Welcome to the world of Junji Itou
So, I can see straight away why a lot of people weren't too keen on this on their viewing; it's weird, it's zany, it's grotesque and it's a massive "what the fk is going on here" all at the same time. It's not hard to see why a lot of people didn't like it or got confused (and if you're someone who got confused, I recommend reading Uzumaki by Junji Ito - the source material).However - holy sht this is one of the best J-horrors I've watched in a long time. This is ultimately everything the manga is; it gave me the same feelings of confusion, the same shocked horror, the unnerving feeling creeping up my spine as I turned pages (or in this case, watched on). There were some really good jump scares in this that I can't even be angry about the cheapness of some; it all worked so well with the general theme that Ito gives throughout his works.
The sound track in this was very original and very out of the mold and I adore it, it adds so much to the film as does the bad acting at times - something I first thought would annoy me, but only goes on to be a defining part of the film as everything else.
All in all, I would say for sure, read the manga and then hop into this - don't mind the reviews and make your own viewing assumptions as you go along. Easily my favourite film of 2020 and I cannot wait to watch the rest of the works from this director and the cast. Brilliant, brilliant film, cannot wait for the eventual rewatch!
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This review may contain spoilers
not as good as manga but still amazing
this movie was amazing to watch. It is not exact to the manga but that is fine with me. what is amazing detail in the background randomly you will see a spiral. Kirie's actor did an amazing job at this. The movie left out a lot of the story though. Shuichi's actor did not really fit the character. the effects for the snails were kind of unsettling. and when the jack in the box got hit by the car it had lots of gore and that was slightly unsettling.i read the manga then watched the movie. amazingWas this review helpful to you?
Junji Ito's manga Uzumaki was a masterpiece... the movie not so much.
I have and read multiple times the original Uzumaki manga by Junji ito. I love Junji Ito's works and Uzumaki is a good story. The movie was a hard watch.I started watching it with high expectations, and that's probably where I went wrong. They left out alot of the story, but thankfully kept some of my favorites parts. I personally dont think Shuichi's actor fits the character but that's not to much of a problem.
By no means is this a perfect adaptation. I encourage you to watch it yourself and see what you think. I hope you find it much more enjoyable than I did.
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Mediocre Film but a Much Better Adaptation of Uzumaki
Because of how shit the Uzumaki anime has been, I'm curious how the 2000 movie faired.(See my review of the anime: https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=541621
See my review of the manga: https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=541619 )
Note: Uzumaki means spiral so the name for this movie can either be Uzumaki or The Spiral.
§ Overview
The story starts with Goshima Kirie going on her way until she finds her boyfriend's father observing something. This bloke has been obsessed with spirals. Kirie's boyfriend, Saitou Shuuichi, feels something is amiss in this town, which he calls the curse of the spiral. Eventually, his father dies and a series of horrors plague this town.
§ Remarks
As a horror story, this is so-so. It doesn't appear in the conversation of Japanese horror stories compared to the likes of The Ring with its iconic character of Sadako.
It has an acceptable enough use of cinematography, and the motif of spirals appears frequently as it should.
That said, I find this a better adaptation compared to the anime. One may fault this for having been released prior to the completion of the manga and that it's not a complete adaptation. But what it adapts, it executes too well. It does not suffer from the phrenetic pacing of the anime.
The elements of several chapters appear, but they are modified as needed. This movie does not attempt to make a one-to-one adaptation. The net effect is that a select few horrific events are given the full effect rather than being diluted as in the case in the anime.
Also, since the manga wasn't finished when this was originally shown, it had to make an original ending. It's a so-so ending compared to the full impact of the manga ending, but philosophically speaking, one can make the case that it's better.
Kirie's survival is low, but it leaves that possibility. Also, the movie failed to establish that they are unable to leave town. Hence, by sheering coincidence, we don't know if it follows the malevolent universe premise of the manga. This hole is what makes it ironically better.
§ Conclusion
I'm not sure I would recommend this movie by itself, but for those who are already fans of the Uzumaki manga, I give this a full recommendation.
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PROS:
+ The dense, dark, unusual tone adds lots of intrigue to the film
+ Some of the obsession themes are very well done and actually disturbing
+ There is some extremely graphic imagery that is utilized well to create shock and fear of the mysterious obsession taking over the town
+ Cool and unorthodox camera shots that spin in spiral motions to mimic the plot device
CONS:
- The mystery is quite interesting, but has quite a few issues
- Many details in the plot are sorely missed
- Most of the acting is stoic and unexpressive
I have a soft spot for early 00s era J-horror movies. Uzumaki really makes me want more though. I guess I will just read the Junji Ito manga of which the film was adapted from.
The overall mood is absolutely amazing to experience! It reminds me of the live action sections of James and the Giant Peach, because it's almost dream-like.
Even though some aspects are disappointing, I really think this is still a good time.
7/10
(Now, I will never look at the Sega Dreamcast logo the same...)
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What is Happening in this movie??
The best thing about this movie is actor Fhi Fan who plays Soichi. If it wasn't for him I don't think I would like much about this movie. Hatsune Eriko who plays Kirie and Soichi's longtime friend (girlfriend) is quite good acting wise but I found her character to be too stupid for word sometimes. I also loved the muted tones used to film this movie. It harkens back to old late 70's and early 80's horror films.The movie is about a town that becomes obsessed with Spirals or Uzumaki. There is some brief explanation about witchcraft and I wish they would have explored that more so that things made more sense but maybe the point wasn't for things to make sense. It was just a bunch of random weird things happening b/c of the spirals all over the place. Soichi was trying his best to convince our so called heroine, Kirie to leave but she was too stupid to listen.
There is only once song I remember gearing in the entire film and it was played while the credits rolled by Raven called Do As infinity and it was a really good song.
This is based on Junji Ito's manga of the same name and I would like to read that and maybe I should have read it before I watched this movie.
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