My hatred for horror movies was born on a typical Saturday night in my grandparents’ living room. I sat quietly in front of the television, watching the ending credits of Titanic scroll past, unfazed by the sadness of its ending, having watched it three times prior. My cousins suggested we watch a scary movie next, and as the youngest, I had no say in the matter. Only two hours later, I would be staring wide-eyed in the dark for fear that Chucky and his freakish bride would burst through the bedroom door to kill me with their little doll hands. A truly horrifying experience for an eight-year-old.
I never thought that a time would come where I willingly watched a horror film, least of all multiple in one week, but something about this Halloween has inspired me to explore what the spooky season has to offer. And that’s how I came to watch, review and rate six of the best anime horror films in history (according to the internet).
6. King of Thorn (2009)
Probably the most confusing movie out of all of them, King of Thorn follows a worldwide outbreak of Medusa, an otherworldly disease that turns people into stone. In response, a private company develops cryo-preserve technology to give humanity hope for the future. Except something goes wrong, and the select patients wake up in a building teeming with flesh-eating monsters.
The best thing about this movie was the characters. The relationships they developed while fighting to survive a literal nightmare come to life added a heartwarming touch to the movie’s admittedly gross concept. Every other aspect of this movie fell short. The soundtrack was severely lacking in terms of building suspense, so it barely felt like a horror movie. The frequent flashbacks were so out of place that each one just added another layer of confusion. Overall, King of Thorn gets 2.5/5 stars.
5. Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack (2012)
By far the most disgusting film, Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack is a true fever dream in which an unknown factor transforms fish into mindless killing machines that smell terribly of rotting flesh.
My initial reaction to the synopsis was that this film would be the most cliché piece of media I had ever consumed. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had a compelling story and a driven main character who I rooted for in the end. This film also featured some overarching themes like the value of human life and worthiness. However, it’s very short, which means the pacing is quite rushed, and the resolution leaves much to be desired. Nonetheless, Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack gets 3/5 stars.
4. Empire of Corpses (2015)
The best way to describe this movie is I, Robot meets Sherlock Holmes meets Frankenstein. Empire of Corpses is set in the 1870s and depicts a capitalist society that has unlocked the key to reanimation and uses this knowledge to create mindless zombies for free labor. The movie follows John Watson, a medical student who embarks on a life-threatening journey to recover the lost notes of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the only person who has succeeded in giving a reanimated corpse a soul.
Just because of the nature of anime, the animation is an important part of what makes it a quality product, and Empire of Corpses has beautiful animation. This seems contradictory because 75 percent of the cast are decaying zombies, but I digress. Animation is the star in this film, but the plot and characters are both interesting. Additionally, this movie was sentimental, and the soundtrack elevated the watching experience. Spookiness is evident because of the mad scientists and zombies, but it’s nothing compared to American horror characterized by deranged serial killers. I rated Empire of Corpses 3.5/5 stars.
3. Blood-C: the last dark (2009)
Up next is Blood-C: The Last Dark. It’s a vampire movie based on an anime TV series of a similar name. In this film, a small group of minors tries to uncover the secret behind monster attacks in their city.
This film is one of my favorites. It has multiple strong female leads, budding romances and familial connections. The film makes great use of cinematic elements that resemble big Hollywood movies. Blood-C effectively uses flashbacks and the soundtrack to create mystery and suspense without leaving the audience reeling with confusion. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoyed Jennifer’s Body or Salt. I rated Blood-C 3.75/5 stars.
2. Paprika (2006)
Sometime in the future, technology has advanced to allow scientists to help psychological patients through their dreams. When this technology falls into the wrong hands, the entire city is put in danger as dreams of patients begin to put the lives of others in danger.
Paprika was a fun movie to watch. The animation style is reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away with absurd and borderline disturbing imagery. I can see why it’s referred to as a horror film, but I felt as if it were a thriller. I felt like a detective trying to guess what would happen next and was pleasantly surprised when the truth was revealed. Paprika gets 4/5 stars.
1. Perfect Blue (1997)
Perfect Blue follows Mima, an ex-idol who sheds her good-girl image in pursuit of an acting career. That’s all I can say without giving anything away.
It is deserving of the top spot on this list. The one bad thing I have to say about this movie is that the ending scene was too short. Other than that, everything was perfect. Satoshi Kon, also the director of Paprika (2006), knew what he was doing. I expected an anime from the late 90s to be lacking good visual aspects, but Perfect Blue proved me wrong. Like Blood-C, it features excellent cinematic elements and experiments with sounds and colors like Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977). I recommend this film to anyone who enjoyed Black Swan. Overall, Perfect Blue receives 4.9/5 stars.
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