Charles Webb, Matthew Fantaci" />
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      Charles Webb, Matthew Fantaci
      January 17, 2022
      Fiction, PDI Press, PDI Press Writers
    Recent
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      John E. Meredith
      January 17, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)

      John E. Meredith
      January 16, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)

      John E. Meredith
      January 15, 2022
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Heart of Stone (2023)

      Charles Webb, Matthew Fantaci
      August 18, 2023
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • Heart of Stone (2023)

      Nate Zoebl
      August 18, 2023
    • Obstacle Corpse (2022)

      Nate Zoebl
      July 20, 2023
    • Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2023
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Charles Webb, Matthew Fantaci
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      The Final Girl
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

      Charles Webb, Matthew Fantaci
      February 1, 2023
      News, Shot for Shot
    Recent
    • Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

      Paul Brian McCoy
      February 1, 2023
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • Heart of Stone (2023)
  • Obstacle Corpse (2022)
  • Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
  • Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
  • The Flash (2023) / Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
  • Evil Dead Rise (2023)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
DVD/Blu-ray

Uzumaki (2000)

Charles Webb, Matthew Fantaci
October 29, 2009
DVD/Blu-ray, Movies, Reviews, Shot for Shot

Warning: A non-numeric value encountered in /home/psychodr/public_html/wp/wp-content/themes/valenti/library/core.php on line 1104

Director: Higuchinsky
Writer: Ito Junji (Manga), Kengo Kaji (screenwriter)
Starring: Keiko Takahashi, Ren Osugi, Hinako Saeki, Fhi Fan

Rating: 4 stars

Uzumaki_1
Matt: This week we’re continuing our appreciation of horror comics in movies and focusing on Uzumaki, a Lovecraftian tale from Japan. Uzumaki is translated as “spiral” or “vortex” (depending on the DVD edition you own). This simple shape invades a small town, causing madness and obsession. Eventually, the town’s inhabitants begin seeing the uzumaki everywhere as spirals become ever-present. At the center of this tale is a high school couple, Kirie and Shuichi, who watch as their friends and family transform into something (cue eerie sound effect) more than human.

The movie is based on a manga by Ito Junji, and despite some flaws, does a wonderful job of translating the language of comics to the big screen.

Uzumaki_2
Charles: The film was released in Japan in 2000. I recall seeing it around 2002 or 2003 – a period where a lot of Japanese horror titles were being experienced for the first time by curious viewers. Around this time bootleg copies of Battle Royale, Kairo (AKA Pulse in the U.S.), and the Ringu trilogy were making the rounds and Audition was freaking people out in art houses.

Looking back it was definitely a transformative period for Japanese horror that many of us came to secondhand, due to the labyrinthine processes of licensing foreign properties, came to secondhand. The lead in Uzumaki, Kirie, was typical of the kind of lead in many of these films and reflective of the target audiences in Japan. She was: a young girl, frightened out of her mind, unable to depend on adults whobut she nonetheless tackles a pretty hairy supernatural (and at times psychological) mystery.

I suspect what appealed to Western audiences (before the often uneven remakes) was how the movies skewed younger but nonetheless had real stakes. That is to say, the film didn’t need a masked stalker killing victims to make the threat of the movie tangible. with the lack of gore but many times played darker since the stakes were real and frequently quite messed up.

Uzumaki_3
Uzumaki is a great example of the genre. It’s this apocalyptic film whose tone is fairly obsessively -dark and jarringly neurotic. It’s all about the familiar becoming increasingly strange, and being unable to depend on even one’s parents in a time of crisis. I think that those themes resonated with audiences on both sides of the pond.

Matt: What drew me to this slew of Japanese exports was the focus on concept and atmosphere, which, despite the weak storylines or characters, kept moviegoers on the edge of their seats. Since the glory days of American horror in the 1970’s and early 80’s, atmosphere has been – for the most part – a lost art form.

The aesthetic practiced in these “J-horror” titles is not easy to put your finger on. Many of the shots are objective, often holding for a length of time that a western studio wouldn’t have the patience for. These moments of stillness are often contrasted with shocking -moments, jarring us viewers out of our sedated state. Sometimes the long takes shots capture a moment of brutality in a cold, matter-of-fact language that is even more shocking for its detachment.

Of course, these Japanese directors weren’t the first to use these techniques.

Uzumaki_4
Charles: Matt, your mention of the objective shots suggests to me that many of these shots are thematically about the slowly encroaching dread entering the frame, figuratively and literally.

Consider the oft-parodied image of a lead actor or actress seen by audiences in the foreground, while in the background a black-haired specter resolves itself into view. So too does the dread in these stories reveal itself over time – at the periphery but ultimately oppressive.

What these directors were able to do – to my mind – was find a direction after the post-slasher, self-referential 90’s which informed so much of the horror output here in the USA. I would argue that these films created resurgence for psychological horror here in the U.S. over the last few years (the quality Ring remake being one of the financial successes that helped spur the movement).

What marks many of these films is the conflict between the characters and dread as opposed to the characters and another character or a creature. Uzumaki, in particular is about a character against a pattern – a young girl facing down a pervasive, powerful obsession articulated through murder, madness, and mutation.

The movie is so effective for me on its initial viewing because it spirals ever inward from relative normalcy to icky weirdness to finally what appears to be the end of world (for Kirie, at least).

It’s some heady stuff, even if, as you mentioned before, Kirie isn’t a fully-realized character as you mentioned before.

Uzumaki_5
Matt: True. And your point about a character facing a dreadful presence instead of facing another character is an important one. I would say that is a defining characteristic of this sub-genre.

Normalcy in this movie is a relative thing. From the first sequence, director Higuchinsky lets us know the reality of our situation is not OUR reality. It’s seemingly the reality of a manga aimed at teenage girls, featuring a quiet love interest and a quirky upbeat soundtrack. It’s a sweet, almost cartoonish world. All of this makes the strange goings on that much more horrifying once they begin, which is pretty soon.

Charles, you mentioned before reviewing this movie that in many ways it resembles a fairy tale. Would you say the tone plays a large part in that?

Charles: Yes to the extent that it presents the fantastic as the matter-of-fact in some parts such as the baroque hairstyle of Kirie’s school nemesis (I believe it was Keiko Takahashi’s Yukie character). As the uzumaki begins to invade the small village the character’s hair seems to positively sprout spirals from their tips downward.

Uzumaki_6
What this feels like is a gradual slippage into the unreal: from Jack attempting to sell his cow at the market to the fantastic kingdom of giants in the sky. The sweet, slightly cartoonish world at the beginning of the film that you mention, Matt, is the fairly pastoral, slightly goofy little town in a valley. Then a flip is switched and it’s outright horror for the characters.

The only reason I won’t get fully behind my own idea that it’s a fairytale is because the calamity that befalls the village has no real moral component (like the best fairytale calamities do).

But like the richest, best fairytales, it does have a vividly realized, highly visceral visual world with production design by Hiroshi Hayashida, which transitions easily from the mundane and rickety to the sinister and decrepit.

Matt, what did you think about the looks and effects of the film? I know one of the things that grabbed me (and I think you as well) are the truly bent and malformed snail-like things that seem to possess the villagers.

Matt: Absolutely. From the snails to the hairstyle, this movie is a visual treat.

The uzumaki design never gets tired like you might assume it would. Higuchinsky finds new ways to exploit the spiral design as it starts to take over the town, crafting brilliantly creepy setpieces showing characters increasingly going insane (suicide by clothes washer being my personal favorite). Even the camera replicates a spiral in many of the ways it moves. And the last shot of the film is the same as the first, making the story spiral in on itself.

Some of the computer graphics (especially at the very end) are comically rendered. Which – to my surprise – I didn’t mind all that much. Though the effects are just as much due to a low budget as they are a stylistic choice, they work well in Ito Junji’s world.

My only qualm with the film is in the ending. Just as things get truly dire for our main character and my butt starts creeping up to the edge of the seat… it ends. Kirie, being your average uniformed school girl, is a pretty passive character. When her fight-or-flight moment finally comes we never get to see it. We can assume what happens, based on a few following images, but it’s not at all emotionally satisfying.

I felt… robbed. What about you, Charles?

Charles: I’m a ambivalent about the ending: yes, it’s as if the story ends at its climax but at the same time it makes the final images so much more effectively downbeat.

I guess it comes down to the question of what Kirie’s role is in the film: to watch or to see?

I think that’s precisely why I love this movie – it’s rich with feeling (if not necessarily meaning) and it sticks with you after your initial viewing – in my case for years. It’s a mixed-bag recommendation: I would encourage others to check it out with the caveat that it’s not a traditional narrative – no one changes or grows and “good” (almost vaguely described in Kirie’s character) most definitely does not triumph over “evil.”

Your final analysis?

Matt: Despite my criticism, I enjoyed this movie a great deal. Many of the sequences and expressive camerawork will stay with you long after you’ve watched it. If your tastes run a little odd then this will be a good addition to the Halloween roster.

 

(Visited 951 times, 1 visits today)
Uzumaki (2000)
4.0Overall Score

Related

Charles WebbHiguchinskyMatt FantaciUzumaki

Creepshow (1982)
Trick ‘R Treat

About The Author

monsterid
Charles Webb, Matthew Fantaci
O.G. / Man of Mystery

Related Posts

  • 4.0

    Batman on Film: Batman (1989)

    Charles Webb
    September 28, 2010
  • Flash Gordon (1980)

    Charles Webb, Matthew Fantaci
    October 3, 2009

Daily Top Ten

  • The Purge: Anarchy (2014)The Purge: Anarchy (2014) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Prometheus (2012)Prometheus (2012) by Shawn Hill
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Advance Review: Mortal Engines (2018)Advance Review: Mortal Engines (2018) by Nate Zoebl
  • Breaking Bad 4.03 "Open House"Breaking Bad 4.03 “Open House” by Jamil Scalese
  • Spartacus interview #3 (of 5): Manu BennettSpartacus interview #3 (of 5): Manu Bennett by Karyn Pinter
  • Thor and Loki: Blood Brothers Advance DVD ReviewThor and Loki: Blood Brothers Advance DVD Review by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Vampire Diaries 4.17 "Because the Night"The Vampire Diaries 4.17 “Because the Night” by Shawn Hill
  • Howl's Moving Castle Blu-ray ReviewHowl’s Moving Castle Blu-ray Review by Jason Sacks
  • Kiss of the Damned (2013) Blu-Ray ReviewKiss of the Damned (2013) Blu-Ray Review by Adam Barraclough
400x400 GI Joe Funko Banner

Weekly Top Ten

  • Adventure Time 6.06 “Breezy”Adventure Time 6.06 “Breezy” by Dave Hearn
  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Haunted House on Sorority Row (2014)Haunted House on Sorority Row (2014) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Advance Review: Russian Yeti – The Killer LivesAdvance Review: Russian Yeti – The Killer Lives by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • Women in Horror: Karen Black and Trilogy of TerrorWomen in Horror: Karen Black and Trilogy of Terror by Laura Akers
  • Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) by Alex Wolfe
  • House of Wax (2005)House of Wax (2005) by The Final Girl
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
400x400 UA Affiliate Banner

Latest Reviews

  • Heart of Stone (2023)

    Nate Zoebl
    August 18, 2023
  • Obstacle Corpse (2022)

    Nate Zoebl
    July 20, 2023
  • Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    July 16, 2023

psychodrivein

Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E67 - PulseCon 2023
 
Greg & Jaren break down the highs and lows of Hasbro's PulseCon 2023!
---
Watch the guys from @AnythingJoesPod at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #Hasbro #HasbroPulse #PulseCon #PulseCon2023 #GIJoe #GIJoeClassified #Helix #AgentHelix
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 449: Gamera - Rebirth (2023)

Overall, Gamera: Rebirth takes the goofier aspects of the Gamera films and turns them into moments of awesome.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #Gamera #GameraRebirth #Netflix
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E66 - De-Classified Debt

Greg and Jaren talk news, acquisitions, and balancing the budget when all your toys are arriving at the same time.
---
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod guys at the link in our profile!

#Anything Joes #GIJoe #GIJoeDeclassified #WrathOfCobra
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation - Defusing Bombs: Cutthroat Island (1995)

Cutthroat Island is worth a look, keeping in mind its weaknesses.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #CutthroatIsland #GeenaDavis #RennyHarlin #MatthewModine #FrankLangella
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E65 - Pyramid of Darkness (2): Rendezvous in the City of the Dead

Greg and Jaren continue their dive into the classic G.I. Joe mini-series Pyramid Of Darkness! 
---
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod gang at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #GIJoeARealAmericanHero #PyramidOfDarkness
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 447: Batman: The Animated Series (1992)

Batman: the Animated Series demonstrates how to adapt a popular character without losing the character’s essence.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#Batman #BatmanTheAnimatedSeries #MarkHamill #KevinConroy #ArleenSorkin #WB #DC
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Heart of Stone Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Heart of Stone (2023)

It’s hard for me to envision anything Heart of Stone could offer that people would request a return visit.
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#HeartOfStone #GalGadot #Netflix
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E64 - Pyramid of Darkness (1)

It's time! Greg introduces Jaren to the first episode of the iconic "Pyramid of Darkness" series from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero!
---
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod guys watch the cartoon at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #ARealAmericanHero #PyramidOfDarkness
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E63 - Kentuckiana 2023 

Greg and Jaren discuss the new layout, the vendors, and their recent acquisitions from attending The Kentuckiana G.I. Joe Toy Expo! 
---
Watch the new @AnythingJoesPod video at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #Kentuckiana #KentuckianaGIJoeToyExpo #GIJoe #Kentuckiana2023 #KentuckianaGIJoeToyExpo2023
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Latest Columns

  • Anything Joes: G.I. Joe Classified Series Unboxing Special!

    Greg Engle
    October 2, 2023
  • Anything Joes: S01E67 – PulseCon 2023

    Greg Engle
    September 28, 2023
  • Lost in Translation 449: Gamera – Rebirth (2023)

    Scott Delahunt
    September 22, 2023

Look Who's Talking

Barbie Worldwide
Barbie Worldwide - 8/5/2023
Lost in Translation 429: The Barbie Movie Teaser
Barbie still in the driver's seat and the movie is speeding past a billion by August 7, 2023.
John E. Meredith
John E. Meredith - 4/5/2023
EZMM 2023 Day 3.1: Zombie for Sale (2019)
Of course, I just woke up from an old-man nap and had a strong urination before reading this, so now...
John E. Meredith
John E. Meredith - 4/3/2023
EZMM 2023 Day 1.1: I Am a Hero (2015)
Oh hell yeah. Looks like one more thing to add to my watch list.
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise