Audition  ★★★½

MODERN Japanese horror cinema can still be measured against two 20-year-old films.

Hideo Nakata’s original Ring (1998) and Miike Takashi’s Audition from 1999 are often copied, including by Hollywood, but rarely bettered.

While Ring is the scarier film overall, Audition provides the creepier and more disturbing experience.

Audition initially disarms the viewer with an almost sweet story about a slowly blossoming romance between Aoyama, a middle-aged and widowed businessman, and Asama, a much younger woman.

The basis of their initial meeting is questionable on Aoyama’s part. A male friend who runs a film company convinces Aoyama to participate in a bogus audition process so he can meet a collection of young women.

Of the 30-odd women who audition for the part that doesn’t exist Aoyama is immediately captivated by the reserved, softly-spoken and beautiful Asama. A back injury ended Asama’s dream of being a professional dancer, but her poise and quiet confidence is clear.

Despite their 20-year age difference she also seems keen to build a relationship with Aoyama, mainly because of the respect with which he treats her.

Takashi’s use of softer focus and steady camera gives the film’s first act an old-fashioned look and sensibility in service of the script.

At this point in the film we know the gender politics are skewed and there will be some form of re-examination, particularly in the context of Japanese cultural factors and distinct sexual mores.

But audiences at the time of its initial release did not realise or expect the film to challenge these beliefs in such a brutal manner.

Audition suddenly moves into the world of what was eventually termed the ‘torture porn’ sub-genre to explore the dangers and consequences of seeking to subjugate another person, particularly women in modern Japan, and challenging the viewer to consider the same.

The ’romance’ becomes twisted and provokes the most extreme of actions with Takashi not sparing his audience. Be warned, some moments of the final act and relentlessly grim and hard to watch.

While there is no doubting Takashi’s skill as a film-maker, his treatment of Ryu Murukami’s source novel is troubling for the audience because it doesn’t assign blame fully to either party. It’s a brave approach that could be argued isn’t the best one to take.

Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shira are perfectly cast as the protagonists who shift from potential lovers to extreme combatants.

It’s the small moments that stay with you, such as the image of Asama’s slight smile under her hair when she hears the phone ring while sitting in her hallway staring at a mysterious duffel bag.

Audition is that kind of film…it gets under your skin and then keeps burrowing.