My Favorite Asian Horror Films
NOTE: There is no particular order and will always be a work-in-progress.
This list can be disputed, argued, or ignored. But trust me, I've seen a lot of Asian horror movies and these are the cream of the crop in my book.
This list can be disputed, argued, or ignored. But trust me, I've seen a lot of Asian horror movies and these are the cream of the crop in my book.
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- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.The epitome of stylishly drawn out family dysfunction. Cue the girl ghost.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTadanobu AsanoNao ÔmoriShin'ya TsukamotoAs sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.Yakuza bosses, dapper gangsters, crazy assassin, strange Eastern culture references, blood and gore = Japanese exploitation at it's oddest. There is a reason Takashi Miike is personal friends with both Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino.
- DirectorByeong-ki AhnStarsKim Gyu-riSe-eun LeeLee Yu-riA high school girl moves from Seoul to a small remote village, where she is constantly harassed and bullied by the jealous common village girls. In a desperate bid to get back at her classmates, she tries to conjure a ghost to haunt them.(AKA: "Bushinsaba") A ghost story within a town mystery that is perpetuated by a teenage "ghost conjuring" game.
- DirectorBanjong PisanthanakunParkpoom WongpoomStarsAnanda EveringhamNatthaweeranuch ThongmeeAchita SikamanaA young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past.A gem from Thailand that involves "ghost pictures" and a photographer's dark secret.
- DirectorHo-Cheung PangStarsJosie HoChing WongHelen ToCheng Li-sheung is a young, upwardly mobile professional finally ready to invest in her first home. But when the deal falls through, she is forced to keep her dream alive - even if it means keeping her would-be neighbors dead.(AKA: "Dream Home") This Chinese gore-fest poses the question, "How far will you go to be queen of your castle?"
- DirectorJae-yeon YunStarsSong Ji-hyoPark Han-byeolJo AnA staircase leading to the dormitory of a remote boarding school usually has 28 stairs, but every so often there appears to be 29. When someone steps on the mysterious extra stair, the horror begins.Third installment of the many Korean "schoolgirl exploitation" movies is based on an urban legend of stairs that grants wishes. For a price.
- DirectorSatoshi KonStarsJunko IwaoRica MatsumotoShinpachi TsujiA pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.A Hitchcock-esque tale of an aspiring actress and a deranged fan. All isn't what it seems.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsKim Yoon-seokHa Jung-wooSeo Yeong-hieA disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.A Korean murder-mystery with plenty of fast-paced detective work by an unlikely pimp-cabbie, a serial killer, and plenty of stylized gore.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.Takashi Miike's tale about one man's quest for a wife and the girl he chooses. Let's just say she's a precision pianist.
- DirectorSongyos SugmakananStarsCharlie TrairatChintara SukapatanaSirachuch ChienthawornEvery dorm has a tale. But this tale, you will never forget.A Thai coming of age ghost story that takes place in a all boys dormitory. Think "Devil's Backbone" and "Stand By Me".
- DirectorBanjong PisanthanakunParkpoom WongpoomStarsMarsha WattanapanichVittaya WasukraipaisanRachanu BoonchuduangDeceased Siamese twin returns to haunt surviving sisterGive it to Thailand to make a horror film about Siamese twins and make it spooky as hell!
- DirectorSang-hoon AhnStarsSo-yeong ChooLee Dong-wookLim Il-GyuVeteran detective So-young and her rookie partner Hyun-gi happen onto an incendiary homicide case. They discover that the present case is somehow related to the mysterious death of a girl ten years previously.Based on a famous Korean legend of a vengeful ghost that needs to be stopped.
- DirectorTae-kyeong KimStarsKim Ha-neulNam Sang-miJeon Hye-binA teenage girl suffering from amnesia discovers that she is somehow connected to a group of people who are being killed off one by one by a vengeful ghost.(AKA: "The Ghost" or "Ryung") Another Korean "schoolgirl exploitation" story with a vengeful ghost and a very confusing end twist.
- DirectorKi-hyeong ParkStarsShim Hye-jinKim Jin-geunOh-bin MunAfter unsuccessfully trying to have a baby of their own, Dr. Kim Do-il and his father convince his wife Choi Mi-sook to adopt a child in an orphanage. Mi-sook is connected to arts and chooses the six years Kim Jin-sung that loves to draw trees. The boy becomes close to the eight years old next door neighbor Min-jee and is attracted to an old Acacia tree in their lawn. When Mi-sook unexpectedly gets pregnant, her mother asks her to return Jin-sung to the orphanage, beginning the rejection process of the boy. When the baby is born, Mi-sook does not treat Jin-sung well, who believes the acacia tree is his mother, and in a rainy night he vanishes. Along the next days, the family becomes insane, disclosing a dark secret about Jin-sung.This is a highly artistic story about a couple who want children and the boy peculiarly drawn to a haunting tree.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKô ShibasakiShin'ichi TsutsumiKazue FukiishiPeople mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, foretelling their deaths.(AKA: "One Missed Call") There is pattern forming with me and Takashi Miike horror films. Watch this one if you like signature killings by a girl ghost.
- DirectorRenpei TsukamotoStarsRie MimuraHisashi YoshizawaChisunA Japanese restaurant cook/owner dies after answering his daughter's cellphone. Other people are getting strange, same ringtone calls as well and dying painfully. It happened in Taiwan as well. Can the police stop it if it's a ghost?(AKA: "One Missed Call 2") Though not directed by Miike and is a sequel, this movie can stand alone in the scares.
- DirectorMasayuki OchiaiStarsGorô InagakiMiho KannoTakeshi MasuThree apparently unrelated suicides occur on the same day in Tokyo. One involves a young athlete, one a groom at his wedding reception, and the third an elderly man celebrating his wife's birthday. A middle aged detective investigating one of the cases begins to suspect a connection between the three when he discovers that each person mentioned a "green monkey" before they died. With the help of a young psychiatrist he formulates the theory that hypnosis is somehow involved. In the mean time other bizarre "suicides" are reported and the mystery intensifies. Who will be next? What is the truth? Can more deaths be prevented?(AKA: "Hypnotist" or "Hypnosis") Another Hitchcock-esque story of a hypnotist who is apparently causing suicides, but is that really the case?
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsHaruhiko KatôKumiko AsôKoyukiTwo groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.(AKA: "Kairo" or "Curcuit") A film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa that deals with the isolation that technology has presented youth with. Of course, with spooky special effects.
- DirectorDae-wung LimStarsLee Dong-kyuSeong-won JangSeol-ah YuBuried grudges have disasterous consequences for a class reunion in this unapologetically bloody film from Korean director Dae-wung Lim.(AKA: "Bloody Reunion") This gore-fest of a movie will make you wonder if maybe you should have been more kind to people in high school...
- DirectorMonthon ArayangkoonStarsPitchanart SakakornApasiri NitibhonPenpak SirikulTing, an actress for murder illustration is hired to simulate a real-life murder case of Meen, a former Miss Thailand who was brutally killed. Afterwards, Ting can feel a strange supernatural connection to Meen. Soon, she decides to try and solve the mystery of Meen's murder.A fun, shock-a-minute Thai film about a reluctant actress hired to reenact death scenes - a taboo in their culture, for obvious reasons.
- DirectorDanny PangOxide Chun PangStarsAngelica LeeChutcha RujinanonLawrence ChouA blind girl gets a cornea transplant so that she will be able to see again. She gets more than she bargained for upon realizing she can also see ghosts.The Pang brothers original about a girl who gains her sight through an operation, but finds out it isn't all that great.
- DirectorAtaru OikawaStarsNoriko NakagoshiArata FurutaEriko HatsuneA modern ghost story which turns a love hate relationship between mother and daughter into a tale of horror.A haunted apartment or a vengeful ghost? Or both?
- DirectorLee Woo-cheolStarsSung Hyun-ahDa-an ParkJeong Ho-binA cellist is haunted by strange events after a car wreckA young, beautiful cellist is seeing a girl ghost after a terrible car accident. But what's haunting who here?
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsNobuko OtowaJitsuko YoshimuraKei SatôTwo women kill samurai and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.A black/white art house film set in feudal Japan concerning an evil mask.