuichi wants to escape to Tokyo, but Kirie is determined to stay and figure out what is going on.
Director
Higuchinsky
Producer
Sumiji Miyake, Dai Miyazaki
Screenwriter
Junji Ito, Kengo Kaji, Takao Nitta, Chika Yasuo
Distributor
Tidepoint Pictures LLC
Production Co
Star Max, Shogakukan, Omega Micott Inc, Tokyo FM Broadcasting Company, Space Shower TV
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 11, 2000, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 13, 2009
Runtime
1h 31m
Sound Mix
Stereo