the plot: A widower for seven years, Shigeharu Aoyama (Ishibashi) is beginning to feel the strain of being alone. He mentions this to his friend Yoshikawa (Kunimura), but is quick to add that he doesn't want to jump into the dating scene-he wants to find the perfect woman without wading through a sea of unworthy matches. Yoshikawa suggests they hold an audition for a fake film, and Shigeharu, although reluctant at first, agrees. And so they screen a succession of aspiring actresses and giggly girls; all seems to be for naught until Shigeharu lays eyes on Asami (Shiina), a demure, petite ex-ballet dancer. He tells Asami he will call her, and so she waits, sitting in a darkened room, staring at her phone. The two begin to date, but after a romantic weekend getaway, Asami disappears. Shigeharu tries to track her down and soon discovers she has a macabre past littered with the blood and severed fingers of ex-boyfriends.

why it's good: Watching Audition is like biting into a piece of rich, luxuriant chocolate and discovering it has a chunky-vomit center. I mean this as high praise, though. It's an art-house horror film that totally works, thanks to Ishibashi and Shiina's performances and the credible sense of solitude Miike creates. The first three-quarters of Audition is a subtle, compelling character study about loneliness and the dynamics between men and women. But as Shigeharu's relationship with Asami unravels, the film spirals into a hallucinogenic nightmare of sadistic ballet teachers, bloody acupuncture needles, and disfigured men stuffed in burlap bags. It's a visceral, gruesome and shocking film that does what horror films do best. Audition takes the viewer into a comfortable, safe place, then yanks the floor out, leaving you disoriented, stranded and afraid.

why you should own it: For all its disturbing imagery, Audition is worth watching at least once. Owning the film may be a problem-the Region 1 DVD is out of print, with used copies on eBay and Amazon.com going for around $100 a pop. The DVD has a range or extras, most notably a half-hour interview with Miike, who, in the most understated manner possible, discusses the film's ultra-violence and how his cinematographer's fear of an early death lends a certain beauty to the movie.