What it’s about
When lonely widower Shigeharu Aoyama (Ishibashi) decides it’s time to find a new wife, his TV producer friend Yasuhisa (Jun Kinimura) proposes a novel idea: Hold a fake audition and find the girl of your dreams. Aoyama consents, and soon luminous, demure ex-ballerina Asami Yamazaki (Shiina) waltzes in and catches his eye. But Mr. Aoyama finds disturbing signs that Asami may be less – and quite a bit more – than who she says she is.
Why we love it
This disturbing, darkly surreal horror film by Japanese shock meister Miike is not lacking for twisted, troubling images of unfathomable terror or sadomasochistic torture. But Miike pulls it off so cleverly and with such conviction that you feel yourself lured into his femme fatale’s abyss as unwittingly as Mr. Aoyama. Lurking beneath its lurid veneer and bizarre, imaginative chills is a smart critique of the power dynamics between men and women – one that ultimately puts a macabre twist on female retribution. Watch out for that needle!
Ryo Ishibashi Takashi Miike