Audition (1999)

For much of its running time, Audition doesn't even feel like a horror film. It starts almost like a gentle romantic comedy with a middle-aged widower named Aoyama (Tetsu Sawaki) goaded into agreeing with a film producer pal's scheme to find him a new wife by holding fake movie auditions. As things develop, their plan seems more and more dodgy but nothing can prepare them for the final outcome. Delicate ex-ballerina Asami (Eihi Shiina) seems the most likely candidate for Aoyama, but her references don't check out, and the audience is tipped off early by seeing her home life: alone in an empty apartment with a mysterious sack. A sack that occasionally groans and moves.
Made by the ridiculously prolific Takashi Miike (who also made a TV miniseries, two TV movies and three other feature films in the same year) it's a film best approached with little foreknowledge. It inspired lesser film-makers to make plenty of violent, empty gestures of movies. But Miike has a message within Asami's madness, without which the film wouldn't hit as hard as it does. The final minutes are as unbearable as film can get.

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1999, Horror, Thriller,

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Celluloid Nightmares (1999)

A female reporter researching underground sex films stumbles across a snuff film, and her further investigation causes the film makers to take action against her.
MU ZAN E is an extremely rough Japanese gore/sexual violence film by anyone's standards. Anyone who doesn't find some of the scenes in this film disgusting is inhuman. That being said, since that is exactly what I was looking for - I wasn't disappointed.
I will give a brief synopsis, and this is what I gathered, since my copy has no English subtitles or dubs: A reporter is doing some research on underground sex films. She does interviews with various people in the "industry" and goes on-set during the filming of a production. During her research, she comes across some snuff material. Apparently she begins researching that type of stuff too, and when she gets too close, certain people aren't happy with her prying and decide to take action against her...
Honestly, this film is NASTY,NASTY,NASTY. I can't think of anyone who truly enjoys this type of material as entertainment. My main interest in seeking this film is that I'm always looking for the most "shocking" films available. Let me tell ya, this is one of 'em. Not only that, but the story (what I could make of it) seemed pretty interesting (and far superior and more straight-forward than Yamnouchi's other offerings...), and I hope that Unearthed Films will release an English subtitled version. As far as I know, they hold the rights here in the U.S. but have no ETA as to when it will be released. I give this film a pretty high rating because it does exactly what it's intention is to do
repel, repulse and sicken - but again, the story is pretty decent
too, and even has an unexpected twist, which doesn't always happen in this new realm of Asian "super extreme" gore films. Recommended only for you truly sick f!cks out there!!! 8.5/10

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1999, Adult, Gore, Japan,

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