Speak No Evil director Christian Tafdrup is tapped to lead an adaptation of Audition, the 1997 novel from Ryū Murakami which inspired the disturbing 1999 horror from Japanese auteur Takashi Miike.
Per Deadline, the upcoming adaptation comes from Focus Features, Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment and Mario Kassar Productions, with Tafdrup and his brother and collaborator Mads Tafdrup also writing the script.
In Audition, a widower holds auditions with the intention of finding a new wife. He eventually falls for the young and beautiful Asami, only to discover she is not exactly who or what she seems.
Miike's adaptation, which starred Ryo Ishibashi, Jun Kunimura and Eihi Shiina as Asami, is regarded as one of the most disturbing Japanese horror films to ever hit the mainstream, particularly noted for its gruesome ending scene.
Tafdrup does have something of a reputation when it comes to disturbing movies; his 2022 psychological horror Speak No Evil, which sparked a 2024 remake starring James McAvoy, was called `”the most cunningly depraved horror film in years” by Indiewire, and also had even hardcore horror fans wincing at its violent ending.
Deadline report that Murakami will serve as executive producer alongside multi-media, Cineverse‘s Chris McGurk, Yolanda Macias and Joyce Jun. Producers are Focus Features, Hyde Park’s Ashok and Priya Amritraj and Mario Kassar for MKP.
While Miike's Audition is obviously a classic, it's important to note that Tafdrup's Audition is his take on the source material, not a remake of Miike's film.
Look out for more Audition news as it slices in.
