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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/etr9ik4wsaaxi5u.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:Just a sweet candidate for our hero's love story, [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial nothing more.]][[note]]This is the most descriptive image of the film we can show, as ''every single poster'' [[SpoilerCover gives a bit too much away.]][[/note]]]]
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4''Audition'' is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Creator/TakashiMiike. In the years since its release, it's gained equal levels of infamy and respect and had a significant influence on later generations of filmmakers, with its ranks of fans including Creator/EliRoth, Creator/JohnLandis and Music/RobZombie -- which may give some insight to what kind of film this is.
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6Based on the novel by Creator/RyuMurakami, the story revolves around a lonely widower named Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), still mourning the death of his wife, who is encouraged by his friend Yoshikawa and his 17-year-old son Shigehiko to begin dating again.
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8They set up a mock [[TitleDrop audition]] where a lineup of women are interviewed to see if they're most fit for the "part" of Shigeharu's new wife, with the goal that he would marry the most beautiful and charming of the women. After the first round of interviews, he finds himself falling in love with Asami Yamazaki (Creator/EihiShiina), a beautiful, soft-spoken former ballerina who was forced to quit dancing after an injury.
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10He calls her...and shortly thereafter, his life takes a strange turn.
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12One more thing about the film's story -- it follows a ''[[{{Understatement}} unique]]'' path into revealing its true nature, and viewers will benefit the most going in knowing as little as possible. As a result, discussing tropes found within this work '''will essentially spoil the entire film'''. If you're one of the few who ''[[ItWasHisSled doesn't]]'' know how it unfolds, '''[[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned it's strongly advised you watch the movie first, then come back]]'''.
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15!!This movie contains examples of:
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17* AgonyOfTheFeet: [[spoiler:Asami cuts off Aoyama's left foot with razor wire, and would've done the same to his right had his son not happened to come home early.]]
18-->"Without feet, you can't leave."
19* AllMenArePerverts: The MO of Asami.
20* AndIMustScream:
21** [[spoiler:Asami gets Aoyama in position for torture by putting a drug in his drink that leaves him completely immobile but still able to feel pain.]]
22** [[spoiler:The man in Asami's bag, who lacks an ear, a tongue, and three fingers, and is essentially her slave.]]
23** [[spoiler:Asami's fate - assuming she really ''is'' still alive even after having her neck broken horribly and [[MindScrew it isn't just Aoyama hallucinating]].]]
24* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Asami's stepfather.]]
25* AxCrazy: Asami is the ''epitome'' of this trope and then some.
26* BeautyEqualsGoodness: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted with a vengeance.]] Asami is as beautiful as she is psychotic and violent.
27* BewareTheNiceOnes [=/=] BewareTheQuietOnes: [[spoiler:Asami, who hides her true psychotic nature underneath a gentle, polite demeanor.]]
28* BigBad: [[spoiler:Asami Yamazaki, a {{Yandere}} with a penchant for torture]].
29* BilingualBonus: Although "kiri kiri" is translated as "deeper, deeper" in the English subtitles and elsewhere as "cut cut", it is actually the Japanese onomatopeia for describing sharp pain. [[spoiler: Which poor Aoyama is in a lot of by that point.]]
30** A re-dub of the German release translates it to "killekille", which is not only as phonetically close as possible to the Japanese original, but, moreover, literally translates as "tickle tickle" and as such is probably the most appropriate translation bar none, given Asami's playful demeanour during the whole scene.
31* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Aoyama's son, Shigehiko, manages to save his father from a horrific death at the hands of Asami, kicking her down a flight of stairs causing her neck to snap. Unfortunately, Aoyama has suffered absolutely '''horrific''' torture, and the ending implies he may be just a tad crazy as a result of what he's seen and endured.]]
32* BlackAndGrayMorality: The only character who isn't sleazy, psychotic, or kind of an asshole is Shigehiko Aoyama. Well, as far as we know from what we see of him.
33* BreakTheCutie: Asami comes conveniently pre-broken from years of abuse.
34* BrownNote: The movie proved to be this. At the Swiss premiere, someone passed out and had to be taken to the emergency room. Additonally, the torture sequence proved too much for several seasoned gorehound directors (see TooSpicyForYogSothoth, below).
35* ClingyJealousGirl: [[spoiler:Asami, to such an extent that ''having a family at all'' breaks her rule of absolute monogamy and warrants torturous punishment.]]
36-->"Tell me you'll love only me..."
37* ColdBloodedTorture: The last twenty minutes, in which [[spoiler:Asami sticks needles in Aoyama and cuts off his foot.]]
38* CreepyMonotone: [[spoiler:Once her true character is revealed, Asami's never-changing high speaking tone starts to sound like this.]]
39* DarkAndTroubledPast: Asami was a trained ballet dancer... [[spoiler:with a psychotic stepfather that would physically and sexually abuse her]]. No wonder she's a few degrees off-plumb.
40* DirtyOldMan: Asami's stepfather, [[spoiler:who sexually abused her when she was a child]].
41* DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler:The sole reason why Asami tortures Aoyama with acupuncture needles and cuts off his foot with razor wire? ''He has a family.'']]
42** [[spoiler: This isn't close to what she's done in the past. As Aoyama is trying to find clues about Asami's background, he finds a music studio she'd mentioned, whose owner had been missing for a year. A helpful bystander informs Aoyama that said owner had a girlfriend on the side while he was seeing Asami... said girlfriend was found cut to pieces in the room Aoyama was about to investigate. To make matters worse, the police also found three spare fingers, an extra ear, and a rogue tongue in the mess. Then we get a good look at the Bag Man himself...]]
43%%* DistressedDude: Aoyama in the finale.
44* TheDogBitesBack: Possibly Asami killing her stepfather. Too bad the psychological damage was already done.
45* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene when Asami gets the callback… [[spoiler:and we see her in a completely empty apartment, sitting next to the only other things there but her: the ringing phone, and a lumpy burlap sack containing her previous boyfriend, who is mutilated but still horribly alive.]] And she's ''staring at the phone''...
46%%* EventTitle: The Audition.
47%%* EvilCripple: Asami's stepfather, who has two peg legs and [[spoiler: molested his stepchild]].
48* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Asami sticks Aoyama with needles all over his body...including his eyes.]]
49* FanDisservice: Averted in the movie adaptation, but the original novel includes graphic detail about the aftermath of Asami and Aoyama's tryst in the hotel, specifically regarding the [[{{Squick}} dried-up semen on and around Aoyama's genitals and pubic hair.]] Serves to enhance the sheer, startling effect of Asami having suddenly vanished while he was asleep.
50* FantasticDrug: The paralysing agent [[spoiler:Asami]] uses on [[spoiler:Aoyama]] is fictional. WordOfGod is that they made it up because the film would have been difficult to finish otherwise.
51* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:The Bag Man, who is eternally confined to being Asami's mutilated slave.]]
52* {{Fauxshadow}}: An beautiful woman in an EtherealWhiteDress catches the attention of the protagonist, but it turns out that none of the references she gave exist and she mysteriously disappears one day? Doesn't that sound a lot like the setup for a BoyMeetsGhoul story / "[[DeadAllAlong she was a ghost all along]]" reveal (more than one reviewer has pointed this out)? Of course, everyone knows that's not what happens…
53* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler:Bag Man is missing at least three fingers on one hand.]]
54* FreudianExcuse: Asami was physically and sexually abused as a child [[spoiler: until she took her stepfather's head off with piano wire]]. So naturally her ideas of what constitutes a loving relationship are skewed. This is the rare film where the tragic back story makes a character ''scarier'', not more sympathetic.
55* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:So what's up with the sudden vision of Aoyama happily together with Asami in bed? Is it just a hallucination or failed dream Aoyama is having? Or something more? And is Asami turning out to be NotQuiteDead the real deal, or just Aoyama's delusion?]]
56* GenreShift: The film starts out as a sweet romantic comedy, then descends into [[spoiler:horror]]. Additionally, while the first half of the film is fairly natural and bland in colour, the second half of the film has a lot of red lighting in several scenes (when Aoyama visits the music studio, the Stone Fish restaurant, and during the torture scene).
57* GigglingVillain: [[spoiler:Asami]] is having too goddamn much fun at the end…
58** Also Asami's stepfather.
59* GirlWithPsychoWeapon: [[spoiler:The fact that the needles and piano wire are so delicate and she's so beautiful makes it infinitely worse.]]
60* GoryDiscretionShot: Both played straight (Asami as a child being burned, Asami's stepfather being decapitated with piano wire) and averted (the torture scene).
61** It's also played straight during the aforementioned torture scene in some places - the camera focuses on Asami's face rather than [[spoiler:the needles puncturing Aoyama's face]] ([[EyeScream although the aftermath is shown]]), and the camera quickly cuts away before she [[spoiler:injects his tongue.]] However, during the [[spoiler:severing of Aoyama's foot]] it initially ''looks'' like it's going to be an aversion, as the camera cuts away as Asami begins… until the camera focuses on the grisly damage part way through.
62* GutPunch: The first 45 minutes could easily be mistaken for a romantic drama in which everything is slightly... off. Then we get Asami's EstablishingCharacterMoment, and the genre shift slams in.
63* HellBentForLeather: Asami's apron and gloves during the torture scene.
64* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: {{Averted}}, as Asami genuinely ''does'' seem like a nice, quiet young woman to begin with, although Yoshikawa does have misgivings about her right from the get-go. Aoyama doesn't listen to him.
65* KickTheDog: Just to really hammer home [[spoiler:how psychotic Asami is, she kills Aoyama's beloved pet dog.]]
66* LecherousStepparent: [[spoiler:Asami's evil stepfather sexually abused her when she was just a child.]]
67* LightIsNotGood: Asami is predominantly seen wearing white, before and after [[spoiler:she's revealed to be psychotic]]. FridgeBrilliance when you remember the color white is associated with death in Japan.
68* LoveAtFirstSight: Aoyama is immediately attracted to Asami just from seeing her photo and reading her essay.
69* MindScrew: Everything after [[spoiler:Aoyama decides to try finding a missing Asami himself]] dives headfirst into surrealism territory, up to and including its weird ending.
70* MissingMom: Aoyama's wife/Shigehiko's mother dies of an unspecified illness at the very start of the film. Confirmed in the novel to be a form of cancer.
71* NeckSnap: [[spoiler: While pursuing Shigehiko, Asami is pushed down the stairs, breaking her neck.]]
72* NothingNiceAboutSugarAndSpice: Asami appears to be the perfect woman: a soft-spoken, badly abused ballet dancer who always [[EtherealWhiteDress wears white]] and [[IJustWantToBeLoved just wants to be loved.]] However, if she senses she has any competition - regardless of what it is - she will [[spoiler:drug, torture, and slowly, sadistically dismember them...while retaining her soft voice and childlike manner.]]
73* NotQuiteDead: Well, perhaps. [[spoiler:Asami, after having her neck snapped, suddenly looks at Aoyama and begins talking to him, although it isn't [[MindScrew made clear]] if she really is still alive or if he's just hallucinating.]]
74* OffWithHisHead: Asami takes off her stepfather's head with razor wire after years and years of abuse.
75* OneWordTitle
76* PayEvilUntoEvil: Debatable. Depends on how repulsive you find an older man tricking young, ambitious, smart, gorgeous women who just want a shot at living their dream into lining up like cattle for the intent of taking emotional advantage of one of the distraught losers to get himself a wife. Averted somewhat in the original novel as it's Aoyama's friend who comes up with the idea, and both of them also have the intention of making the movie they're auditioning for as well if they can secure the funding.
77** Additionally, how Asami deals with her psychotic stepfather later...
78* PlayingWithSyringes: Asami injects Aoyama under the tongue with a paralyzing agent before she starts to play.
79* PsychologicalHorror
80* PsychopathicWomanchild: [[spoiler:The abuse and trauma Asami endured at the hands of her stepfather have left her emotionally and psychologically stunted. As she's torturing her victims, her sadistic glee in the act is almost childlike, lending credence to the idea that Asami never grew past her trauma.]]
81* PsychoticSmirk: Asami during the torture scene, before it turns into an outright SlasherSmile when she's [[spoiler:severing Aoyama's foot.]]
82* RazorFloss: Piano wire in this case.
83* SilkHidingSteel: Too bad the steel is made of acupuncture needles and razor wire…
84* SoullessBedroom: Asami's apartment is as blank and disturbing as she is.
85* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:Shigehiko comes home just in the nick of time.]]
86* SpoilerCover: The film disguises itself as a love story for its first half before its descent into horror, but ''every single one'' of its posters and release covers prominently displays its "love interest" playing with RazorWire and syringes, completely ruining the GenreShift surprise.
87** That's ignoring, of course, the scene in which she's waiting for his call while something in a bag shifts besides her.
88* StepfordSmiler: Asami.
89-->"I was never happy. ''I was always unhappy''." ''[pulls razor wire tight]''
90* TerribleIntervieweesMontage: In hindsight, Aoyama might have been better off with one of these...
91* TongueTrauma:
92** Not mangled. Removed entirely and left on the floor.
93** [[spoiler:Asami also injects Aoyama's tongue with a huge syringe.]]
94* TooDesperateToBePicky: The Man In The Bag [[spoiler:is willing to lap up fresh vomit out of a doggie bowl. Thought it's likely he's beyond psychologically broken at this point to even care what is it he is lapping up.]]
95* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: The torture sequence in this movie was wrenching enough to disturb a number of seasoned gorehound directors, including Creator/EliRoth, Creator/JohnLandis, and ''Music/RobZombie''.
96* TorturePorn: Often framed as something of a UrExample in public discourse, with its attachment to the aforementioned directors of uber-violent films amplifying this argument. However, some have tried to distance ''Audition'' from this wave of films, arguing that it focuses less on the scares of gory money shots and more on the disturbing effect of its characters' motivations.
97* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: One of the trailers opens with Asami's EstablishingCharacterMoment and later shows brief clips of the torture scene. The DVD covers also completely spoil the movie, usually by showing Asami wearing her torture garb and wielding a syringe.
98* UncannyValleyGirl: Asami.
99* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:Shigehiko, by convincing Aoyama to remarry in the first place, as well as Yasuhisa, the inventor of the "audition" idea.]]
100** However, [[spoiler:Shigehiko does eventually redeem himself by stopping Asami's torture and (maybe) killing her.]]
101* VillainousIncest: [[spoiler:Asami's stepfather physically and sexually abused Asami when she was a little girl. This resulted in her becoming psychologically damaged]].
102* VomitDiscretionShot: Asami [[spoiler:induces vomiting just around a corner, and then immediately subverts it when she brings the brimming bowl of puke in for her former boyfriend to eat]].
103* WholePlotReference: Music/MyChemicalRomance's MusicVideo for their song "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" recounts the plot of the movie, interspersed with clips of the band playing.
104* WomanScorned: The pre-emptive type.
105** But also done after the fact with her previous boyfriend.
106* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Possibly Asami.
107* YamatoNadeshiko: {{Deconstructed}}. At first, Aoyama is drawn to Asami because of her soft-spoken nature as well as her subtle, hidden strength. However, it is revealed that she was severely abused as a child and as a result has hidden mental problems, meaning that she is ''actually'' one of two things:
108** {{Yandere}}: She wanted him to love only her and snapped out when she discovered this wasn't the case. Kind of makes [[Film/FatalAttraction Alex Forrest]] look like WesternAnimation/RainbowBrite. Case in point: [[spoiler: the guy in the bag, who she mutilated in order to make him totally dependent on her]].
109** CuteAndPsycho: It's debatable how motivated by love she was, in that she didn't sound that convinced of the delusion-based excuses she shuffled through. She may have been less interested in him romantically than in using him as a punching bag.
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