10 Overhyped Horror Movies You Wish You'd Not Watched

Another runaway J-horror success, Takashi Miike's Audition retains a notoriety unbroken by English-language remakes and enshrined in a lore carried over from the days of analogue media, limited internet and excessive word of mouth.

Widower Shigeharu (Ryo Ishibashi) decides to start dating again, and for some reason that can only be attributed to late-‘90s reality TV and dating culture, agrees to allow his film-producer friend Yasuhisa (Miyuki Matsuda) to hold auditions for a fake production to vet suitable candidates. Polite, mysterious, attractive Asami (Eihi Shiina) catches Shigeharu's eye, and they embark on a relationship that seems made in heaven before things begin to sour. Thing is, Asami is neurotic, obsessive and has a penchant for chopping up the people who do her wrong.

Several big names in Hollywood (including Tarantino) have hailed Audition as one of the scariest and the best horrors ever made, and yet it is neither particularly well made nor scary. The hype surrounding this one definitely rests on the torture scenes, which preceded Saw and Hostel, and which are brutal, grim and disturbing. If this is your man-filled bag, that's great, but it is not enough to prop up an entire movie.

The vague plot progresses at a snail's pace, and most scenes are shot and acted as if by amateurs. The final torture sequence is well conceived, well lit and offers a few genuine horrors, but again, this is not enough to save a seriously overrated movie.