Director Takashi Miike fashions an explosive drama in Audition (2000). Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) has lived as a widower for too long and decides it’s time to marry again. But how will he find a wife? When a friend suggests he hold a fake audition to pick the right woman, he takes him up on it — only to realize that his choice may be a better actress than he bargained for.

“A better actress than he bargained for” is an understatement. She’s a sadistic calculating mutilating killer. I thought Kathy Bates knew how to torture a fella in Misery, but she had nothing on Asami (Eihi Shiina) with her meat wire cutters and needles. I actually wanted to barf during one scene when she feeds her vomit to one of her victims and he laps it up. (yeah, gross) The movie starts off innocently enough. It initially seemed to be a slow-moving character study. Suddenly towards the middle you are jarred awake as you are plunged into a man’s worst nightmare.