Audition was released in British cinemas in March 2001, six months after the release of Ring. These two films would later come to be regarded as the vanguard of a new wave of cult film, a cycle of Japanese horror movies that became significantly visible in the UK, at least by the standards of the usual niche markets for foreign-language cinema and horror films. More significantly, Audition (1999) was the first film theatrically released by Tartan that would later become part of its Asia Extreme canon, and marks the point at which the fundamental aspects of the Asia Extreme brand were born. Audition shocked and divided critics and audiences, and arguably became the flagship title of Asia Extreme.

Audition was directed by Miike Takashi, a figure who attracts significant international fandom today, but who, at the time of Audition's UK release, was utterly anonymous in the UK. Miike is well known for the transgressive violent and sexual content of his films, but it was precisely his lack of a reputation among British critics at this time that allowed Audition to have the impact that it did. The film's narrative is worth recounting, if only because understanding the twists of the plot is so central to appreciating its emotional effect on critics and audiences. The film initially appears to be a lighthearted story about the perils of middle-aged dating: the story follows Aoyama, a widowed single father who is convinced by his friend that the perfect way to find a new wife is to hold a fake audition, and then date the hopeful actress of his choice. Aoyama becomes obsessed with one of the candidates, Asami, who seems to him to be perfect in every way. They begin to date and grow closer, but Asami disappears immediately after the couple consummate their relationship. As Aoyama desperately searches for Asami, following leads on her troubled past, the film becomes more and more surreal, and climaxes when Asami returns to take violent revenge on Aoyama, the precise motivation for which is never made clear. She tortures him with needles and cuts off his foot with cheesewire.