Audition premiered in Canada in October 1999 but wasnt released in the UK until March 2001, much to the gratitude of yours truly, because of all the foreign-language titles on this list, Takashi Miikes film is one you need to beg, borrow or steal a copy of. When a lonely widower attempts to begin dating, he uses a filmmaker friend to audition prospective girlfriends, and eventually settles for Asami (Eihi Shiina), unaware she has a past thats best described as complicated. But if you think this is going to be a psychodrama in the Fatal Attraction mould, guess again Glenn Close never put needles in Michael Douglass eyes or displayed a penchant for amputation. When first shown in Japan, Audition caused walkouts, with one outraged female viewer telling the director to his face that he was a very sick person. Dont be fooled by the deliberate pacing because this is a picture that, like all the best horror movies, creeps up on you. If you only watch one of Miike's 90+ films, make it this one.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
