Some films are notable because you like them, others because you think they're good or because they have instructional value. I liked Uzumaki for a totally different reason: it looks like something I'd do. To me, it looks SO me. Which is sort of embarassing since it comes from a director with the nickname Higunchinksy who used to make music videos. Here's what I was responded to—
It never occurs to me to set up complex masters with difficult blocking and lots of camera moves. Instead, the camera gets planted in one place and the actor(s) move in and out of frame as if it were a proscenium. It seems to be a Japanese thing. It happens in Uzumaki a lot and in Harakiri as I've described before. There's a certain kind of formality and stiffness in the presentation.
Similarly, the acting at certain points is extremely stylized. In Uzumaki, it's the drama queen bad girl, or the heroine boo-hooing as a girl. For some reason it doesn't come across as bad acting to me but as purposeful artifice. Plus, there's not a lot of movement within the shots. You may observe that in noise film, you never see Ben sit down in a chair or get up. These movements look awkward to me; a lot of the physical interconnections are implied.
It's interesting how traditional Eisenstein-esque technique nowadays translates as low-budget. Higunchinksy uses a couple of montages to show crashes and other moments. They look a lot like my previzes for the bird attack scene. You don't actually see the crash; the event is implied, Psycho shower scene style. Of course, I could never really make it work. But I do have such a sequence planned for the bridge scene.
Shot selection: straight on centered or odd angles, often shot with wide angle lenses. Spare dialogue. There is just enough to communicate what's going on, but the film is heavily visuals-driven. To top it off, there is a full-fledged research scene in a library PLUS a crazy person's lair (see above)! Lots of video-mediated scenes too, including studying-video scenes. If that isn't enough, the film is shot greenish, although too lacking in contrast for my taste. Even the sense of humor is like mine. None of the reviews I read seems to find it a horror-comedy like I do. Black comedy, obviously, but often cartoonish and probably too dry for most. Mood moments and shock moments, but few (one) emotional moments. The movie is just not about emotion in an American movie sense. You won't laugh and you won't cry. You might smirk and feel a twinge of poignancy. Uzumaki is really not much of a horror movie. It's more of a mood piece with enough narrative to make it watchable. Some key concepts: implied, vs. literal. Static proscenium. Mediation. Obsession. Stylization. Formal. Spare.
Some things I didn't like: it's a little too over the top in places. The snails, for instance (you have to see it to believe it). At least Higunchinksy had the good taste to display the snails via video. And the overuse of what looks like After Effects' twirl filter. Also, it's not the cheapness of the visual effects that disturbs me, it's their presence at all. I would have preferred something less literal.
All in all, a great watch. I think I'll start going by the name Saitolnikoff.
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