When it comes to horror and what people determine to be scary, it’s completely person to person. This simple fact makes this genre so unique in terms of creating stories. But what exactly makes the East Asian Horror Genre so distinctive and terrifying?
Often regarded as one of the scariest sub-genres, East Asian horror movies are truly terrifying masterpieces to behold — and if you think that you don’t know any horror coming from this part of the world, think again. The biggest example that I can give you is that the original Godzilla (1954) from Japan. Or how about The Ring (novel 1991, film 1998). You know that movie with the tapes that if you watch them then you’ll die within seven days and this little girl with long black hair comes crawling out of the tv? Yeah that’s the one, and it is originally from Japan.
But what makes East Asian horror so different from the Western horror that we are used to consuming? Well with Western horror, there tends to be a lot more shock horror, meaning that most of the time the story relies on shock value towards the audience. Basically Western movies usually count on gruesome deaths or more direct terror to scare the audiences. Just look at Friday the 13th and Halloween — you’ll be able to see what I mean. East Asian horror, by contrast, takes a more subtle approach. Instead of using gruesome imagery alone, East Asian horror will combine that with the creepy atmosphere and tension but have the latter to be of primary importance. These stories also tend to have more social commentary than Western horror.
Japanese horror, also referred to as J-Horror, is probably one of the best known horror subgenres. With movies like The Ring and Ju-On:The Grudge (2002) you cannot mistake the impact that the nation has had on horror. Japan tends to focus on psychological horror, suspense, and supernatural elements (specifically ghosts and poltergeists). The film Ju-On:The Grudge uses the supernatural and suspense to create a terrifying, yet unique ghost story with terrifying scenes that have made a lasting impact on J-Horror. Based on the novel by the same name, the film Battle Royale (2000) is a dystopian horror-action that revolves around middle school students who are forced by the Japanese government to compete in a death game between each other, with only the winner (and lone survivor) being allowed to walk out alive.
Korean horror is another subgenre that has gained a lot of popularity, especially in recent years. A theme that is prevalent in South Korean horror is that of revenge. It is said that the desire to create and consume stories about revenge is usually explained as a result of social anger built up in the nation by its turbulent history. A movie that draws on the revenge theme is I Saw the Devil (2010), as the main character seeks revenge after his fiancee is murdered by a serial killer. The movie ends with the main character realizing that he lost his morals and ethics along the way, making him think that he is no better than the person that killed his fiancee. Some of Korea’s biggest horror films are A Tale of Two Sisters and Train to Busan. The movie, A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), is the highest-grossing Korean horror film to date and was the first to be screened in the United States. The movie is inspired by a folktale from the Joseon Dynasty era called Janghwa Hongryeon jeon. Probably the most household name, Train to Busan (2016), is set during a zombie apocalypse with the main characters on a high-speed train from Seoul to Busan.
Thai horror, even though it is technically classified as Southeast Asian horror, is probably one of my favorites. I recently watched School Tales: The Series (2022) and The Whole Truth (2021), and immediately fell in love with the storytelling, the use of folktales, and the plot twists. Oh the plot twists will make your head spin and your jaw drop! The show School Tales: The Series is an anthology, which is a collection of short stories, has eight episodes that all follow different characters and different plots, but they all take place at a school. With tons of social commentary coupled with gruesome imagery, the show hits home in a lot of emotional ways. As a movie, The Whole Truth will leave you on the edge of your seat till the very end, because just when you think all has been revealed another secret comes to light. This film relies more on suspense than anything, but the build up to the reveal is insane. This is definitely going to go down as one of my favorite movies of all time.