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.