#18 AUDITION: Horror Countdown to Halloween

This October we here at Dark of the Matinee are counting down our 31 favorite horror films. Join us daily as we countdown from #31 starting on October 1, 2012 leading up to #1 on Halloween!

 

#18 – AUDITION

Dir. Takashi Miike

There is no other film on our list like Takashi Miike's 1999 Audition. The film carries zero of the horror troupes we love here at Dark of the Matinee. Instead it is a slow burn that turns into one of the most frightening and disturbing endings in history. This film is not for the weak at heart.

Just a little prick!

The story follows a widower, played by Ryo Ishibashi, who takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The women he chooses, Eihi Shiina giving an amazing performance, turns out to be very disturbed. The setup of the story reels you in. At first we are a bit appalled by the widower's methods. However Miike begins to let us care about him once he falls for Asami. Their romance has a quirky innocence to it at first. When things go so horribly wrong, our hearts are invested in the couple and that makes the last thirty minutes all the more harrowing.

There is a moment in the film that terrifies me every time I watch Audition.  We see Asami sitting on the floor with the telephone ringing over and over.  The camera lingers on her. Suddenly in the background a large sack rolls over violently.  An awful sound comes from it. The realization of what's in that bag and what is in store for the widower unnerves me.

What's in that bag?!

That scene is scary as hell but nothing prepares you for the film's finale. Even the most seasoned horror film is going to struggle to keep their eyes on the screen. Miike is a master at the extreme but never has he shown more restraint than he does here. The camera work and editing that make up the final scenes is astonishing.

Audition succeeds on so many levels. It terrifies me to my core. It's characters make me emotionally engaged. It's really unlike any other horror film out there and for that reason and so many others it deserves to be on this list.