--- title: "Audition" year: 2000 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/audition" fi1m_id: "audition" imdb_id: "tt0235198" tmdb_id: 11075 wikidata_id: "Q565130" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 85 critics_reviews: 7 published: "2026-09-26T02:59:16.951806+00:00" updated: "2026-09-26T02:59:17.419078+00:00" region: "TH" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Audition (2000) Directed by Takashi Miike · 1h 55m · Horror, Drama ## Identity Audition - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/audition - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** audition - **IMDb ID:** tt0235198 - **TMDB ID:** 11075 - **Wikidata ID:** Q565130 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235198/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11075, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q565130 **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 85 from 7 reviews *In a sentence:* A romance that gives us plenty of time to regret relaxing > Takashi Miike makes the apparent romance in *Audition* disquieting through patience and Eihi Shiina’s performance. We recommend it with two cautions: the violence is distressing, and its treatment of women is less assured than its control of tension. ## Synopsis Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina) and Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura) are the central figures in a drama that begins as an apparent romance. Relations between men and women occupy the foreground, with possessiveness and male arrogance complicating the prospect of love. The story takes its time with the characters, allowing unease to build beneath the romantic premise. Its opening stays with their expectations of one another, keeping the emphasis on personal relationships and the uncertainty surrounding them rather than immediate scares. ## Review Takashi Miike’s *Audition* is a patient, deeply unsettling horror film, though its treatment of women is harder to defend than its control of tension. It begins sufficiently like a romance to make us attend to the people before we start anticipating danger. That early investment matters, and Miike is prepared to spend time securing it. Daisuke Tengan’s screenplay, adapted from a novel by Ryū Murakami, allows the opening drama to occupy a substantial stretch of the film without continually promising that something dreadful is coming. Ryo Ishibashi’s Shigeharu Aoyama gives that apparent romance a credible human centre, which is essential if the patient beginning is going to hold. Eihi Shiina’s Asami Yamazaki makes it difficult to settle into watching it. We were unnerved by the difficulty of reading her, even while the film was inviting us to consider its romantic possibilities. Shiina sustains that uncertainty without making the performance feel like a succession of clues, and Miike gives us time to keep trying to understand her. Hideo Yamamoto’s cinematography makes the drama attractive enough to sustain that attention without reassuring us. The beauty of the images helps explain why the waiting works: there is something worth looking at before there is anything to recoil from. Tatsuo Ozeki’s production design is effective in a quieter way, giving the people surroundings that do not compete with them for attention. Our interest keeps returning to the performers, particularly Shiina, rather than wandering off to admire the setting. Yasushi Shimamura’s editing does more conspicuous work, making the handling of time contribute to our uncertainty about what we are watching. Its effectiveness depends on discoveries we will leave alone. Kōji Endō’s music contributes less to our unease than the duration of a scene or the difficulty of reading a performance; the score is not what we remember afterwards. At 115 minutes, this is horror that asks for sustained attention, and its long preparation usually earns it. Usually, rather than always. There are stretches where the deliberate pace starts to feel too protective of its surprises, and understanding why Miike wants us to wait does not make every wait equally involving. The opening has to work as drama, independently of whatever a viewer has heard about the horror. It largely does, but anyone arriving solely for shocks may spend too much of it checking how far there is to go. The sexual politics are the more substantial reservation. Miike’s examination of male arrogance has bite, particularly in its suspicion of possessiveness passing for love. We are less convinced that the film’s treatment of women consistently escapes the attitudes it appears to question. Its ambiguity is disturbing, but we hesitate to credit every troubling implication as evidence of psychological insight; some of the discomfort comes from uncertainty about how carefully those implications have been considered. Within horror, the commitment to an apparently romantic beginning is what makes *Audition* distinctive. Miike risks allowing the early drama to disappoint expectations that the genre itself encourages, and the actors give that decision substance. The reservation about its sexual politics remains worth discussing rather than explaining away because the film frightened us. We recommend it to horror viewers prepared to give the early drama their full attention, and prepared for distressing violence. *Fi1m score 84, published 26 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics are strongly positive about Audition, with praise clustering around its patient build-up of unease and the psychological weight behind its horror. The reviews repeatedly describe a film whose disturbing effects depend on more than shock: sexual politics, male arrogance and gender conflict give the violence something to examine. Eihi Shiina’s chilling performance draws particular praise from Empire, while other reviews emphasise the sharp wit and the gradual accumulation of tension. The differences concern pacing and interpretation more than basic approval. Variety admires the visual craft and temporal editing but notes that the deliberate pace delays the scares, and finds ambiguity in the treatment of possessive love and misogyny. Elsewhere, that patience is largely counted as a strength. The apparent spread needs some caution: the accessible Screen Daily review does not disclose a verdict, so it cannot establish a clear dissent from the favourable consensus. ## Straight answers **Is Audition worth watching?** *Audition* is worth watching for horror viewers who enjoy patient character drama before the scares, and we score it 84 out of 100. Eihi Shiina’s unreadable performance keeps us uneasy through the apparent romance, though the pace occasionally drags, the violence is distressing and the treatment of women warrants caution. **How long is Audition, and what is it rated?** *Audition* runs 1h 55m. It is a horror and drama film. **Where can I watch Audition in Thailand?** *Audition* is not on any streaming or rental service in Thailand at the moment. It is available in 9 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Audition, and is it suitable for children?** *Audition* carries a UK 18 certificate and contains distressing violence, making it unsuitable for children and a difficult choice for squeamish adults. Its fear grows through a patient, apparently romantic opening and uncertainty about the characters rather than immediate scares; we find that sustained unease deeply unsettling. **How does Audition compare to The Piano Teacher?** *Audition* is our choice for slow-building horror, while [*The Piano Teacher*](https://film.one/film/the-piano-teacher) is the stronger recommendation for a harsher examination of desire, control and intimacy. We find reservations in both: *Audition* is less assured about its treatment of women, while *The Piano Teacher* benefits from Erika’s vulnerability but makes Walter less convincing as a character. **Is Audition based on a true story or a book?** *Audition* is adapted from a novel by Ryū Murakami, rather than presented as a true story. Daisuke Tengan’s screenplay gives the apparent romance substantial room before the horror; we recommend approaching it without prior reading, though we make no claim about how closely it follows the book. **What should I watch after Audition?** After *Audition*, try [*The Piano Teacher*](https://film.one/film/the-piano-teacher) (2001, Fi1m 82): For a harsher examination of desire, control and the difficulty of intimacy. Then [*Burning*](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning) (2018, Fi1m 72): Desire and resentment keep an ambiguous mystery troubling long after it finishes. ### Reviews we read (7) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (5/5): Bradshaw calls the film a stomach-turning masterpiece and a landmark of J-horror. He singles out its vengeful female antagonist and its critique of male arrogance for praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/dec/10/audition-review-takashi-miike-japanese-horror-re-release) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (90/100, inferred): Newman praises the film as a disturbing, memorable horror story that builds from apparent romance into a nightmare. He singles out Eihi Shiina’s chilling performance and the slow accumulation of tension. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/audition-review/) - **Slant Magazine**, Chuck Bowen (4.5/5): Bowen regards the film as a profound, psychologically rich horror work, not merely a shock artifact. He praises Arrow’s vivid restoration and the film’s patient handling of gender conflict and violence. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/audition-blu-ray-review-miike-arrow/) - **Time Out** (80/100, inferred): The description presents the film as an absorbing, sly psychodrama. It praises its sharp wit and provocative take on sexual politics. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/audition) - **Variety**, Ken Eisner (75/100, inferred): Eisner presents the film as a shocking, beautifully made horror story, though its deliberate pacing delays the scares. He praises the haunting visual beauty and temporal editing, while noting the film’s ambiguity about possessive love and misogyny. [Read](https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/audition-1200459973/) - **Screen Daily**, Edna Fainaru (64/100, inferred): The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also provides no praise or complaint to identify. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/audition/401502.article) - **The Skinny**, Rachel Ashenden (★★★★★): Ashenden praises the film’s slow-building unease and disturbing finale, calling it both shocking and haunting. She also singles out Arrow’s much-needed 2K restoration and extensive extras. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/audition) ## Details - **Director:** Takashi Miike - **Director:** Takashi Miike - **Screenplay:** Daisuke Tengan - **Novel:** Ryū Murakami - **Cinematography:** Hideo Yamamoto - **Editor:** Yasushi Shimamura - **Music:** Kōji Endō - **Production design:** Tatsuo Ozeki - **Costume design:** Tomoe Kumagai - **Producer:** Satoshi Fukushima, Akemi Suyama - **Cast:** Ryo Ishibashi as Shigeharu Aoyama; Eihi Shiina as Asami Yamazaki; Jun Kunimura as Yasuhisa Yoshikawa; Tetsu Sawaki as Shigehiko Aoyama; Renji Ishibashi as Mr Shimada; Miyuki Matsuda as Ryoko Aoyama; Toshie Negishi as Rie; Yuriko Hirooka as Michiyo Yanagida - **Runtime:** 1h 55m - **First release (Canada):** 2 October 1999 - **Genres:** Horror, Drama - **Budget:** $250,000 - **Box office:** $359,853 - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wr_om5LsuI ## Where to watch in Thailand Not streaming, renting or buying in Thailand at the last check. Also available in: AT, CH, DE, ES, FR, GB, IE, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Cure* (1997): Another patient Japanese horror film that makes uncertainty steadily harder to bear. - *The Piano Teacher* (2001), Fi1m 82: For a harsher examination of desire, control and the difficulty of intimacy. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-piano-teacher.md) - *Diabolique* (1955): Carefully rationed information and intimate cruelty, with suspense given time to develop. - *The Invitation* (2015): Social unease becomes difficult to dismiss in this deliberately paced horror film. - *Burning* (2018), Fi1m 72: Desire and resentment keep an ambiguous mystery troubling long after it finishes. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mississippi-burning.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/audition