Uzumaki (2002)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:12
Rotten:10
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Uzumaki uses its creepy, David Lynch-inspired atmospherics to effectively build a sense of dread, but ultimately fails to do anything with it.
Theatrical Release:May 1, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: Based on a Japanese comic book, Higuchinsky's UZUMAKI follows the residents of a remote town as they inexplicably become obsessed with spiral shapes. Kirie (Eriko Hatsune), a young schoolgirl,... [More]
Get This Movie
Reviews for Uzumaki
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Adapted from a horror comic by Junji Ito, this debut feature from Japanese music-video director Higuchinsky begins eerily but doesn't take long to descend into silliness. Full Review |
||
 4/4 |
A brilliant horror film with an original idea and style to spare. Full Review |
||
|
2/5 |
No review available.
|
||
|
5/5 |
'Uzumaki is a masterfully rendered living portrait of warped, apocalyptic art...' Full Review |
||
|
4/5 |
Mostly the film creates an infectious feeling of apprehension that slowly crawls up your spine. Full Review |
||
|
|
Special effects can be tastefully managed even on a shoestring budget, but here they are merely ludicrous. Full Review |
||
|
2/4 |
Gussied up with so many distracting special effects and visual party tricks that it's not clear whether we're supposed to shriek or laugh. Full Review |
||
|
|
Succumb to its creepy charms, and you’ll never see inner-ear anatomy diagrams, umbrellas, or escargot in quite the same way. You might even hand over laundry chores to someone else. Full Review |
||
|
4/5 |
Eerie and slimy enough to give Tim Burton nightmares, Uzumaki is a superb piece of fantasy cinema. Full Review |
||
|
C+ |
A somewhat satisfying, because of its uniqueness, but ultimately empty horror chiller. Full Review |
||
|
3/4 |
Required viewing for horror fans, Japanese-cult-cinema fans, and anyone who digs settling in for an unsettling David Lynch evening. Full Review |
||
|
B+ |
... less a story than an inexplicable nightmare, right down to the population's shrugging acceptance to each new horror. Full Review |
||
|
69/100 |
Uzumaki’s interesting social parallel and defiant aesthetic seems a prostituted muse... Full Review |
||
|
|
Beautiful, cold, oddly colorful and just plain otherworldly, a freaky bit of art that's there to scare while we delight in the images. Full Review |
||
|
|
One of the film’s strongest achievements is the way it manages to get so much mileage out of such a simple concept as spirals. Full Review |
||
|
|
Ultimately the, yes, snail-like pacing and lack of thematic resonance make the film more silly than scary, like some sort of Martha Stewart decorating program run amok. Full Review |
||
|
4/5 |
Got a David Lynch jones? Then you'd do well to check this one out because it's straight up Twin Peaks action... Full Review |
||
|
3.5/5 |
A surreal fairy tale that coils in on itself like a slow-motion whirlpool and achieves an atmosphere of sublime creepiness without ever precisely making sense. Full Review |
||
|
1.5/4 |
At some point, all this visual trickery stops being clever and devolves into flashy, vaguely silly overkill. Full Review |
||
|
2/5 |
Things really get weird, though not particularly scary: the movie is all portent and no content. Full Review |
CommentRT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!
Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.
Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
RSS Feeds