Rant On By Ranting Media

Welcome to Critics Club: Deep Cuts — a new series where we take a more focused dive into a single film. This time, it’s the haunting, unforgettable Japanese horror classic: Audition (1999), directed by Takashi Miike.What happens when a grieving widower looks for love... through a fake movie audition? Jim and Geoff walk through the film’s surreal structure, disturbing tonal shift, and ambiguous ending. They tackle questions about trauma, manipulation, and whether the film's most horrifying moments were hallucinations, metaphor, or something even more sinister.Along the way, they share:Personal horror stories of poblano pepper accidents Root canal commentaryJapanese cultural context and misogyny critiques Film comparisons to Promising Young Woman, I Spit on Your Grave, The Ring, and Evil Dead II Key Timestamps:[00:04:59] – Introducing “Critics Club: Deep Cuts”[00:05:55] – Why Jim thought they were watching Battle Royale[00:06:05] – A primer on Takashi Miike’s filmography[00:08:02] – Early 2000s J-horror boom co