critics consensus

An audacious, unsettling Japanese horror film from director Takashi Miike, Audition entertains as both a grisly shocker and a psychological drama. Read critic reviews

Rent/buy from $3.99

Rent/buy

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Audition Photos

View All Photos (11)

Movie Info

This disturbing Japanese thriller follows Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower who decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend (Jun Kunimura), Aoyama uses auditions for a fake production to function as a dating service. When Aoyama becomes intrigued by the withdrawn, gorgeous Asami (Eihi Shiina), they begin a relationship. However, he begins to realize that Asami isn't as reserved as she appears to be, leading to gradually increased tension and a harrowing climax.

Rating:

R (Violence/Torture|Sexuality)
Genre:

horror
Original Language:

Japanese
Director:

Takashi Miike
Producer:

Satoshi Fukushima, Akemi Suyama
Release Date (Theaters):

Jan 1, 1999 wide
Release Date (Streaming):

Feb 19, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA):

$110.8K
Runtime:

1h 53m

Cast & Crew

Ryo Ishibashi
Shigeharu Aoyama

Eihi Shiina
Asami Yamazaki

Tetsu Sawaki
Shigehiko Aoyama

Jun Kunimura
Yasuhisa Yoshikawa

Renji Ishibashi
Old man in wheelchair

Miyuki Matsuda
Ryoko Aoyama

Show all Cast & Crew

News & Interviews for Audition

RT’s Top Yuletide Comedies — Christmas Countdown, Day One

RT’s Top 20 Halloween Movie Countdown, Part 1

View All

Critic Reviews for Audition

All Critics (78) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (64) | Rotten (14)

The film is a brutal examination of social isolation and malaise, and the gulf that often exists between men and women.

July 1, 2019 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

Chuck Bowen
Slant Magazine
A stomach-turning masterpiece.

December 10, 2015 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
This movie, at just under two hours, is a long crawl from inception to climax.

November 30, 2001 | Rating: 2/4

Jim Sullivan
Boston Globe
Miike is brilliant at transforming the mundane and familiar ... into something sinister and eerie.

November 29, 2001 | Full Review…

Patrick Z. McGavin
Chicago Tribune
A diabolically adroit piece of filmmaking that goes even further than the films of Italy's excruciatingly macabre Dario Argento.

November 16, 2001 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
It gnaws on your mind like a famished larva, and you can fully expect to have a rough time of it later, when you close your eyes and try to sleep.

November 11, 2001 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
It takes a while to get there, but Takashi Miike's adaptation of Ryū Murakami's novel builds to one of cinema's most unforgettable endings.

December 30, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Trace Thurman
Horror Queers Podcast
A prolific director known for his willingness to try anything as long as it's weird, violent, or evil, Takashi Miike outdid himself with Audition...

September 17, 2020 | Full Review…

A.S. Hamrah
The Baffler
fans of cult cinema though will definitely appreciate its atmosphere and the grotesqueness of the last part, which is what gave the film the place it currently holds in the category.

July 26, 2020 | Full Review…

Panos Kotzathanasis
easternKicks.com
A horrific tale about the mysteries of unseen boundaries. Whatever you do, don't watch it with the person you love. It gets rather awkward. [Full review in Spanish].

December 9, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Federico Furzan
Cinelipsis
A divine and delicious slice of Asian horror that is worthy of its status as an iconic piece of not just Asian horror or J-horror, or even horror as a whole, but as an iconic piece of cinema.

April 11, 2018 | Rating: 9/10 | Full Review…

Andrew Pollard
Starburst
Takashi Miike's startling blend of gentle family melodrama and graphic horror is easy to either admire or hate, but impossible to ignore.

March 5, 2018 | Full Review…

Edna Fainaru
Screen International

View All Critic Reviews (78)

Audience Reviews for Audition

Apr 06, 2015

Audition is really good in the fact that it features strong performances that are effective against one another like a strong ensemble and it also coins an original and intuitively disturbing story of vaguely feminist revenge/torture pornography. Audition isn't dissimilar to films such as Hostel or Martyrs in that they're enjoyable yet ultimately disgusting. Not one to watch with your parents either.

Harry W Super Reviewer
Dec 06, 2013

[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]

Directors C Super Reviewer
Oct 18, 2013

Audition is a disturbing tale of a man's quest to find the perfect wife. Shigeharu is a widower who staged an audition for an actress to star in a film, but the real purpose was to find a potential wife. Asami stood out from the rest, though she had a troubled past, Shigeharu did not care. He began to discover that people in Asami's life all disappeared, the deeper he investigated, the closer he comes to learn who Asami really is. Audtition has a twisted nature in itself, it's part romance, part horror and part comedy, though it included surrealism that was somewhat confusing. The lack of score made the film extra eerie, the last 20 minutes of the film will leave you speechless. Audition is definitely not a film for everyone, proceed with caution.

Sylvester K Super Reviewer
Aug 07, 2013

Really just an average film riddled with choppy directing and editing; a far cry from a homogenous and cogent film. Its upsides are the reason you've even heard of this film.

Jason 123 D Super Reviewer