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Japanese horror movies are a goldmine of terror. There is no doubt that these filmmakers have mastered the art of fear, tormenting audiences with tales of vengeful spirits, hostile curses, and maniacal killers. The psychological staying power of these films lasts long after watching, given the overwhelming sense of foreboding and dread characteristic of the best Japanese horror movies.
These movies have made a mark on global audiences, spurring a pipeline of remakes for English-speaking audiences. Still, these attempts to capture the nightmarish essence of the originals always fall short. For those seeking an unforgettable scare, look no further than these scary Japanese movies.
Updated on October 16, 2023, by Ryan Heffernan:
With Halloween fast approaching, spooky season is well underway as horror movie lovers indulge in the scary genre to revisit beloved classics and discover new gems. For a lot of seasoned horror fans, finding new scary movies that can have an impact on them can be a tough task. International cinema holds many undervalued and terrifying horror movies though, with Japan’s film industry rich with everything from psychological terrors to monster movie mayhem.
15 ‘Pulse’ (2001)
While he has worked in many different genres, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a filmmaker best known for his contributions to Japanese horror, and his 2001 picture Pulse is one of his most acclaimed. 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 tension to make for an unnerving experience. While elements of the film were overlong, it received widespread praise for its willingness to engage with themes relating to loneliness, depression, and suicide respectfully, and its early analysis of the risks entwined with internet usage.
14 ‘Audition’ (1999)
Takashi Miike is one of the most prolific filmmakers in cinematic history, directing over 100 projects since his debut in 1991, with 1999’s Audition among his most acclaimed titles. It follows a lonely widower who, at the behest of his son, decides to start dating again and, with help from a film producer friend, views auditions for a fake film where women audition to be his new wife.
The strange arrangement leads to Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) starting a relationship with an enchanting though withdrawn girl who is revealed to be very different from how she appears. With gruesome shocks, the film quickly becomes a scarring psychological horror engaging with ideas of obsession through a sadistically cruel lens.
13 ‘Horrors of Malformed Men’ (1969)
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 shocking. It follows an amnesiac medical student who escapes a psychiatric hospital and assumes the identity of dead man 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 an ideal community by deforming human beings to be his disturbing followers. With striking imagery, confronting ideas (especially for its time), an eerie, looming mystery, and no small amount of body horror, Horrors of Malformed Men has something that appeals to every fan of horror.
12 ‘Noroi: The Curse’ (2005)
Fans of found-footage style horror need to look no further than Noroi: The Curse. 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 the secrets he left behind.
Seemingly disconnected mysteries that involve strange and creepy events are tied together by the discovery of an old ritual that summons a demon named Kagutaba. Noroi: The Curse‘s grounded approach makes it all the more terrifying.
11 ‘Ringu’ (1998)
Ringu is a cult horror film of legendary status. Its prominence as one of the best horror films to come from Japan has not wavered over the more than two decades since its release. Ringu subjects viewers to a visceral psychological attack that leaves them with an enigmatic and lasting sense of doom.
The story itself is deceptively unassuming; watch a cursed videotape and die a gruesome death seven days later. The masterful way director Hideo Nakata cloaks Ringu in growing dread makes it a superior film. The frightening jump cuts become implanted in your mind, and the metallic screeching will ring in your ears for days after watching.
10 ‘Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman’ (2007)
Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman is based on a malevolent spirit from Japanese folklore known as Kuchisake-Onna who appears as a young woman with a mutilated face, her mouth slit from ear to ear, that sneaks up on her unsuspecting victims in the dark holding a large pair of scissors.
Director Koji Shiraishi’s film is a deft take on this urban legend, twisting it into an eerie commentary on motherhood and abuse. Kuchisake-Onna can force any mother to harm their children, making the film deeply disturbing. This movie combines the aggression of slashers with the eerieness of the supernatural into a terrifically frightening tale.
9 ‘House’ (1977)
The bizarre horror movie that is House is a hyperactive fever dream that takes place in the most deranged haunted houses ever to grace the big screen. Nobuhiko Obayashi’s twisted fairy tale tells the story of seven school girls on a summer trip to an aunt’s remote estate. The fantasy-like beginning takes a turn so grotesque and uncanny that it’s difficult to adequately describe.
House is overflowing with unbelievable scenes: one of its most famous features is a girl being eaten alive by a grand piano. This movie is one of the most inventive and colorful horror movies ever and truly must be seen to be believed.
8 ‘Cure’ (1997)
While it may be more at home as a psychological thriller rather than an outright horror, Cure is still a fantastic film that excels when creeping under the audience’s skin. The crime thriller follows a detective as he grows frustrated while investigating a string of identical murders 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 precursor to the explosion of popularity in Japanese horror around the world in the early 2000s. Its atmospheric tension and dark tone made for an unsettling viewing experience that continues to linger on the audience’s mind long after the credits have rolled.
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7 ‘Perfect Blue’ (1997)
Perfect Blue is a horror movie that was ahead of its time. The film opens when popstar, Mima, announces during a show that she is retiring from singing to pursue an acting career. This news triggers violent fans to turn against the “new Mima” in a frenzied pursuit to maintain the 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 hallucinations of her former self. The core themes of duality, identity, and self-perception in Perfect Blue have become all the more terrifying as technology has advanced and privacy has all but vanished from our lives.
6 ‘Tag’ (2015)
The opening scene of Tag is one of the most shockingly horrific moments in Japanese cinema and is the perfect set-up for the absolute carnage and delirium that follows. A young girl called Mitsuko (Reina Triendl) finds herself battling between alternate realities, each with a unique set of horrors she must face.
There is little room for exposition as audiences are thrust into a never-ending spiral of danger alongside Mitsuko which makes the movie a heart-racing watch. Despite the endless world of horrors seen in Tag, it is the true reality revealed at the very end that is the most terrifying.
5 ‘Uzumaki’ (2000)
Uzumaki is a true oddity of Japanese horror based on a manga of the same name. The film follows a bizarre obsession with spirals that overtakes a small town, leading to a series of morbid and strange deaths. Despite the peculiar premise, the film captures surrealist horror with captivating visuals that leave viewers with an intense feeling of unease.
The feature film was the directorial debut of Higuchinsky, who manages to capture the essence of a live-action manga by overlapping sequences of outlandish morbidity with a unique score. Uzumaki is not as intense as some other films, but it definitely holds its own as an ominous piece of cinematic art.
4 ‘Marebito’ (2004)
Marebito is a haunting portrayal of mental deterioration and loneliness through the perspective of a volatile cameraman (Shinya Tsukamoto) who is seeking to understand the essence of fear. Under the gloomy metropolitan streets, he discovers a race of humanoid creatures reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Mountains of Madness.
The film projects an uneasy sense of voyeurism through its grainy footage, capturing disturbing events of violence and danger in a dark urban landscape. Marebito was directed by Takashi Shimizu, the man behind Ju On: The Grudge, so it’s bound to be a terrifying watch.
3 ‘Onibaba’ (1964)
While Japan has become renowned in recent decades for its horror cinema, it is still arguably the country’s samurai films of the 20th century which remain their most distinct cinematic achievement. Onibaba excelled at meshing the two ideas together, with the historical horror film following a mother and her daughter-in-law as they kill samurai and sell their possessions to survive while their unifying love, Kichi, is at war.
News of Kichi’s death though leads to a divide between the two women, with his widow beginning an affair with a neighbor while his disapproving mother dons the mask of a dead samurai to torment the girl to her will. Despite being almost 60 years old, the film still excels as an intense viewing experience, buoyed by its strikingly beautiful yet harrowing visuals which linger in the mind.
2 ‘Tetsuo: The Iron Man’ (1989)
Tetsuo: The Iron Man stands as one the best body horror movies ever made, comfortably sitting next to genre classics like David Cronenberg‘s The Fly and John Carpenter‘s The Thing. The movie follows the transformation of a salaryman (Tomorô Taguchi) into a metal monster after killing a “Metal Fetishist” (Shinya Tsukamoto) in a hit-and-run.
The film stands out from others in the genre as it focuses on the victim becoming something wholly inorganic. Between the disturbing visuals of metal melding and tearing into flesh and the uncomfortable psycho-sexual overtones, Tetsuo: The Iron Man is bound to keep any horror movie enthusiast awake all night.
1 ‘Ju-On: The Grudge’ (2002)
It’s impossible to talk about the scariest Japanese horror movies without mention of Ju-On: The Grudge. The movie is disconcerting thanks to its non-linear narrative, but viewers can expect to encounter two terrifying restless spirits ready to torment anyone that enters their home.
Everything about the film oozes sheer terror. Ju On: The Grudge draws on horrors from both the real and paranormal since the terrible crimes committed become the cause of the restlessly horrifying supernatural events. The creeping sense of foreboding that builds throughout the movie lingers well after watching.
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