Uzumaki (aka Spiral) Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A small town is gradually taken over by a strange, supernatural force.

Review: In retrospect, this probably should have made my underrated Asian horror list--even if only as an honorary mention. However, there are two, huge problems that significantly lower the score. Those two facets being the anticlimactic ending accompanied by a general air of pretentiousness. More so, this film often creates a polarizing effect on the viewer since it's also not a very faithful adaptation to the manga source material. For me, I think this movie is awesome. This story perfectly encapsulates that ultra weird storytelling only possible from Japan. Love or hate this film, you cannot deny that this is an incredibly unique and imaginative tale.

For a bizarre story such as this, let's take a quick look at what the hell is even happening. The main girl, Kirie, lives in a sleepy, little town full of colorful characters. One day she notices her loverboy's father acting strangely, recording a snail for hours. The loverboy, Shuichi, discloses that the father has been acting unusual lately which has a connection to the father investigating the town's history. It's never fully explained, but they address the events wherein the town is being consumed by the curse of "uzumaki" or spiral or vortex...or whatever! What this means for the individual is that they become obsessed with spiral shapes. This can be through the complete embrace of the shape or by the outright rejection of it. Kirie and Shuichi discuss escaping the town, but they're held back by their loved ones becoming infected by the curse. Eventually everyone in the town is seemingly killed off in an attempt to become one with the uzumaki. At the end, Shuichi finally becomes overtaken by the uzumaki and transforms into some kind of spiral creature. The film simply ends with Kirie's survival left questionable although she is narrating the film in the past tense...so it's up for debate.

I'll change it up and tackle the problems first. Obviously, the most glaring offense is the abrupt and incoherent ending. The audience is given no resolution which is confounded by the lack of answers in general. I understand the manga does give some answers, but I don't want to do a constant comparison especially when I've never read the complete story. As such, you must realize this is not a faithful adaptation and take the film as a separate beast altogether. The other problem is kind of an overarching issue about the film itself: the pretentious nature of everything. I may appreciate what the story was going for, but I can certainly see others viewing things differently. Random "wtf" shots, unexplained plot elements, imagery meant to screw with the audience, etc., could easily be interpreted as trying too hard and believing you're telling a more meaningful tale that you actually are. It's tough to explain, but this criticism is a valid argument against the film's merits. Finally, there are plenty of shoddy effects, and the black humor often feels out of place. Maybe they tried to do too much?

As for what make this film great...it has amazing style, and the cinematography is inspiring. Everyone who helped to construct the technical feats deserves immense credit. Transition shots that deliberately toy with the audience's perception, little spiral effects scattered about scenes, amazing landscapes and scenery, a dark hue to the picture, the camera spinning wildly in a spiral pattern, and it goes on an on. It's as if the director wanted to include every crazy camera trick and shot he ever heard of...and it worked somehow! The music is also pretty good especially the opening theme; in fact, the entire opening sequence is great at establishing the story to come. The ways the spiral designs are incorporated into the horror and gore are interesting--with one shot of a shattered windshield with an eye at the center being the standout. There are actually quite a few special effects that impressed me given the era, but, I have to admit that, J-horror was definitely at its best in the late '90s and early 2000s. I could go on all day about how creative I found the production to be, but let's move on to other aspects like the characters. While the leads are on the bland side, the background fodder are fun. Calling them colorful is an understatement--these goofballs are outright cartoons. These characters typically establish the comedic parts, and it somehow complements the horror; I know, it really shouldn't, yet, it blends together for the most part. My favorite secondary character is probably Kirie's friend, with her geeky-cuteness and exaggerated expressions. The last thing I want to acknowledge is the uzumaki and why not explaining it doesn't bother me. Obviously the uzumaki is supposed to be an abstract force that hearkens back to classic sci-fi and fantasy. It is intended to be incomprehensible due to how foreign it is to the human mind; the spiral shape is merely how humans interpret the uzumaki force. This is why it drives people absolutely insane when they come into contact with it. Sure, they could have clarified why now and why here, but there are enough implications in the movie to draw a conclusion.

That overcast sky, amazing landscape, AND a Japanese schoolgirl? Yes, please!

It's movies like this that make me miss the height of the Asian horror boom. The ideas during this era were original and experimental in a lot of ways. "Uzumaki" hits you hard with a bizarre story and glorious visuals. The quirky characters enhance the already mysterious plot, sucking you into the story. Unfortunately, the ending leaves much to be desired, and a lack of explanations may leave casual viewers annoyed. Fans of Asian horror or classic fantasy may appreciate this more, but, nevertheless, this is an acquired taste. What may be considered pretentious to one moviegoer might be awe-inspiring to a film buff. It is of note that this may be both the best and worst movie if you're high outta your mind. Overall, I would highly recommend this film with the caveat that you must appreciate the inherent weirdness associated with Japan. It's just too much of a coin toss regarding whether someone would like this or not.

Notable Moment: When Shuichi throws away that yummy-looking cake, because it has a spiral pattern. What the hell are you doing?! This goes against my every principle of being a fatass time traveler!

Final Rating: 6.5/10