My Favorite Asian Horror Films
by gtoxmethod | created - 23 May 2012 | updated - 23 May 2012 | PublicNOTE: 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.
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1. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
R | 114 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
After 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.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lim Soo-jung, Yum Jung-ah, Kim Kap-su, Moon Geun-young
Votes: 68,251
The epitome of stylishly drawn out family dysfunction. Cue the girl ghost.
2. Ichi the Killer (2001)
R | 129 min | Action, Crime, Drama
As 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.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Nao Ômori, Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Paulyn Sun
Votes: 60,028 | Gross: $0.02M
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.
3. Witch Board: Bunshinsaba (2004)
R | 120 min | Horror, Thriller
A 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.
Director: Byeong-ki Ahn | Stars: Kim Gyu-ri, Se-eun Lee, Lee Yu-ri, Seong-min Choi
Votes: 1,561
(AKA: "Bushinsaba") A ghost story within a town mystery that is perpetuated by a teenage "ghost conjuring" game.
4. Shutter (II) (2004)
Not Rated | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A 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.
Directors: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom | Stars: Ananda Everingham, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee, Achita Sikamana, Unnop Chanpaibool
Votes: 49,135
A gem from Thailand that involves "ghost pictures" and a photographer's dark secret.
5. Dream Home (2010)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror
Cheng 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.
Director: Ho-Cheung Pang | Stars: Josie Ho, Ching Wong, Helen To, Man Jan San
Votes: 5,891
(AKA: "Dream Home") This Chinese gore-fest poses the question, "How far will you go to be queen of your castle?"
6. Wishing Stairs (2003)
R | 100 min | Horror, Drama
A 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.
Director: Jae-yeon Yun | Stars: Song Ji-Hyo, Park Han-byeol, Jo An, Park Ji-yeon
Votes: 3,308
Third installment of the many Korean "schoolgirl exploitation" movies is based on an urban legend of stairs that grants wishes. For a price.
7. Perfect Blue (1997)
R | 81 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura
Votes: 95,329 | Gross: $0.78M
A Hitchcock-esque tale of an aspiring actress and a deranged fan. All isn't what it seems.
8. The Chaser (2008)
Not Rated | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
Director: Na Hong-jin | Stars: Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Yeong-hie, Kim Yoo-jung
Votes: 72,738
A Korean murder-mystery with plenty of fast-paced detective work by an unlikely pimp-cabbie, a serial killer, and plenty of stylized gore.
9. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A 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.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 89,191
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.
10. Dorm (2006)
110 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Every dorm has a tale. But this tale, you will never forget.
Director: Songyos Sugmakanan | Stars: Charlie Trairat, Chintara Sukapatana, Sirachuch Chienthaworn, Pakasit Pantural
Votes: 2,185
A Thai coming of age ghost story that takes place in a all boys dormitory. Think "Devil's Backbone" and "Stand By Me".
11. Alone (I) (2007)
105 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Deceased Siamese twin returns to haunt surviving sister
Directors: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom | Stars: Marsha Wattanapanich, Vittaya Wasukraipaisan, Rachanu Boonchuduang, Hatairat Egereff
Votes: 5,763
Give it to Thailand to make a horror film about Siamese twins and make it spooky as hell!
12. Arang (2006)
Not Rated | 97 min | Horror, Thriller
Veteran 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.
Director: Sang-hoon Ahn | Stars: So-yeong Choo, Lee Dong-wook, Lim Il-Gyu, Lee Jong-su
Votes: 1,861
Based on a famous Korean legend of a vengeful ghost that needs to be stopped.
13. Dead Friend (2004)
Not Rated | 98 min | Horror
A 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.
Director: Tae-kyeong Kim | Stars: Kim Ha-neul, Nam Sang-mi, Jeon Hye-bin, Yi Shin
Votes: 2,064
(AKA: "The Ghost" or "Ryung") Another Korean "schoolgirl exploitation" story with a vengeful ghost and a very confusing end twist.
14. Acacia (2003)
R | 103 min | Horror, Thriller
After 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 ... See full summary »
Director: Ki-hyeong Park | Stars: Shim Hye-jin, Jin-geun Kim, Oh-bin Mun, Na-yoon Jeong
Votes: 2,065
This is a highly artistic story about a couple who want children and the boy peculiarly drawn to a haunting tree.
15. One Missed Call (2003)
R | 112 min | Horror, Mystery
People mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, foretelling their deaths.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Kô Shibasaki, Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Kazue Fukiishi, Anna Nagata
Votes: 19,306
(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.
16. One Missed Call 2 (2005)
R | 105 min | Horror, Mystery
A 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?
Director: Renpei Tsukamoto | Stars: Rie Mimura, Hisashi Yoshizawa, Chisun, Asaka Seto
Votes: 3,627
(AKA: "One Missed Call 2") Though not directed by Miike and is a sequel, this movie can stand alone in the scares.
17. Saimin (1999)
110 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Three 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 ... See full summary »
Director: Masayuki Ochiai | Stars: Gorô Inagaki, Miho Kanno, Takeshi Masu, Ken Utsui
Votes: 735
(AKA: "Hypnotist" or "Hypnosis") Another Hitchcock-esque story of a hypnotist who is apparently causing suicides, but is that really the case?
18. Pulse (2001)
R | 119 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Two groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Haruhiko Katô, Kumiko Asô, Koyuki, Kurume Arisaka
Votes: 25,572 | Gross: $0.05M
(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.
19. Bloody Reunion (2006)
Not Rated | 93 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Buried grudges have disasterous consequences for a class reunion in this unapologetically bloody film from Korean director Dae-wung Lim.
Director: Dae-wung Lim | Stars: Lee Dong-kyu, Seong-won Jang, Seol-ah Yu, Oh Mi-hee
Votes: 2,622
(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...
20. Phii khon pen (2006)
Not Rated | 108 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Ting, 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 ... See full summary »
Director: Monthon Arayangkoon | Stars: Pitchanart Sakakorn, Apasiri Nitibhon, Penpak Sirikul, Chokchai Charoensuk
Votes: 731
A fun, shock-a-minute Thai film about a reluctant actress hired to reenact death scenes - a taboo in their culture, for obvious reasons.
21. The Eye (2002)
R | 99 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
A 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.
Directors: Danny Pang, Oxide Chun Pang | Stars: Angelica Lee, Chutcha Rujinanon, Lawrence Chou, Jinda Duangtoy
Votes: 30,069 | Gross: $0.51M
The Pang brothers original about a girl who gains her sight through an operation, but finds out it isn't all that great.
22. Apartment 1303 (2007)
Not Rated | 94 min | Horror
A modern ghost story which turns a love hate relationship between mother and daughter into a tale of horror.
Director: Ataru Oikawa | Stars: Noriko Nakagoshi, Arata Furuta, Eriko Hatsune, Yuka Itaya
Votes: 1,943
A haunted apartment or a vengeful ghost? Or both?
23. Cello (2005)
Not Rated | 94 min | Horror, Mystery
A cellist is haunted by strange events after a car wreck
Director: Lee Woo-cheol | Stars: Sung Hyun-ah, Da-an Park, Jeong Ho-bin, Jin Woo
Votes: 2,773
A young, beautiful cellist is seeing a girl ghost after a terrible car accident. But what's haunting who here?
24. Onibaba (1964)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Two 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.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô, Jûkichi Uno
Votes: 21,845
A black/white art house film set in feudal Japan concerning an evil mask.
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