Review: Running out the door to pick this movie up sight unseen isn't a bad idea at all. You wouldn't be faulted for skipping this review altogether and just checking it out; becoming wrapped up in it like an uzumaki spiraling towards insanity. You also wouldn't be blamed for being a bit apprehensive. If that's the case, then by all means read on.

Who the heck does Higuchinsky think he is? I’ve never heard of him before in my life, and I believe this was his first dip into motion pictures following some Television work. I had the pleasure of reading some of the UZUMAKI manga before watching the movie a while back, and this is possibly the most phenomenal adaption of anything to the big screen. If you’ve read the comics and seen this, you already know. For the majority who haven’t, allow me to explain.

The original manga was done by the same man who did Tomie, Junji Ito. The stories in UZUMAKI are more or less self-contained chapters that have an overall story connection; something that's very hard to put to film. Higuchinsky manages not only to put 6 or 7 stories from the manga all together, but they are so seamlessly woven that you would never notice.

The best part about this movie is that while it's about spirals, the film becomes a spiral itself. Not only do the chain of events spiral from a happy-go-lucky beginning to the furthest depths of insanity, but the end of the movie somewhat mirrors the start so that the whole thing spins back full circle. It’s hilarious to see the image of couple/ main characters Shuichi and Kirie riding tandem on a bike while the fruitiest music imaginable is playing and then contrasting that to the monstrously deranged things that happen next.

Speaking of the main characters, the cast was great in this film. They all must be a little insane themselves, because they pull it off to a T. Kirie’s sweet innocence and overall positive outlook clash in a good way with her boyfriend Shuichi’s reclusive attitude and overall gloomy disposition. Shuichi’s mother slips into insanity nicely, but I would have to say the General Tao Acting Award goes to his father. He’s so off his rocker that it kind of makes you want to go crazy too. These, along with the generous cast of supporting characters, including the prerequisite super sleuth detective who was not originally in the manga, round the film’s cast off nicely.

The movie shines visually, and you will never see anything like it. It’s filled to the brim with berserk close-ups and great lighting. The whole movie is just plain unsettling. Even in the rainbow bright scenes from the start, you know something ain’t right. Best of all, this movie has so many hidden things going on visually that alone merit repeat viewings. Hidden spirals and corpses in the background give you good incentive to rewind. If forced to, I’d compare the movie’s visuals to a bucket of vomit doused on a huge mound of rotting corpses.

Special effects are pulled off in a smooth way. A bit of computer animation was used for big things, like spiraling emissions from the smokestack of recent cremations. deaths are managed in outrageous ways, but not many are too fake looking. The one’s that are a bit silly turn out to be the most enjoyable, though.

If I have any complaints whatsoever with this movie, it would only lie in a couple scenes that could stand to be cut. I know we all like some good solid character development, but one of the few scenes that tries to accomplish this comes off as forced and ultimately boring. No need to name scenes, because you’ll probably know when you get there. While some may complain about the ending, Higuchinsky knew there was only ONE solid way to end mayhem like that......

There is so much I want to say about this movie, but I’ve read too many reviews that give away great moments. You really need to watch it, and I’m not just saying that. Buy it, steal it from a friend, do whatever it takes to check out this flick. Even if you are disappointed, you will never see anything like UZUMAKI again. Since it’s hard to continue without revealing anything, if you’re still curious but can’t manage to procure the film for some reason, pick up some issues of PULP (Viz’s “adult” manga collection) where Uzumaki is serialized monthly. I think they are on Chapter 12 now. Or you can get the book in graphic novel form. Try www.viz.com if you have crappy local stores.

Addition: Since this review was written in 2001, it's no secret that PULP has been gone for quite a while now. The UZUMAKI manga is still available from Viz in three convenient graphic novels, however, so my demand that you read them still stands.