Audition (1999)
One of the most viscerally painful experiences captured on screen.
Presentation:
One of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite films for a reason. This visceral film is not for the faint of heart. Even for seasoned fans of slashers or horror films, the hardcore violence should make anyone squeemish. The reason it stands out from other bloody films is that the violence feels sudden and catches you off guard. It is not presented as a horror film until halfway through the film, lowering your guard. You’ll likely feel bored until things escalate and the plot unravels. The torture the characters go through is excruciating and hard to watch, but feels very different than other films of the genre like Hostel. This one feels psychologically cruel and demonstrates why Japanese horror is on another level.
Analysis:
The events and dream sequences are a metaphor. It can be stated with reasonable confidence that the torture did not actually happen and is a manifestation of the man's mind. There are elements of patriarchy and misogyny that ring true for Asian men, which is that women are seen as objects. Whether they are contempibly looked down upon for their chatter at the bar, they are still desired by men. However, there is a fantasy of beauty and purity Japanese men have about their women. So when it is revealed that the girl has a history of sexual abuse, all of the man's perceptions about her come crashing down. The torture we see him endure on screen is a metaphorical torture he experiences when realizing his bride to be is not the pure white angel he envisioned. To him, it is a betrayal that we wishes to ignore, but ultimately must live with.
Conclusion:
This is more than just torture porn, it weaves between story and violence like ballet offering a genuinely interesting metaphor in the process. The way it is capture from start to finish feels like the suffering is happening to you because of how realistic it is presented. A relatively unknown film that should entertain the most wicked viewers.
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Superficial, artificial, the body horrors of vanity.