Uzumaki
(aka; Spiral)
(Elite Region 0 NTSC DVD)
(2000)
review by Head Cheeze

How does one even attempt to describe Uzumaki? It's not a straight horror film, nor is it sci-fi, but contains heaping amounts of both. It also has a very great sense of humor, an art house sensibility, and the precocious nature of a fairy tale, not to mention the fact that it was adapted from a manga, and carries over that influence with an almost cartoonish visual style. Factor in the multimedia effects, the awkward, in your face camera movements, the constant jump from one film stock to another, frame by frame animation, GGI, and even a healty dose of gore, and, well, you've got one of the most original, if not entirely confusing films I've ever seen!

Childhood friends Kirie (Eriko) and Shuichi (Fhi) are thrown into a waking nightmare when their small town seems to become overcome by an obsession with "vortexes" or spiral shapes. The madness begin's with Shuichi's father who has become a recluse and lives in his attic with a collection of objects that bear the spiral on them. When his father commits suicide in a washing machine (yes, a washing machine!) the body is burned, and the smoke from the incinerator forms a vortex above the entire town. Soon everyone is obsessed with, or even BECOMING spirals, and Kirie and Shuichi team up with a local reporter to discover the mystery of their small town and it's relation to the "curse of the vortex".

Yes, I understand this all sounds very silly, and on many levels, it is! After all, this was based on a manga, which usually translate well to anime, not to film (with the exception of Crying Freeman!), but Ukranian born director Higuchinsky has combined multi-media photography, dynamic camera angles and some impressive use of CGI to bring this very bizarre and fantastic world to life! Uzumaki is truly a work of art and Higuchinsky's debut here is an exciting one! The major drawback with the film is that it's story is, perhaps, the most confusing example of Asian horror I have come across, and while extremely entertaining, you may find yourself speechless at the film's conclusion wondering what in the hell it was you just watched!

That is the wierd thing about Uzumaki, because, for all of it's failing's in the screenplay department, the film is such an exciting and entertaining visual feast that it really didn't matter whether or not I "got" the ending. I was so impressed by the surreal tapestry of Higuchinsky's world that I found myself lost, and not wanting to come out of it, as though I were trapped in a vortex myself!

Uzumaki finally gets a domestic DVD release courtesy of the fine folks over at Elite Entertainment. The film is presented in a gorgeous 16x9 widescreen transfer with a newly remastered 5.1 audio track, and features interviews, behind-the-scenes photos, and trailer.

Uzumaki is NOT a film for everyone; even the most committed fans of Asian horror may find this movie just too avante garde, but if you are looking for a film that will truly blow your mind visually, as well as entertain thoroughly, you will not find anything better than this gem!