It seems that Asian media’s popularity in the West has a cyclical nature; from the Kung Fu craze of the 70’s, to Hong Kong action films, and most recently - South Korean thrillers and soap operas. However, in the early 2000’s, Hollywood had a fascination with remaking Japanese horror films. FromThe Grudge,The Ring, andDark Water, audiences couldn’t get enough. The source material that many of these films are based on are fantastic horror movies that have held up well, and were often incredibly prescient. Opting for slow, plotting dread in lieu of the loud jumpscares that commonly plagued Western horror, these films sought to provide a lasting terror that stuck with the viewer far after credits rolled.With the sheer availability of international films on streaming, many of these spectacular genre films are now easier to access than ever. We’ve compiled a list of the top fifteen J-horror modern classics for those new to the genre, listed in no particular order.
Ju-On: The Grudge
Easily the most recognizable film on the list,Ju-On: The Grudgein conjunction withRingurocketed white robed, wet black haired, Japanese women into the horror zeitgeist. At its core, the film is essentially a haunted house story, centering on a home where a horrific evil occurred long ago, and the resulting modern-day implications. After a man kills his family in a fit of rage, the spirit of his wife, son, and their cat remain tethered to the house, haunting anyone who tries to enter.
Where the 2004 American remake frequently opted for loud jumpscares and cheap effects,Ju-On: The Grudgeisn’t afraid to lock the camera on the spirits of the house, often using 30+ second tracking shots to truly detail the horror of the ghosts and the fates that befell them.Ju-On: The Grudgeis a terrifying, somber film whose visual and auditory cues give it immense lasting power.
Another film that Western audiences will likely recognize,Ringu’s notorious framing device, a cursed videotape that kills it’s viewer seven days later is a unique and endlessly tense narrative tool that instantly puts the movie on a timer. When a reporter (Nanako Matsushima) begins investigating rumors of a supernatural videotape with her son (Rikiya Otaka) and ex-husband (Hiroyuki Sanada), the root of the legend takes them to a dark and tragic event from the past.
The film plays with the idea of vengeful ghosts, positing that hatred and anger are such powerful emotions that they can echo long past when someone has died. What makesRinguso horrifying is the concept that a movie could have so much power over the lives of its victims, and the creeping suspicion that the very fate is currently happening to you.The lasting imagery of Sadako (Rie Ino) crawling out of a television set is forever cemented into pop culture relevance, and is just as scary two decades after the film was released.
One of the things that makes horror such an effective genre is the ways in which it offers stylized critiques of modern society. InGeorge A. Romero’sDawn of the Dead, we quickly understand the allegory of mindless zombies flocking to the mall as they did in life as a criticism of modern consumerism. In 2001, the internet and computers were a relatively new technology. While many movies of the time sought to explore the positive possibilities of technological advancement,Pulse(orKairoin Japan) showcases a darker, spirit-riddled reality.
Labeled as “techno-horror,” the film subverts the aesthetic that often accompanies movies about technology, substituting a dark, damp, concrete realism in place of shiny electronics. A profound film, it posits that in the age of technology there still remains an inherent loneliness in modern society. Exceedingly dark and misanthropic,Pulsehighlights the dread in everyday life.
The film explores the trappings of men’s fixation on young women, and the inherent shallowness in trying to love someone you barely know based only on surface-level attraction. It also challenges the inherent power dynamic between wealthy men and their peers who abuse their position for personal gain. A twisted cat and mouse thriller that subverts the position of predator and prey,Auditionis truly a singular experience.
Tokyo Gore Police
School girls with mutated knife arms? Check. A woman with alligator jaws in place of her lower torso? Check. Gimp suit samurai sword appendage monster? Check.
For many, Japanese media can be narrowly defined as bombastic, colorful, and nonsensical; and while it’s a narrow, incorrect observation, those elements are certainly in no short supply.Tokyo Gore Policeis incredibly surreal, alternating between silly and gag-inducing. The film focuses on a task force of special operations Tokyo police officers and their battles with genetically mutated monsters. Ruka (Eihi Shiina)is an outcast who is enlisted by the police to help dispatch the creatures, dubbed engineers.
The previous two sentences are all you ever need to know about this movie to get maximum enjoyment. Story and plot are secondary to impressive gross-out practical effects and goofy, blood spattered fight sequences. It’s flashy, crass, and endlessly weird in a way that is delightfully endearing and campy. It’s existence also speaks to the diversity of the J-horror genre and the auteurs that create it, who are just as comfortable terrifying audiences with slow one-takes of a bloodied ghost descending a staircase as indulging in zany kills.
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Dark Water
2002’sDark Wateris a beautiful, bittersweet drama about the relationship between a mother and her young daughter - also, their apartment is constantly leaking from the floor above and may or may not be haunted. Protagonist Yoshimi (Hitomi Kuroki) moves herself and daughter Ikuko (Rio Kanno) into a small, run-down apartment amidst her divorce from Ikuko’s father (Fumiyo Kohinata). Much of the film is spent exploring Yoshimi’s attempts to acclimate to life as a single mother, humbling herself and working a job proofreading that pays far less than her previous jobs to provide for the new family structure.
It’s no surprise that the visual imagery of a young girl sulking around an apartment complex is creepy, butDark Water’s lasting effect is how ominous it paints life as a single, working mother in a society so averse to the concept. The sacrifices Yoshimi makes for her daughter and the bond they share are approached in an incredibly mature way, with Ikuko coming to increasingly appreciate those sacrifices as she grows. The scares on tap are consistent, but the lasting impression of the film is the fragility and humanity in the work it takes to raise a child against the odds.
Battle Royale
Where and when did the battle royale genre start? Modern audiences are quick to think of intellectual properties such asFortnite,Apex Legends, andThe Hunger Games; but all of those projects inevitably owe a great deal to the 2000 film,Battle Royale. The movie takes place in a world where the Japanese government has instituted the BR act, a program created to limit juvenile delinquency. A group of middle school students are drugged, transported to a remote island, and each given a bag with a weapon that they must use to fight for their lives against their classmates. By the end of the game, only one student can be left alive.
Many common themes from Japanese cinema are present here, from government ineptitude at solving problems to the unrelenting cruelty of Japanese youth. WithQuentin Tarantinoproclaiming it to be his “favorite movie of all time”,Battle Royalesucceeds in a now crowded genre due to its heartbreaking setup. With many students portrayed as close friends in the beginning of the movie, the children must quickly decide if the lives of their classmates are worth losing their own over. It’s a numbing exploration of the cruelty of man, and the extent of our fighting spirit and ability to empathize and band together under horrific circumstances.
One Cut of the Dead
One Cut of the Deadis a film told in three distinct acts, and is near impossible to discuss without spoiling the sensitive narrative twists. The movie focuses on a director (Hamatsu Takayuki) who is known for being able to produce high quality work on a small budget and tight production timelines. There’s also zombies. Centering on a low budget skeleton crew trying to make a zombie movie, the film easily givesShaun of the Deada run for its money for the title of funniest zombie movie.
It isn’t treading new ground to point out that zombie movies often claim that the true monsters aren’t the undead, but some larger institution.One Cut of the Deadposits that the real monsters among us are production studio executives with little to no knowledge of the amount of effort that goes into making movies. An ode to the love of film and the process by which movies are made,One Cut of the Deadis a hilarious, heartwarming examination of genre movies.
One Missed Call
One Missed Callis yet another J-horror film to receive an American remake, and represented the tail end of Hollywood’s stint remaking Japanese horror films. Directed byTakashi Miike, the film blends the themes of modern technology and curses. Similar toRingu,One Missed Callrevolves around a premise of impending doom - with our characters receiving voicemails of their final words before they die. Narratively, the film follows many of the beats established in the genre, but where the film gains its greatest value is in the unnerving nature of its toll-free deaths.
InRingu, victims of the videotape are allowed free will to choose to watch the tape that results in their death.One Missed Call’s premise feels entirely random, with victims receiving a phone call from their own phone number seemingly at random. Audiences can escape the real world terror ofRinguby just not watching an unlabeled VHS tape; easy enough right? Good luck not flinching at every phone call you get after watchingOne Missed Call, because if the film has anything to say about it, it may be your last!
Perfect Blue
The only anime title on the list,Perfect Blueis a frightening exploration of burnout, idol culture, and the perils of being a young woman in modern society. For the uninitiated, many East Asian countries have established a pop culture following male and (more notoriously) female pop groups, whose members are called idols. Placed under immense pressure to produce new music, learn new dance sequences, and maintain microscopic weights, it’s an industry widely regarded as unsustainable for its members.
Perfect Bluecenters on Mima Kirigoe (Junko Iwao), a young idol who attempts a career pivot from her idol group to acting. With mounting pressure on her to succeed in a new industry, a website detailing her every action throughout the day, and a spirit embodiment of her past self continuously taunting her, the audience is begged the question of what is real and what is a figment of Mima’s stress-induced nightmares. Directed by the lateSatoshi Kon,who often utilized animation to intertwine surrealist horror with depictions of mundane Japanese life, the terror of this film perfectly encapsulates what horror does best: turning the mirror on the audience and forcing them to explore the ways they are complicit in the terrors of modern society.
