5 Must Watch Japanese and Korean Horror Films

Chances are that you’ve heard of movies like The Ring and The Grudge, but have you seen their original Asian counterparts that are much scarier than the Hollywood adaptions? If you’re a fan of East Asian Cinema or Horror films in general, here are 5 Must Watch Japanese and Korean Horror Films that I guarantee will keep you up at night.

Ringu (1998)

Before the American remake Japanese filmmakers released the original Ringu in the late nineties, giving a rise in the popularity of Japanese horror films and influx of similar movies made in Japan. Based off the book by Koji Suzuki, Ringu to this day holds fame as being one of the scariest movies ever made, and Sadako with her long black hair and pale dress is a figure that many people are still familiar with.

Japan has a long history of urban legends or “true ghost stories” such as The Slit Mouth Woman, and Sadako herself was inspired by a handful of Japanese ghosts from traditional stories like Okiku and Oiwa. So the story of the cursed taped seems almost real, and is a must watch for all horror fans.

The Host (2006)

In 2020 Director Bong Joon-ho’s movie Parasite became the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Parasite is an excellent movie in itself that I also highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, but Bong’s other films are also masterpieces of their own, one of my favorites being The Host. 

The Host stands out as one of a kind in the monster movie genre, featuring eye-catching and artistic cinematography alongside Bong’s clever way of storytelling. It doesn’t follow the usual “rules” of it’s genre and is guaranteed to keep you hooked until the end. The Host is just one of those movies that you’ll never forget once you’ve seen it.

Juon: The Grudge (2002)

In Japanese folklore there is a belief that when a person dies a traumatic death, they will return to earth as an Onryō (vengeful spirit) where they are so entrapped in their rage, they will curse anyone who crosses paths with them.

The Juon franchise focuses on Kayako and her son Toshio, who were murdered by Kayako’s husband and now haunt the house they died in, engulfing it into a contagious rage that devourers everyone who steps a foot within so that they die a horrific death and become part of the curse.

Juon made it’s first appearance in 1998 as two short films titled Katasumi and 4444444444, and even as recent as 2020 a new Japanese Netflix series (Juon: Origins) and American film adaption (The Grudge) was released. But most J-horror fans agree that 2002’s  Juon: The Grudge remains the the highlight of the franchise.

Train to Busan (2016)

Not only is Train to Busan personally, my favorite zombie movie, but it is also one of my favorite movies ever. The basic premise of the plot is that Seo Seok-woo, a divorced father, boards a train with his daughter Su-an to visit her mother in Busan, when a sudden zombie outbreak commences that involves them being stuck on the train with fast running, violent zombies on board. Seok-woo, Su-an, and the surviving passengers on board have to ride out the zombie infested train until it makes it to Busan (which has been established as a safe-zone), and Seok-woo has to make sure that he and his daughter make it out alive.

Of course, not everything is going to go to plan and there will be obstacles and action scenes that will have you at the edge of your seats. Train to Busan is both a well made and entertaining movie featuring a cast of very famous Korean actors, and it would be a shame for anyone to miss it.

Call (2020)

For the last movie on this list I decided to select a film that only recently came out, so some of you may not have had the chance to see it yet. Technically Call is more of a thriller than a horror, but it is terrifying nevertheless.

In 2019, Kim Seo-yeon loses her phone while travelling to her childhood home to visit her sickly mother, who Seo-yeon still blames for the fire that killed her father. While staying at the rundown house Seo-yeon finds an old cordless phone and starts using it, only for her to suddenly receive calls from a distressed woman who is afraid that her mother is trying to kill her. Seo-yeon eventually finds out that the woman on the other end of the phone is Oh Young-sook, who lived in the same house in 1999. The two become friends, exchanging information about their lives, and Young-sook than goes out to prevent the fire that killed Seo-yeon’s father.

However, altering the past turns for the worse as it also breathes life into a serial killer with the advantage of being able to kill people 20 years before Seo-yeon’s present.

I wouldn’t recommend watching this movie alone, so make sure to bring a friend and some pillows to hold on to.