5 of 6

Write now Article Tools

Japanese horror movies have always attracted many movie viewers from around the world with its unique story telling and its ability to build tension within it films. Though in the other spectrum they have created many violent and gory films to cater to all kinds of horror movie enthusiasts, these are some reasons why the Western audience has grown to enjoy these films which has shown in the remakes of some of those Japanese films.

There have been many great Japanese horror movies over the years, ranging from Kwaidan in the 1960s to the recent movies such as Audition and Ringu. In this list of the best Japanese horror movies they all have a distinct feature that has made them memorable.

Kwaidan
One of the earlier examples of the slow pacing and tension building horror film, Kwaidan was able to showcase what the Japanese film industry had to offer and created such an abnormal experience that was lacking in the 1960's. This movie is divided into four stories which are based on Japanese folktales; these four stories have a distinct characteristic of being visually beautiful, which could be compared to the kabuki plays. The aspect of building tension without the shock and horror that is usually shown in the horror movies is very well made, with Kobayashi being able to make the movie eerily scary.

Guinea Pig Series: Flower of Flesh and Blood
This movie is one of the most controversial that has come from Japan and has been banned in many countries. Hideshi Hibino was able to create a movie that showcased the extremes of violence, with the story revolving around one man mutilating a captive girl in many different ways. The premise might be crude but the effects used to display the act were well made for the 80s and somewhat akin to a smut film.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Tetsuo has been one of those films that showed the transformation of a human into a metal life form, which has been shown in such Western films as Videodrome as well. The premise of this film is how the main character starts evolving into something made of metal, after the initial incident of him accidentally killing the Metal Fetishist' man. It might not sound horrifying but the visuals in the film were able to show the slow transformation in a grotesque manner, including the infamous sex scene where his sexual organs becomes a power drill is one of those examples.

Ringu
Ringu has been a prime example of the subtleness and psychological factor that has been a staple in Japanese horror of the past few years. With

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Best Japanese horror movies?
We want to hear your view. Write now!