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With October in full swing, you might be looking for some of the best horror movies to stream. But outside of the classics and the spooky new movies, one of the best streaming services has just dropped a contender for my favorite horror series of the year, a perfect adaptation of Junji Ito’s manga Uzumaki. After being let down by the 2000 movie (which is available on Prime Video in the US and Shudder in the UK), it is refreshing to finally see it done properly.
Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror is a four-part adaptation of Ito’s frankly massive manga that throws you in the deep end from the first episode alone. The show is streaming on Max and Adult Swim in the US and Channel 4 in the UK. It wastes no time in establishing this terrifying world, where citizens in the town of Kurouzu-cho are plagued by spirals. Surreal as the concept is, it grips you immediately, with this obsession and paranoia around spirals resembling that of a disease. People are terrified of it, to the point where some seriously crazy stuff happens. It’s gritty, it’s dark, and Max is really delivering that tone especially when you look at DC hit The Penguin, which we compared to The Sopranos, and rightfully so.
I was also pleased to discover that even people who have never read the manga could get sucked in. My partner watched the first episode with me and since then has been keen to tune in when it airs each week, and ironically, we found ourselves becoming just as invested in the spirals as the people on-screen. With less horrifying stuff happening, of course.
Junji Ito’s lines come to life on screen
For me, the most striking thing of all is just how stunning this is to look at. It’s the reason the manga gripped me too, I found myself desperate to turn to the next page to see what horrific, albeit beautifully drawn thing would greet me this time, and watching the TV adaptation is no different. Sticking to the original black and white design, it’s like watching a moving version of the manga. This is exactly where the movie failed, in my opinion, because it was a color live-action take on the tale and it simply did not work. Ito’s terrifying world is best when it’s devoid of any color at all, I say let’s keep it that way.
The art is beautiful. It’s also the worst thing you’ll ever see. I have omitted some of the really awful imagery to not spoil it. If you have read the manga already, you’ll no doubt find yourself anticipating certain famous moments, and even when I knew what was about to happen I still found myself cringing. From transformations to mutations to people having psychotic breaks due to the spirals, nothing can fully prepare you for it. If you we wondering, yes, it is even worse when it’s animated.
Uzumaki has been in the works for a long time, and I am glad they spent so much time making it as accurate to the source material as possible. There’s little point diverting from it too much when Ito has given us such a great story. It’s up there with some of the best anime shows you’ll watch.
When you’re done here, there are plenty of other spooky offerings to sink your teeth into as well. I also recommend James Wan’s Teacup and some of these indie horror games (Cult of the Lamb is my favorite!). But until then, please do step into the horrifying world of Uzumaki. You won’t regret it.