One of the most well-crafted, impactful and infamous J-horror films ever is making a return to the big screen after far too long a break.

Even better?

It’s now been remastered for its 20th Anniversary, and it’s slated to scared up the Rio Theatre‘s big screen as a Friday Late Night Movie on March 1!

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Ryû Murakami, AUDITION was the turn-of-the-millenium flash point signaling the talent of Takashi Miike: a film artist twice as prolific as Fassbinder, a provocateur as multifaceted as Von Trier, and a genre-bender as bent as David Lynch. Shocking arthouses worldwide with its white-knuckle finale and ingeniously Sirkian slow-burn lead-up, AUDITION trail-blazed a fresh Asian horror wave across American screens for which we’re eternally grateful.

Recent widower Shigeharu is advised by his son to find a new wife. On the advice of a film company colleague, they stage “auditions” for a new girlfriend that masquerade as an acting job. Shigeharu becomes enchanted with Asami: a spooky twenty-something responsive to his charms. But this is no ordinary FATAL ATTRACTION-style thriller, for it carefully pulls the audience through a wrenching exploration of deep male fears and the stereotype of submissive Japanese women.

“Along with PSYCHO, AUDITION is one of the great gearshift movies, starting out as one thing and then transitioning on a dime into something else entirely.” (AV Club)

“To the majority of the West, AUDITION was their first introduction to director Takashi Miike. After winning various festival prizes, it allegedly made more money on its NYC theatrical run than its entire Japanese release, and gathered almost universal critical acclaim around the world.” (Midnight Eye)

“A lethally poised Venus flytrap of a movie…the best-disguised psychotronic splatter flick in recent memory.” (Village Voice)

Friday, March 1
Doors 11:00 pm | Movie 11:30 pm *Start time subject to change.
Advance tickets $10.50 HERE | $12.50 at the door

*Minors OK in the balcony. (Please note this film is rated 18A.) Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service and main floor seating.
**Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK! Please redeem at the door.

AUDITION (Takashi Miike, 1999 / 115 mins / 18A / Japanese with English subs) Seven years after the death of his wife, company executive Aoyama is invited to sit in on auditions for an actress. Leafing through the resumés in advance, his eye is caught by Yamazaki Asami, a striking young woman with ballet training.