Review: Uzumaki

Dir. Akihiro Higuchi (2000)

A small town in rural Japan is ground zero for a mysterious presence, infecting everything in its path. Uzumaki is a strange genre-bending mash up of earnest teen romance, wacky comedy, and creepy unsettling horror. In order to decide if this movie is something you might enjoy, it is important to make one crucial detail is very clear: Uzumaki will disappoint you.

The film boasts a tightly wound, carefully implemented story that reveals itself at a snail's pace. This feels very calculated, as if the director is conducting the audience like an orchestra; collective breath held in anticipation for that final act of the finale and then, without warning, the film ends. There's no sequel bait, but there is a half-hearted attempt at an epilogue…though even this is simply a slideshow of “where are they now” style photographs. The narrative is simply all build-up with no real payoff.

It's incredibly disappointing.

Sadly the film's issues don't end there, the acting ranges from wooden to hammy to truly regrettable. Digital effects are poorly used and the film commits the cardinal sin of flashbacks which consistently flash back to footage we've just seen!!

It’s fatally flawed filmmaking, so why bother even watching it right? When recommending this film to others it is important to front-load the review with the multitude of negative aspects in order to keep expectations in check. The only way to enjoy this movie without crushing disappointment is to go into the movie with these flaws in mind.

With the right viewpoint, there's still a lot to like about Uzumaki! The visual style is truly unique, a two-tone image of mostly reds and greens with relatively low contrast. The picture has strong notes of aesthetic earnestness and unique genius while also coming across as antique. These visual compositions are downright meticulous and the camera motion in some shots is truly inventive, playful even! The story is intriguing, it’s careful not to overplay its hand too early. Viewers will be sucked into the central mystery, which is delightfully weird!! The relationships and human drama are both understated and believable. The truly gruesome gore, albeit extremely stylized, acts as a counterpoint to the lack of on-screen violence.

There's enough purposeful nuance here to keep Uzumaki from falling into “so bad it's good” territory. It's an inventive, interesting, and fatally flawed film; but not an overall “bad” one.

Should you see you Uzumaki?

If you can go into the movie fully willing to deal with its numerous issues and if a creepy Twilight-Zone-esque relationship drama that jumps in and out of straight-up horror sounds intriguing…then you might enjoy Uzumaki!

If your film tastes trends away from the grotesque or unusual, or if it is impossible for you to look past flawed editing, stilted performances, or botched narratives…you may want to give Uzumaki a pass.

By way of second opinions Rotten Tomatoes gives Uzumaki 54% out of 100 and IMDb has given it 6.3 stars out of 10!

-Josh Evans