tm Does the QT 20 Part 11: Audition

NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MEGA-SPOILERS

Audition (aka Ôdishon; dir. Takashi Miike – 1999)

Reading about this movie in advance of watching it, I was prepared to be grossed out, what with mention of barf bags being handed out at some screenings, people being sick in movie foyers, etc. While this movie is disturbing but c’mon - people, if you’re renting movies from Gen X, you’ve probably seen worse...

Many years after a movie producer’s wife dies, he decides to find a new wife. Unsure of how to proceed, a friend arranges a semi-bogus audition for a movie roll. The widowed producer sits in, evaluating the women as they come in. He finds one woman to his liking and he approaches her after the audition. They go out for a few dates and then, without warning, she disappears. The producer then attempts to track the elusive woman.

The movie is a psychological drama – the producer tries to track down the mysterious woman and the more he finds out about her, the weirder psycho-bitch she turns out to be. But yet the producer pursues, a train stuck on the tracks. The plot moves along in a controlled and measured pace, Ryo Ishibashi as the producer bring some nice dramatic chops to the movie and Eihi Shiina as the female protagonist does a nice job of projecting a quiet/scary/unhinged vibe.

Yes, the last 20 minutes are a little hard to take – the bulk of it being a torture scene involving an immobile captive being subjected to super-long acupuncture needles and a garrotte to an extremity – but the pain-induced flashbacks by the captive does provide some insight into the plot. Not that I’m trying to make excuses for this movie or anything like that...

tm sez: 6/10

Mike The Boss - Films of 2010 - Film the Fifth: Zombie Hunter Rika

(just when you think the movie can't get any more ridiculous, guess who shows up?)

Zombie Hunter Rika (2008) (dir: K. Fujiwara)

Part live action anime, part slapstick Japanese comedy, part low budget zombie film, Zombie Hunter Rika is another in the Switchblade film releases for North America. Basic story is Rika and her friend play hooky and go visit her grandfather whereupon they are attacked by zombies. Much hilarity ensues as the grandfather's maids have a "who has the bigger boobs" contest just before they are devoured, the grandfather (who is a vegetative state due to being poisoned by his gold digging wife) goes old school samurai and then attaches the severed arm of a US Elite Zombie Hunter to his granddaughter (her arm gets severed after being bitten by a zombie) and some Three Stooges like hijinks from a trio of computer nerds who are trying to stop the zombie invasion with a tire iron and kitchen knife.

If you think it sounds like the movie is dumb, you are correct but it knows that it is a low budget exploitation film and does the best it can within it's limitations. You get some nudity, lots of gore, ridiculous situations and a plot that makes a kind of retarded, incredibly convoluted sense. But really, leave your brain behind if you are going to watch Rika.

P.S. Watch for the obviously male stunt double for Rika who does most of the martial arts moves in the movie. I love it when movies do that!