by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 1, The Film: 3/5, The Extras: 4/5, Overall: 7/10
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Eriko Hatsune, Fhi Fan, Hinako Saeki, Shin Eun-kyung, Keiko Takahashi, Ren Osugi
Intro:
… the best way to enjoy this obtuse, bizarre Japanese cult classic.
The Film:
In the realm of illustrated horror yarns, no one does it better than Junji Ito. That’s a big call, for sure, but those of you who have experienced the creepy, surreal, intrusively sticky work of Japan’s cat-loving scare-meister know it to be true. Although he’s better known for his shorter works – and the prolific madman has dolled-out absolutely oodles of them over the years – Ito’s longform narratives are his true masterpieces, particularly Tomie and Uzumaki. Now, Tomie is a relatively straightforward narrative about a demonic schoolgirl who can regenerate entirely new versions of herself from lopped off body parts. Consequently, it has been adapted into films no less than nine (!) times, to varying degrees of success. Uzumaki, on the other hand, has only been nabbed twice. The most recent version was a 2024 four-part, black and white animation that started well but then became rushed and ugly due to a slashed budget and various behind-the-scenes shenanigans. The first attempt, and today’s subject, is Uzumaki (2000) from director Higuchinsky, and friends, this one has to be seen to be believed.
Like its moody, black and white manga origins, Uzumaki is about the small Japanese town of Kurouzu-cho. It’s a simple, quiet place full of pleasant people going about their lives. However, that’s all about to change. Told mainly from the perspective of inquisitive schoolgirl Kirie Goshima (Eriko Hatsune), the film is essentially a series of loosely linked vignettes about local people becoming obsessed with spirals aka uzumaki. How obsessed? Well, the sheer concept of spirals first begins to take over people’s minds, then their bodies and eventually their very beings, transforming the unfortunate afflicted into something even David Cronenberg might balk at.
Uzumaki is, to say the least, a bloody weird film. This isn’t your typical Japanese horror caper where some ancient misdeed is being avenged by a sheila with long hair or a brutal curse haunts a cluster of houses. This is unknowable, unnamable cosmic horror that drifts into the lives of these poor bastards and then drifts away again, leaving few survivors and zero concrete answers. It’s a thorny premise for a film to tackle, particularly one with such a low budget and a relatively brisk runtime of 90 minutes. So, how does Higuchinsky do? Depends on what curve you’re grading this thing.
As a straight adaptation of one of the best horror manga ever written/drawn, Uzumaki isn’t great. The tone is more goofy and quirky than unsettling, and while there are certainly interesting visual choices made, it never approaches the flesh-twisting brain-melting surreality of Ito’s work. That said, taken as an independent film, it’s extremely engaging. Kirie is a likable everywoman and watching her world spiral (heh) out of control is certainly compelling. Director Higuchinsky also stages the film almost like a slightly washed-out comic book, with certain colours and palettes desaturated and fading, like a manga left out in the sun. It gives an eerie quality to the proceedings and makes the production feel a bit more lavish than it obviously was. Yes, the special effects are ropey as hell, and the film occasionally bites off more than it can chew, but there’s such chutzpah on display here, that it’s hard not to be at least a little impressed.
Adaptations of iconic works are tricky, and most of the time they should probably be judged on their own merits. After all, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) is a terrible adaptation of Stephen King’s brilliant novel… but it’s a fantastic horror film. Now, Uzumaki is no The Shining, but it does make a bold attempt to channel the spirit and vibe of a monochrome horror masterwork into something quite unique in the world of cinema.
Will it be your cup of tea? Hard to say, take a squiz at the trailer and read some reviews. But for existing fans of this flawed but fascinating flick, Umbrella’s Uzumaki release is easily the best way to view this off-kilter, twisting descent into madness.
The Extras:
Quite a solid showing of twirling madness here. There are three audio commentaries, one with director Higuchinsky, another with critic and Japanese cinema expert Amber T and a third with author and filmmaker Elijah Thomas.
There are featurettes like Sounds of Kurôzu-cho: Interview with Composer Keiichi Suzuki, Uzumaki: Manga to Film Comparison by Rubén Pajarón Pereira, The Spiralling Madness of Uzumaki: Video Essay by Cinema Nippon and Circles of Madness: Critic and Author Jasper Sharp on Uzumaki.
There’s also behind-the-scenes footage and a neat little extra, Mr. Saito’s Camcorder Footage, which fans of the film will be familiar with but not in its raw, uncut form.
Best in show, predictably enough, is The Man Behind the Spiral: Interview with Manga Artist Junji Ito – an amiable and friendly chat with the man himself who comes off as a humble, genuine gent, who is simply delighted to have his work find an audience. What a legend.
The fancy collector’s edition is a thing of beauty that comes in an absolutely gorgeous rigid case from That Gomach and contains a slipcase from the same bloke. It also comes bundled with an A3 reversible poster, 8 art cards and a 48-page booklet of behind-the-scenes materials and essays.
The Verdict:
Uzumaki is an imperfect adaptation but a fascinating film for those who like their genre flicks a little skewed and twisting. It probably won’t become your new obsession but combined with a raft of top shelf extras and very attractive packaging, it’s the best way to enjoy this obtuse, bizarre Japanese cult classic.
It doesn’t come close to Junji Ito’s iconic source material, but it’s a genuinely unique curiosity that will have at least some of you screaming, “This is my film! It was made for me!”
