This movie is a tad long, but it's forgivable once you understand that the point was to make us like certain characters that we usually wouldn't care about in a typical horror movie. What is truly facinating about this movie, which actually starts out with an almost romantic drama pace, is that once this movie takes a turn for the crazy, it goes absolutely freak-show nuts! You know that long slow climb to the top of a roller coaster? Yeah, it's kind of like that. But instead of some extra G's and a few twists and turns, this one plunges you down into a dark hole of decadence that you couldn't predict was around the corner.
This one really made me squirm, which is pretty impressive since this movie is more than 12 years old. It is very dark, but great for people who like movies that are actually scary and not just gore-fest slashers. There is definitely a violent streak in this one, but still leans more towards a psychological thriller. But be rest assured, there are still some gross-out elements that many people will not enjoy. There is a reason that many people consider Audition one of the scariest/creepiest movies every made. It's not likely to disappoint.
Movie to Skip: Carved: The Slit Mouthed Woman
This is a really weird movie. There is a really twisted mixed message that says child abuse is bad, but it will also somehow also imbue the abuser with the strength to become a murderous ghost that can't be killed... all the while disfiguring and killing the same children you were just abusing. I mean, what?! Ultimate power to those who make a pact with the devil? I don't really get it, which is ultimately why I can't really recommend it. Perhaps there was something lost in translation, as the film, I believe, is in Korean, but it didn't offer much more than a confusing moral thread and a series of cheap thrills. I will give them proper for the creepiness factor, but that's about all that it offers.
