Uzumaki (2002)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  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.

• Tsubaki S

  
  Lovecraftian concept by way of some Fulci and japanese esoteria thrown in the mix. The entity here is not a monster, or a serial killer, but a "concept" eating an entire town, slowly, little by little. It has it's flaws for sure, but i liked, and found it out far more… More
  Lovecraftian concept by way of some Fulci and japanese esoteria thrown in the mix. The entity here is not a monster, or a serial killer, but a "concept" eating an entire town, slowly, little by little. It has it's flaws for sure, but i liked, and found it out far more effective than dozens of so called "horror" flicks made in the last years. It's more disturbing than scary, and as a doomsday story it works very well, how do you stop spirals? You can't, you could stop a virus, polution or zombies, but spirals? Good luck with that.

• Lee ?

  
  Weird but original Japanese horror about a cursed town whose inhabitants slowly become infactuated with spiral shaped objects leading them to their deaths. Not too bad overall. Has a few grisly deaths but nothing gory. An eerie atmosphere is present throughout, it's not scary… More
  Weird but original Japanese horror about a cursed town whose inhabitants slowly become infactuated with spiral shaped objects leading them to their deaths. Not too bad overall. Has a few grisly deaths but nothing gory. An eerie atmosphere is present throughout, it's not scary though but there are a couple of creepy moments that'll catch you off guard if you notice them.

• Emily A

  
  Junji Ito is a twisted, twisted man. I've read these comics, and I'm a little afraid to see the film. Having seen this film, I really expected much more. The straight-scares of the comic book yield to incomprehensibility, unfounded zaniness and styrangely rendered set… More
  Junji Ito is a twisted, twisted man. I've read these comics, and I'm a little afraid to see the film. Having seen this film, I really expected much more. The straight-scares of the comic book yield to incomprehensibility, unfounded zaniness and styrangely rendered set pieces. That's not to say that there aren't scary moments - the woman ona quest to rid herself of spirals is pretty chilling - but I wish that this movie had restricted itself to the parts of the book that were more grounded in reality, rather than including it as well as the more fantastical and surreal elements. Things like sub-dermal snailshells or monstrous hair looked much better on paper.

• Drew S

  
  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… More
  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 mishandling 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.

• Kylie B

  
  I like that they kept some of the stylised manga elements, it makes the film more fun. I was a bit non-plussed by the abrupt ending though, were they planning on a sequel I wonder?

• Luke B

  
  '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… More
  '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 eyeballs, 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.

• Ed Fucking H

  
  This Asian Horror had a lot of good going for it, but unfortunantly failed to really pull me in. It did have great atmosphre, some genuinely zany special effects, a concept that is very unique and at least one scene that will stay with you after the movies run time and leave you… More
  This Asian Horror had a lot of good going for it, but unfortunantly failed to really pull me in. It did have great atmosphre, some genuinely zany special effects, a concept that is very unique and at least one scene that will stay with you after the movies run time and leave you wishing that the rest of the movie was more like that. (The scene in question is when the mother is in the hospital and stabs herself in th ear with broken glass.) Unfortunantly the movie manages to be a bit of a disappointment despite all of these good qualities. I felt like it never really decided what is was going for. The humour and the sillier aspects get in the way of the genuinely creepy supernatural horror that this film would otherwise be. The pace is very slow, and I suspect that the director was going for an Audition style "slow burn" set up, but in the end it just ends up being slightly dull (also doesn't come through with an insane ending like Audition did, instead at the end the viewer will simply be left thinking "that's it?") This film isnt terrible either, and is worth watching for fans of supernatural and Asian horror, for me it did fall slightly flat though. Not as memorable as I would have hoped for, but worth a watch.

• Anthony V

  
  Lots of David Lynch influence here.

• Christopher B

  
  Junji Ito is a genius. He chooses the oddest things ever to make horror stories around. In this one the "monster" is SPIRALS, and believe me, he accomplishes what he set out to do. After reading the manga and seeing this film, spirals are scary. Maybe one day someone… More
  Junji Ito is a genius. He chooses the oddest things ever to make horror stories around. In this one the "monster" is SPIRALS, and believe me, he accomplishes what he set out to do. After reading the manga and seeing this film, spirals are scary. Maybe one day someone will make GYO, where the monster is, FISH WITH FEET!

• FanGirl B

  
  Really weird, really good Japanese horror film. If I could find it I wouldn't mind buying this one.

Read all 11 featured audience ratings