English Dub Review: Uzumaki “Episode 4”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The curse of the spirals is destroying the town and taking peoples’ minds with it.  The chaos reaches a fever pitch.

Our Take

They say that things can only get worse before they get better.  Well, that’s certainly the case for Kirie, Shuichi, and the rest of the citizens of Kurozu.  However, it doesn’t look like it’ll be all sunshine and rainbows when all is said and done.  With the entire village destroyed thanks to the typhoons, Shuichi, Kirie, and the other survivors are now dealing with preventing the curse from consuming their sanity.  Unfortunately, it isn’t as easy as it sounds, as they are plagued by whirlwinds caused by their movements and sounds, and the curse is blocking every exit in sight.  It also doesn’t help that people are now starting to become cannibals by eating others that are transformed into snails.

Additionally, the curse has reverted Kurozu into its original spiral-like state and affected the speed of time itself.  But that’s not the worst part.  It’s also revealed that the curse is unbreakable, as it has been affecting the town for centuries, reverting and rebuilding Kurozu repeatedly, with the events of the series repeating themselves for a new batch of citizens to experience.  As for Shuichi and Kirie, let’s say that their fate is far from satisfactory.  This is the type of horror project that doesn’t have a happy ending for the survivors.  Instead, it leaves viewers with a depressing and even unnerving conclusion that lingers inside their minds long after its ending.

Uzumaki is more like a horror experience than a narrative-driven limited series.  Instead of having characters find a solution to break the curse, it takes viewers on an unsettling ride through hell as they witness the terror of the spirals and people’s descent into madness.  Some of the animation sequences were still a bit off, mainly when Shuichi falls into the center of the Earth, and its conclusion didn’t quite match the traumatic impact it’s going for.  However, I can admit that Uzumaki was an interesting experience that benefitted from its art style and unsettling imagery.