Review XIV - Audition

Review XIV
Audition (1999)

I have a few films I want to watch from Miike Takashi. I already reviewed Ichi the Killer, and since I wasn't that impressed, I decided to check out another horror film of Miike Takashi's, Audition. It stars Ishibashi Ryo, Shiina Eihi, Kunimura Jun, and Miyuki Matsuda.

Aoyama Shigeharu (Ishibashi Ryo) is a lonely widower whose wife died of an illness many years previously. His son (Miyuki Matsuda) encourages him to get re-married, and Yoshikawa Yasuhisa (Kunimura Jun), Aoyama's friend, decides to help him out by holding fake auditions for a film so Aoyama can choose the right woman for him. Aoyama soon falls for one girl in particular, Yamazaki Asami (Shiina Eihi), but not everything is what it seems...

I liked this film. It wasn't amazing, but it was a lot better than Ichi the Killer. It had an interesting, and sad, story to it. Also, it didn't only rely on gore to shock you. In fact, spoiler, the gore was only right at the end of the film. Otherwise, Yamazaki's life is what shocks the viewer. It brought in some strange psychological elements to it, but it was done decently. It was a strange film, but it had a human touch to it, and I liked that. Also, I don't find it so much as horror as it is suspenseful. I mean, you're horrified by what happens, but it's more a thriller. At least, to me it is.

I'd give the film seven point five stars on ten. It was an interesting thriller, and you actually felt for the characters. There was a reason for why the characters acted the way they did, and it had a good story to it. Still, it wasn't anything extraordinary. If you like suspenseful films, with a touch of horror and gore, check it out.

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Review VIII - Ichi the Killer

Review VIII
Ichi the Killer (2001)

If you are an avid horror movie fan, you've most definitely heard of Miike Takashi. While he's done family-friendly films like Ninja Kids!!! (Nintama Rantarô in Japanese) and Yatterman (Japanese title being Yattâman), Miike Takashi is known for his controversial horror films, most notably his film adaptation of Koroshiya 1, or, as it's known in English, Ichi the Killer.

The film revolves around Kakihara (portrayed by Asano Tadanobu), a sadomasochist yakuza, and his search for his crime boss, Anjo. While Anjo is brutally murdered at the beginning of the film, Kakihara believes him to be alive as Jijii (Tsukamoto Shin'ya) tells him he is, though he knows full well Anjo is dead. Enter Ichi (Ōmori Nao), a homicidal yet very confused man, who is ordered to kill Kakihara and his yakuza gang, and you end up with a violent-infused gore fest.

The film was gory, that's for sure. While it doesn't meet the standards of Dead Alive, aka Braindead, I found myself flinching a lot more. The gore was not zombie gore - it was humans-being-stabbed-and-sliced-in-half gore which means you could imagine yourself in the shoes of the character being tortured. And trust me, there is a lot of torturing going on. The film deals with sadomasochism so it's only expected. Nonetheless, while it did make me flinch, this film was still made eleven years ago, so the effects can be kind of outdated. For example, and this isn't really a spoiler since it only emphasises Ichi's homicidal capabilities, when Ichi kills a random pimp who is beating up on a prostitute he takes a fancy to, he slices him in half. While the zoom up on the face was alright, you can tell the movie isn't very recent because of the effects. I was also disappointed since it lacked in the blood department (I'm really nitpicking now) in that scene, but at least when the carotid artery and jugular vein were sliced, it was messy. The plot isn't really anything amazing; you really only follow Kakihara around, watching him crave finding Ichi to finally punish him as Anjo used to, and follow Ichi around as he's fed lies from Jijii and throwing people's guts around. As I'm sure you've guessed, the reason you'd watch this film is for the gore. I never read the manga, so I'm not sure if the plot of the film follows the manga exactly (I know Anjo is killed in the manga right at the beginning), but I'm assuming it's similar to the film. While some elements of the plot are interesting, others are left unexplained, and it's left a bit too obscure for my liking.

I'd give the film a six point eight on ten. The plot was weak, and it focused a bit too much on the aspect of sadomasochism to keep the story going. Still, while the gore and special effects were cheesy at times, they could at least give you a good laugh, or make you flinch at how gross it was. Worth a look if you like horror/gore films.

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