10 Japanese Horror Movies to Watch This Halloween

When it comes to horror, few do it as well as Japan. Giving us such spine-chilling and skin-crawling classics like The Ring and The Grudge, the horror scene in Japan is consistently finding new ways to raise the bar. This Halloween, we dare you to ‘Netflix and Chills’ with these 10 Japanese Horror Movies.

If you’re a fan of the found-footage/documentary style types of horror film in the same vein as the Blair Witch Project, 2005’s Noroi: The Curse should be on your watch list. Veteran Japanese horror director Kōji Shiraishi works the story of a paranormal investigator’s encounter with an entity he couldn’t control.

Following a terrible incident where grisly murders occur, a small crew of filmmakers decides to make it the source of their film. Fraught with the signature slow-build tension that Japanese horror does very well, it’s guaranteed to bring spine-chilling horror.

One-third of the Big 3 of Japanese horror (you’ll find out the other three later!), Dark Water tells the story of a divorced mother, her daughter, and the mysterious circumstances that surround their new apartment. It’s the type of psychological torment and dread that makes Japanese horror so addictive.

This dark double-header of a story comes from the mind of Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Pulse’s story is told with two intertwining narratives that feature the darkness and horror set in the background of the digital age. Its scares don’t come from the outward gore or jumpscares (although there are) but from the continuous build of dread and fear from the story.

Takashi Miike’s Audition in 1999 is a horror film with sexist and misogynist overtones. Focusing on a widower who develops a fake audition in order to find his next lover, things take a grisly turn when the chosen woman reveals to be something unnatural.

Another third of the Japanese Horror Big 3, The Ring tells the story of a cursed video that haunts a group of people with one of film’s iconic villains: Sadako. Its popularity has spawned a series of films and the trend of American remakes of classic Japanese horror films.

Filled to the brim with strikingly disturbing visuals, Higuchinsky’s 2000 horror romp Uzumaki is told in four separate parts. The story follows the mysterious and harrowing tale of a group of people’s struggle against a mysterious corkscrew pattern that seems to haunt them at every possible turn.

Tatsuya Nakashima’s 2010 film Confessions is a subtler, story-driven thriller of a revenge-obsessed teacher whose complex plot to avenge her child’s death starts with a seemingly harmless farewell speech to her students.

The last one of the Japanese Horror Big 3, Ju-on: The Grudge follows the story of a house haunted by the spirits of a murdered family. Its success has inspired the 2004 Hollywood film of the same name and a full series of films that has accompanied that of Sadako and the previously mentioned The Ring.

After seeing the look of genuine fear in the eyes of a man who threatened suicide in front of him, a photographer becomes obsessed with the fear. Seeking, he heads into the maze that is the underground tunnels and areas of the city.

The Country of the Rising Sun is known for pushing boundaries especially in genres as wide as horror. Why not take a trip to Japan to see the latest of Japan’s horror scene if you truly are a terror junkie? Klook your way to Japan and find the best of Halloween tricks and treats.