The mention of the Japanese film industry instantly brings to mind the more popular jidaigeki (Japanese period films) genre, which include critically acclaimed samurai movies as well as unforgettable anime masterpieces. But the industry is not all about stories of the valourous blade-masters of the shōgun or hand-drawn artistic frames that tell moving tales. Also sharing space with them in the Japanese industry are some of the best horror movies that frighten and inspire as much as they entertain.
As fans would discover, horror in Japanese cinema is not akin to the concept of horror in Hollywood or most other non-Asian film industries. It is a niche space which has been minutely explored by some of the greatest auteurs in world cinema who have come from Japan — for instance, Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, Takashi Miike, Masaki Kobayashi, Nagisa Ōshima and even the anime great Hayao Miyazaki. These icons have not only reshaped the Japanese film industry in the post-war period but have also given a unique dimension to storytelling by infusing innovative techniques and presenting a canvas so wide and immersive that it continues to command the attention of viewers of all ages to this day.
There is something truly incredible about Japanese horror movies. They do not engage in jump scares, which simply blow the wits out of the viewer with a sudden in-their-face frame. What Japanese horror movies do, instead, is draw the viewers into the broad tapestry of their stories where the scenario is such that the very thought of the events unfolding on the screen sends shivers down the spine.
Of course, psychological horror is at the centre of most of the titles coming from the Japanese industry. Take for instance Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue. The anime film is renowned for its gripping story which keeps viewers in anticipation of the next horrific turn in the protagonist’s life.
On the other hand, there are movies like Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan, which dives into the ocean of Japanese folk literature and brings to the surface some of the most chilling tales. Then there are horror thrillers such as Battle Royale and Audition. Together, they complete the renowned horror genre of the Japanese film industry. At the same time, it is noteworthy that films such as the Godzilla or Attack of the Titan franchises may indeed have some horror elements but are broadly classed as kaiju (monster) films.
The finest horror movies from Japan you need to watch
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Audition (1999)
IMDb rating: 7.1
Directed by: Takashi Miike
Cast: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina
Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes
Synopsis: Shigeharu Aoyama (Ishibashi), a widower, takes a liking to a young woman named Asami Yamazaki (Shiina) who he meets at a special audition to select his new wife. Unbeknownst to him, Asami is a sadist with a dark past.
Ringu (1998)
IMDb rating: 7.2
Directed by: Hideo Nakata
Cast: Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Hiroyuki Sanada
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
Synopsis: Journalist Reiko Asakawa (Matsushima) and her psychic ex-husband Ryūji Takayama (Sanada) investigate an urban legend of a cursed tape which is believed to kill the viewer seven days after they watch it.
Trivia: Ringu was so famous that it was adapted multiple times around the world, including the 2002 American film The Ring.
House (1977)
IMDb rating: 7.3
Directed by: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Cast: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Ai Matubara, Kumiko Oba
Runtime: 1 hour 28 minutes
Synopsis: A schoolgirl named Oshare (or Gorgeous) travels with six of her classmates to her aunt’s country home. None of them knows that it is haunted. As the girls begin disappearing one by one, the terrifying secret of the house is slowly revealed.
Cure (1997)
IMDb rating: 7.5
Directed by: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Cast: Kōji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa
Runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes
Synopsis: Tokyo Metropolitan Police detective Kenichi Takabe (Yakusho) is immensely frustrated following a series of gruesome murders where multiple people have committed the same kind of crime but have no recollection of it. All he has is a clue — a symbol of ‘X’ on the victims’ bodies.
Image: Courtesy of IMDb
Battle Royale (2000)
IMDb rating: 7.5
Directed by: Kinji Fukasaku
Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarō Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama, Kou Shibasaki, Masanobu Andō, Beat Takeshi
Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
Synopsis: A large group of school students in a totalitarian Japan are forced to play a deadly game on an island in which only one can survive.
Trivia: This film gave birth to its eponymous genre. Several of Japan’s current crop of top actors were part of this film when they were virtually unknown, including Fujiwara, Maeda, Yamamoto, Kuriyama, and Shibasaki.
IMDb rating: 7.6
Directed by: Shin’ichirô Ueda
Cast: Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Harumi Shuhama
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
Synopsis: A low-budget filming crew shooting a zombie movie faces certain death when they are attacked by revived zombies in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility.
Trivia: The film became a worldwide cult hit upon release, earning around 1,000 times its budget of USD 25,000.
Kuroneko (1968)
IMDb rating: 7.7
Directed by: Kaneto Shindô
Cast: Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kiwako Taichi
Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
Synopsis: Two women, violated and killed by a group of samurai, return as vengeful spirits who begin seducing and murdering every passing samurai.
Read our review of samurai odyssey Shōgun in which 17th-century Japan comes alive
Image: Courtesy of © 1968 – Toho Company/IMDb
Confessions (2010)
IMDb rating: 7.7
Directed by: Tetsuya Nakashima
Cast: Takako Matsu, Masaki Okada, Yoshino Kimura
Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes
Synopsis: Yuko Moriguchi (Matsu) is a school teacher who has lost her daughter to bullies in the school. She plans a cold-blooded revenge so brutal it puts fear in the hearts of the students she is after.
Trivia: The film was shortlisted at the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. It was awarded the Best Picture at the 34th Japan Academy Prize and 53rd Blue Ribbon Awards.
Kwaidan (1964)
IMDb rating: 7.9
Directed by: Masaki Kobayashi
Cast: Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe
Runtime: 3 hours 3 minutes
Synopsis: Four different Japanese folk tales, each about a supernatural entity or event, take place in the late 19th century.
Trivia: Kwaidan won the Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. It also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
Perfect Blue (1997)
IMDb rating: 8.0
Directed by: Satoshi Kon
Cast: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji
Runtime: 1 hour 21 minutes
Synopsis: Mima Kirigoe, a member of J-pop group CHAMI, starts going insane after an obsessive fan begins stalking her. But the frightened Mima is unaware that the fan is someone close to her.
Read more: Best horror anime movies that will leave you with an unsettling feeling
Onibaba (1964)
IMDb rating: 7.9
Directed by: Kaneto Shindô
Cast: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satō, Taiji Tonoyama
Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes
Synopsis: Two women, an old lady (Otowa) and her daughter-in-law (Yoshimura), kill and loot samurai in mediaeval Japan during the civil war for survival. When the younger woman is drawn to a handsome neighbour, the miffed older woman finds and kills a mysterious samurai who wears a strange mask. And then begins the turmoil in their lives.
Image: Courtesy of © 1964 – Toho Company/IMDb
(Hero image: IMDb; Featured image: © Lions Gate Home Entertainment. All rights reserved./IMDb)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– What are some famous scary Japanese movies?
Kwaidan (1964), Ringu (1998) and Battle Royale (2000) are some of the best Japanese horror movies that are truly scary.
– Why are Japanese horror movies so good?
Japanese horror movies draw the viewers into the story with their engaging plot and deep philosophical narratives, unlike simply relying on jump scares.
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Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
