i saw uzumaki about a year ago and be mesmerize . the only japanese horror film i have see before this one be kwaidan ( which i proudly own on dvd and by the way ) and superb . the idea of a town be absorb by spiral sound exactly like something out of lovecraft . certainly it remind one of shadow over innsmouth and of the inhabitant slowly turn into monstrosity ( in this case giant snail ) . and who can forget the washing machine sequence . i hope we will soon see this one available on region 1 dvd ( i see that sundance have recently screen it on u tv and hopefully they will do it again very soon ) so that we can all see it . highly recommended .