Uzumaki poster & wallpaper

Eriko Hatsune, Eun-Kyung Shin, Fhi Fan

Discover Akiro Higuchi's groundbreaking film, Uzumaki (which means &NFi;vortex&NFi_;), an aptly named masterpiece about a town gripped with fear because of the menacing march of an otherworldly force ...( read more  read more... )that threatens to destroy the area and turn its residents into ghastly snails. Can a young girl, Kirie (Eriko Hatsume), and her paramour, Shuichi (Fhifan), save their homes and neighbors? Or are they the next victims of the unstoppable force?

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66% liked it

5,495 ratings

G, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Higuchinsky, Higunchinsky

Release Date: May 3, 2002

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DVD Release Date: July 6, 2004

Stats: 421 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (421)

  • doboy1
    September 23, 2008
    doboy1
    Let's face it, spiral shapes are not real scary. They might have pulled it off if they had made it sureal and trippy ala ' attack of the mushroom people' , but this is a pretty straight foreward affair. what is here is neither scary or funny, and the storyline makes little sense.
  • ceWEBrity
    July 31, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    There are a ton of good ideas to be found in Uzumaki, but almost all of them fall apart in the face of poor direction and the movie's inability to pick between playing it straight and playing it for laughs. I haven't read the manga, but I'm tempted to write this off as a mishandl...( read more)ing of supposedly excellent source material. This is a unique movie with an interesting concept (that it doesn't actually take anywhere) and great images in abundance, but it cheapens itself. The final product is a collection of plot points and ideas that simply refuse to be ruined, even in the face of oppressively bad movie making. The editing is hysterical and gimmicky, though it does get away with a few neat tricks, and the acting is an embarrassment. Most of the special effects are goofy, and it's hard to tell if that's because of the budget or because the movie is fighting for yuk-yuks.

    For all intents and purposes, Uzumaki is a J-horror that is as far away from J-horror as it can possibly get, which is admirable because the genre exhausted its tropes almost immediately. I like that it sort of floated away from conventional narrative structure - there's no explanation for the spirals, no act structure and a downplayed climax - but all these decisions don't make much of a positive impact on the picture.

    Worth seeing, but only once, and possibly while drunk.
  • EarthlyAlien
    January 3, 2008
    EarthlyAlien
    One of the most strange, messed up, trippiest and fascinanting things I've seen in my life. I will never look at spirals the same way again. Do NOT watch under the influence of psychotropic substances...
  • brooklynspo
    November 20, 2007
    brooklynspo
    It might have amused me as as a random story in a comic book, just a weird little invention by some cartoonist but as a movie... it don't play - for me anyway.
  • kiriyamakazou
    June 5, 2006
    kiriyamakazou
    'Uzumaki' manages to slip off to the side where Japanese horror is concerned, as some of it is frankly too weird. The weirdness is brilliant, funny, and shocking. Unfortunately it sometimes overshadows the horror of the film. Things go from strange to stranger. Rotating large eye...( read more)balls, death by washing machine and eyeballs planted in windscreens. More and more people start dying in horrific ways, and when a millipede decides to visit someones ear it is a skin crawlingly, shuddering piece of cinema with some excellent sound effects. The film has an inconsistent pace, sometimes moving frantically and then slowing to a complete stop. We notice from very early on, that the director has gone editing mad with somebody popping up on all sides of the screen. The acting often fits the OTT nature of the film, but isn't very impressive. The film has some cartoon-like moments, especially sound effects and the violent deaths. As we begin to speed towards the end we are treated to giant snail people, a fantastic CGI hairdo and a weird twisting body moment. These singular images are unforgettable, but then the film just sort of ends. There is a sort of explanation about cults, snakes and mirrors in the middle somewhere but unless you are paying close attention you might not get it. A visual masterpiece, if not a horror one.
  • maclud
    October 8, 2009
    maclud
    not as good as I thought... try the manga of Ito instead.
  • exureimundo
    June 24, 2009
    exureimundo
    The concept was wild and the visuals amazing, but some how it left me flat.
  • addienairzan
    June 11, 2009
    addienairzan
    a strange, crazy, absurd& really head-spinner movie..strangely original & fascinating movie..My head s spinning rite now writing this..eogghh..
  • Soundsofmadness
    April 25, 2009
    Soundsofmadness
    No thanks - Not interested
  • marylanenalyram
    February 28, 2009
    marylanenalyram
    super spiral
    I love your hair.
    es verde
    muy verde
    attention to detail is happy time

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Uzumaki Trivia

  • Horror tale of a small town in Japan taken over by an evil spiral that drives people insane or turns them into giant snails?  Answer »
  • In Naruto series , 4th Hokege's name might be?  Answer »
  • In obscure japanese horror 'Uzumaki' based on the famous comic book, what shape was the village cursed with?  Answer »
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