Join Violet Hour for an alternative Valentine’s screening of Takashi Miike's 1999 horror, Audition. When lonely widower Shigeharu is persuaded to stage an audition to find his future wife, he is drawn to the meek and mild-mannered Asami. As their courtship unfolds, both Shigeharu and Asami become entangled in a tacit game, leading to unforeseen and disturbing revelations. Fusing iconoclastic horror with slow-burning drama, Audition is a landmark in Japanese cinema – determined to leave an indelible mark on the heart.

“Audition is a psychological drama, a detonation of romantic-comedy clichés, as well as a brutal examination of social isolation and malaise, and the gulf that often exists between men and women.” – Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine (2019)

Violet Hour showcases dark, transgressive and unconventional films in London. Exploring the darker aspects of the psyche through cinema, we screen and discuss works that unsettle, undo us, and challenge our perceptions ~