Audition (1999) Director: Takashi Miike Starring: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki
For its first half, Audition could be a family film. The tale of a widower who's trying to get over the death of his wife by 'auditioning' women for a film that doesn't exist, it's almost heartwarming. Then - with one shot - everything goes pear-shaped. As he talks on the phone with his new girlfriend, we see a large sack in the background behind her. Suddenly it jerks with life, and we realise that there's a person trapped inside it. From then on it becomes apparent that she's intent on unleashing a gruesome fate on our hero. Once you've sat through the deeply yucky climax (involving cheesewire, needles and much screaming), you will never forget it - and that's a guarantee.
An American Werewolf In London (1981) Director: John Landis Starring: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine
Hard to believe, but until John Landis' movie debuted in 1982, horror and comedy were like Jose Mourinho and humility: they just didn't mix. But An American Werewolf In London straddles the two genres effortlessly, flitting - for example - from funny banter between its two leads, Griffin Dunne and David Naughton, to a truly scary scene where Dunne is dismembered by a lycanthrope. And that's just the first five minutes. From then on, we get wisecracking zombies, the best fake dream sequence in movie history and of course the famous transformation scene, with Rick Baker working overtime to make rubber and fake hair convince and shock. It still does. Masterful.
Follow us on Twitter | 
Follow us on Facebook | RSS | Empire iPad Edition
