Another slow news day so I figured in the spirit of Halloween I’d share one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite horror movies of all time: Takashi Miike’s Audition. Audition tells the story of a widower Shigeharu Aoyama (played by Ryo Ishibashi) who, with the urging of his son, decides to seek a new wife. He does this by ‘unscrupulously’ holding phony auditions in hopes of meeting a new partner. A woman, Asami Yamazaki (played by Eihi Shiina) catches his eye and the rest, as they say, is history.
After her audition, Aoyama calls Asami to see if they could talk some more (presumably about the part) even though his friend,Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura) told him that her references didn’t check out. They meet at a restaurant and have a nice meal where she tells him essentially that she would like to get to know him better. He is amenable, she thanks him for the meal and they part ways.
The upcoming scene takes place after the meal and after a conversation with Yashuhisa, where he pleads with Aoyama not to contact Asami for a while to in fact ‘Cool down a bit’. Aoyama agrees, and for four days does not call Asami, who, unbeknownst to him, sits near her telephone, and waits…
This scene is a masterful display of presenting an inhuman, malevolent menace. The slight smile she presents as the phone begins to ring gives us insight, not into a woman, but of a timeless, all-knowing, nefarious creature that understands all the weaknesses of the human soul. After waiting patiently for its prey (one gets the impression that Asami could have waited there for years with no problem) it uncurls like a venomous reptile ready to finally claim its meal.
We know everything we need to know at that moment…this poor bastard is in a world of trouble.
It is pure, horrific poetry.
Not bad for a film that was shot in only three weeks.
