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3 days ago · Discover the top-rated Japanese horror movies from folk tales to body horror to monster movies, ranked by Tomatometer. See the critics' consensus, synopsis, and cast for each film, from The Ring to Godzilla.
- Mary Beth Mcandrews
- Tetsuo: The Iron Man. This is a film for the gore-lovers out there. This is also a film for those who are fans of high-concept horror that is less about a set narrative and more about creating a very specific atmosphere that sets your teeth on edge.
- Kwaidan. "Kwaidan," which translates to "ghost story," is a 1964 horror anthology film directed by Masaki Kobayashi, based on Lafcadio Hearn's collection of Japanese folktales.
- Marebito. This won't be the only found footage film on this list. After directing the cult hit (now horror classic) "Ju-On: The Grudge," director Takashi Shimizu released "Marebito," a tale about a nervous man who becomes obsessed with filming the world around him after watching a man commit suicide.
- Tag. Sion Sono is a mad genius who doesn't let the pesky things like a "cohesive narrative" hold him back. In his 2015 film "Tag," student Mitsuki (Reina Triendl) is the sole survivor of a horrific accident, during which a gust of wind cuts her bus — and her classmates — in half.
- 15 'Marebito'
- 14 'Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman'
- 13 'Uzumaki'
- 12 'Noroi: The Curse'
- 11 'Tag'
- 10 'Pulse'
- 9 'Horrors of Malformed Men'
- 8 'Perfect Blue'
- 7 'Cure'
- 6 'Hausu'
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Directed by Takashi Shimizu
Blending poignant social drama with monster horror with mixed results, Marebito was an ambitious undertaking from Takashi Shimizu which served as an intriguing portrayal of loneliness and mental deterioration. It follows Takuyoshi Masuoka (Shinya Tsukamoto), a disturbed and volatile cameraman with a desire to understand the essence of fear, as he discovers a homeless girl living beneath the Tokyo subway and brings her back to his home where he makes the shocking discovery that she feeds on hu...
Directed by Koji Shiraishi
While Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman was hamstrung by its budgetary limitations, it did transcend its B-movie foundations with its basis on a terrifying urban myth from Japanese folklore known as Kuchisake-Onna, and its flaunting of one of the most underrated horror movies monstersever put to screen. It takes place in a small suburban town where the residents are being terrorized by a malevolent and vengeful spirit which is kidnapping children. The film's ambitious and admirable efforts to we...
Directed by Higuchinsky
Based onJunji Ito's manga of the same name, Uzumaki proved to be an effectively moody horror film that took inspiration from the likes of David Lynch to develop a creepy and unnerving atmospheric intensity defined by its surrealist setting and mesmerizing visuals. With "uzumaki" being the Japanese word for "spiral", the film takes place in a small town where the residents are gradually forming their own obsessions with spirals, a phenomenon that sparks a series of strange and disturbing death...
Directed by Kōji Shiraishi
Off the back of the landmark success of 1999's The Blair Witch Project, found-footage horror became a defining aspect of early 2000s horror, with the underrated yet terrifying and unnerving Japanese film Noroi: The Curse one of the best films the subgenre has to offer. The film opens with an introduction to paranormal investigator Masafumi Kobayashi (Jin Muraki), who has disappeared while making a documentary titled The Curse. The documentary then begins to play as viewers are left to uncover...
Directed by Sion Sono
Completely bizarre and wildly frenetic, Tag engulfed viewers from its shocking opening scene and refused to relent from there, barely holding the audience's hand as it whisks them through a maddening tale of delirium and carnage. It focuses on Mitsuko (Reina Triendl), a young schoolgirl who finds herself torn between violent alternate realities where the people around her are slain in brutal fashion without explanation. With Mitsuko having to fight for her life as the scenarios rapidly change...
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
While he has worked in many different genres, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a filmmaker best known for his contributions to Japanese horror. His 2001 picture Pulse is one of his most acclaimed and most terrifying horror movies. The techno horror follows three seemingly disconnected residents in Tokyo as they investigate a series of strange disappearances linked to terrifying visions seen on the internet. The reserved horror film doesn’t resort to graphic gore to shock fans, but steadily builds up the t...
Directed by Teruo Ishii
As a nightmarish, surrealist voyage into the taboo, Horrors of Malformed Men was ahead of its time as a visceral horror film willing to indulge in the bizarre and the profoundly shocking. It follows an amnesiac medical student who escapes a psychiatric hospital and assumes the identity of a dead man he bears an uncanny likeness to before his scattered memories lure him to a mystical island. At the island, Genzaburô (Teruo Yoshida) learns of a delusional scientist carrying out plans to create...
Directed by Satoshi Kon
Perfect Blue is an insightful horror movie that was way ahead of its time. The film opens when popstar, Mima (Junko Iwao), announces during a show that she is retiring from singing to pursue a career in acting. This news triggers violent fans to turn against the "new Mima" in a frenzied pursuit to maintain their perception of their idol. Delusion and paranoia take over Mima as she attempts to begin her new life as an actress, all while being followed by a stalker and suffering from hallucinat...
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
While it may be more at home as a psychological crime thriller rather than an outright horror, Cure is still a fantastic film that excels when creeping under the audience’s skin while boasting a hypnotic and darkly alluring atmosphere. It follows a detective as he grows frustrated while investigating a string of identical homicides committed by different murderers who have no recollection of their actions. The film became a hit both in Japan and internationally and served as something of a pr...
Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi
Landing somewhere between experimental comedy and a hyperactive, horrifying fever dream, Hausu (or House) was one of the most deranged haunted house horror movies ever made, and has become a bona fide cult classic over time. The twisted fairy tale follows a young girl as she ventures to her ailing aunt's remote estate with her six friends for a summer trip, only to uncover a nightmarish hellscape where each of the girls must confront their deepest and darkest fears. With the fantastical openi...
A list of the most effective and traumatizing films from Japan, ranging from modern classics to historical tales. From vengeful spirits to hostile curses, these movies will keep you scared long after the credits roll.
- Katie Rife
- 8 min
- Audition (1999) Audition is a tough sell, but not because it's a bad movie. Quite the opposite, actually. The problem with discussing Takashi Miike's 1999 battle-of-the-sexes masterpiece is that the film's main selling point is also something that's best left unspoiled.
- Blind Woman's Curse (1970) A titillating blend of exploitation, gangster-movie action, and Gothic horror, 1970's Blind Woman's Curse is memorable for two reasons.
- Cure (1997) Who are you, really? Take away your job and your family and your place in society — will there be anything left? That terrifying void is the subject of director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure, a film that gives David Fincher's Se7en a serious run for its money as the darkest serial-killer thriller of the '90s.
- Dark Water (2002) Plenty of films delve into the subconscious fears of homeowners (see: the home-invasion subgenre). But Dark Water addresses a common nightmare among renters: Having something wrong with your apartment and no one around to fix it.
- Em Casalena
- Premonition. Premonition is a 2004 horror film directed by Tsuruta Norio. The film is based on a manga by Kiro Tsunoda, and the film received an American remake in 2007.
- Kairo. Kairo, known more commonly as Pulse, is a 2001 horror film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kairo did well upon its release, received positive critical reviews, and has since gained cult status.
- Dark Water. Dark Water is a 2002 horror-drama from director Hideo Nakata. The film is based on a piece of work by Koji Suzuki. The film was remade for Western audiences in 2005.
- Exte. Exte is a 2007 horror film directed and written by Sion Sono of Suicide Circle fame. The plot of the film follows a wannabe hairdresser who is stalked by a hair fetishist who sells hair extensions to salons.
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A list of 308 titles of Japanese horror movies rated by IMDb users. Find psychological thrillers, crime dramas, supernatural mysteries and more from Japan's horror genre.
Jun 16, 2023 · A list of the best Japanese horror movies ever made, from classics like Ringu and Audition to modern gems like One Cut of the Dead and Suicide Club. Explore the diverse and versatile genres of J-Horror, from ghost stories to body horror, from science fiction to fantasy.
