One of the most important things to note about the live-action movie adaptation of Uzumaki is that it was made before the manga finished its publication run. This results in a very different ending than what the readers eventually got. It’s also a bit of a speedrun through the characters and story lines, which is expected considering how much story there is. Adapting manga with such a specific art style is a daunting task to begin with, but one with so much story is near impossible. 

• Directed by: Higuchinsky
• Written by: Junji Ito. Kengo Kaji. Takao Nitta
• Starring: Eriko Hatsune. Fhi Fan. Hinako Saeki

The Plot

Uzumaki is the story of a cursed town consumed by a spiral. The story, in any of its forms, moves through different characters as they are affected by the spiral, becoming obsessed in different ways.   

There is a lot to really dig into about what the evil actually is in Uzumaki, what it represents, and why it’s so terrifying. For me, it hits the right combination of surreal suspense, cosmic terror, and body horror. 

Conceptually, the movie has all the elements of the manga, hinting at the deeper stories that the extended format delivers. It also visually shows loops and spirals in subtle ways, conveying motion in a way that only film can. It’s both beautiful and unsettling.  

It’s a disconcerting film to watch, shot like a nightmare with uncomfortable transitions between scenes. When the spiral appears in the sky over the school, it’s a clear sign that the curse has spread. Although my favorite moment is when the scene blurs and the spiral is shown in the print. These spirals continue to show up in the background of scenes, subtle and dangerous.

What’s in a Spiral

Uzumaki is about the inevitability of obsession. A spiral is a fixed path leading to one predetermined outcome. It’s the perfect metaphor for the descent into madness. And if the movie had focused on just the story of Shuichi’s father, it would have been fine. They probably could have told an effective and horrifying tale with just that. 

But an important part of this tale is how obsession spreads. There is an element of contagion that is focused on what is important to each person, like the girl who wants to be noticed, or the boy who likes surprises.  They meet terrible ends that relate to their obsessions, now darkly connected to the spiral. They aren’t fully developed characters here, just further indications of how doomed the town is. 

Everyone is affected by the growing madness.  Shuichi was correct in the beginning. The only way to escape is to leave town, step away from the spiral, and not let someone else’s madness become your own. It’s one of the sources of their downfall. 

As a story, the movie ends abruptly. The town has clearly been taken over by the spirals, but we don’t get a sense of why, or what really triggers everything.  Shuichi is fine, until he isn’t. Of course, when he isn’t, he really isn’t, which is fun and horrifying to watch.  

There are no happy endings here, but we do get closure on most of our characters. 

The Difference in Mediums

The interesting thing about adaptations is when they are done well, or well enough, different versions of the same base story can highlight different aspects of the theme. The manga goes into more detail on the origin of the curse, what it’s done to the town, and the cyclical nature of it. This is all good, thematically relevant story. There just isn’t time for it in a 90-minute movie. The movie Uzumaki focuses on the viral nature of the curse, and how it can spread. 

I think that’s what I find interesting about the movie. I know it’s not the same as the manga, which I love dearly. And it’s not as good of an adaptation as Tomie, which is still one of my favorite horror movies of all time, as well as my favorite Ito story.

Junji Ito’s work is hard to adapt. His art is distinct and conveys much of the strangeness just on its own. With pacing that. is deliberate and unsettling, stories unfold slowly. The characters are also slightly adjacent to normal human behavior. The end result is deeply disturbing analysis of how humans respond to horrific disruptions to normalcy. 

Uzumaki, the movie, comes close to hitting those elements; close enough for me to recommend it anyway. There was an anime adaptation of Uzumaki in 2024. The first episode is fantastic. The others are not. If you’re a completionist, I would give it a shot. Otherwise, maybe stick to the original source material. 

Final Thoughts

As far as a review goes, the filmmakers keep the focus on a few key elements while still highlighting the overall strangeness of the cursed town. It’s a nice Cliff Notes version that may get newcomers interested in the larger work. It’s not scary in the same way a slasher is scary, but it is unsettling and visually strange. For me, that really works. 

Uzumaki is available on streaming.