25 Best Asian Horror Movies of All Time You Need to Watch
Asian countries are popular for some of the best horror movies of all time. It is no wonder then, that Hollywood often pulls inspiration right from South Korean, Japanese, and other Asian country movies. In this article, we are bringing you the best Asian horror movies you can watch now.
Most of the movies on this list are either from South Korea, or Japan, but we do have a few more horror surprises from other Asian countries, so check them out below.
A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) – South Korea
Anne Frank and her family moved to Amsterdam in 1933, after the uprising of the Nazi party. Five years later, in 1938, Eva Schloss remembers the Nazi march on Austria, and the escape of her family, who moved to Amsterdam the same year. They discovered that they were in the same part of town as Anne and her family.
Although Anne and Eva moved in different circles, they were united by the common experience of being relocated due to the Nazis. Jackie Bouvier was a bright child who grew up in a prominent family in New York.
Her younger sister Lee kept imitating her, as younger sisters usually do. As they grew up, a rivalry developed between them, but the divorce of their parents brought them closer than ever.
Ringu (1998) – Japan
After her niece Tomoko (Y. Takeuchi) died under unexplained circumstances, journalist Reiko (N. Matsushima) visits the grieving family and learns that the girl’s death is connected to the deaths of her peers. Investigating what it is about, Reiko comes across a mysterious videotape that Tomoko watched just before her death.
After watching a short film with seemingly unrelated frames on tape, Reiko receives a phone call announcing her imminent death. Teaming up with her ex-husband Ryuji (H. Sanada), Reiko embarks on a desperate fight against time to solve the mystery, but also to save the life of her little son Yoichi (R. Otaka), who also watched the ill-fated film.
Dark Water (2002) – Japan
Yoshimi Matsubara (H. Kuroki) is a middle-aged woman who has just ended her marriage with an abusive husband through a painful divorce. He is trying to start a new life with his five-year-old daughter Ikuko (R. Kanno).
However, no system is favorable to an unemployed single mother whose medical records record the psychological consequences of an unhappy childhood and a frustrating marital experience. Faced with insurmountable difficulties, Yoshimi loses his mental balance more and more often and begins to communicate with the spirit world.
Inexplicable events are happening more and more often in her apartment in a dilapidated rental building, and a little girl in a yellow dress starts following her. Her condition is noticed by potential employers as well as the staff of the kindergarten where Ikuko stays while her mother is looking for a job. The circle closes again…
Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) – Japan
A harmonious and modest villa, of which there are countless in the more affluent suburbs of Japanese cities, hides a terrible secret behind its innocent facade. The powerful forces of evil that once upon a time, due to a combination of circumstances, inhabited its simple interior destroy all living things that come near them.
The spirits of the possessed roam the rooms of the haunted building, spreading darkness and death. Can anyone disable them and defeat them? Can anyone who has walked through her front door be saved?
The Call (2020) – South Korea
Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator, but when she misjudges a situation and messes up, she’s not sure if she can keep the job. But then the teenager Casey Welson will be kidnapped by an unknown man, and the girl will manage to call 911 and get Jordan. It is up to the experienced employee to properly assess the situation and do everything to save the girl and bring the kidnapper to justice.
The Wailing (2016) – South Korea
Incompetent police officer Jong-gu faces the most difficult challenge of his career when he is forced to uncover the truth behind a series of bloody murders that occurred in a remote village in South Korea.
He faces an extremely difficult task because the crimes have no meaning or motive. The only thing that connects them is the unusual behavior of the killers. Can Jong-gu discover the truth before the epidemic of violence spreads?
Train to Busan (2016) – South Korea
As a terrifying virus spreads across South Korea, turning victims into flesh-hungry zombies, a group of passengers tries to survive on a train traveling from Seoul to Busan.
The Medium (2021) – Thai/South Korea
A horrifying story of a shaman’s inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. But the goddess that appears to have taken possession of a family member turns out not be as benevolent as it first appears.
#Alive (2020) – South Korea
The rapid spread of an unknown infection has left an entire city in ungovernable chaos, but one survivor remains alive in isolation. It is his story.
Cold Fish (2010) – Japan
Nobuyuki Shamoto is the quiet and unambitious owner of a Shizuoka shop specializing in selling tropical fish. His home life leaves much to be desired, as his daughter Mitsuko is rebellious and physically abuses her stepmother Taeko, his second wife. One night Nobuyuki is summoned when Mitsuko is caught shoplifting at a local supermarket.
Yukio Murata, a patron at the supermarket, persuades the manager to drop the matter and invites Nobuyuki to visit his own, larger tropical fish shop. During an impromptu tour of Yukio’s shop, Nobuyuki meets his wife, Aiko. Stating that fate brought the two men together, the gregarious Yukio convinces Nobuyuki to go into business with him. Yukio also takes on Mitsuko as a worker in his shop.
The Closet (2020) – South Korea
The film is about a man who grows apart from his daughter following the death of his wife, and an exorcist who helps the man and his daughter. After Sang-Won’s daughter Yi-Na goes missing in their new home, a mysterious man approaches him and tells him to look for her in the closet.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018) – South Korea
Based on a real-life psychiatric hospital of the same name, the narrative centers around a horror web series crew that travels to an abandoned asylum for a live broadcast in order to garner views and publicity.
The Mimic (2017) – South Korea
The Jangsan Tiger, who mimics human voices to lure them close, encounters a family affected by the creature.
Monstrum (2018) – South Korea
Set in 1527 during King Jungjong’s reign where plague is spreading in Joseon and rumors are rife that a mysterious vicious creature called “Monstrum” is roaming around the country.
The Wrath (2018) – South Korea
Set during the Joseon Era, the story follows two Joseon women against each other when a tragedy befalls a family of three sons who all die on their wedding day.
Rampant (2018) – South Korea
Lee Chung is a Prince of Joseon, but he has been taken hostage by the Qing Dynasty. He enjoys boozing, womanizing, and gambling. He is also an excellent swordsman. His older brother Lee Young will succeed to the throne and brings Lee Chung to Joseon. He returns after more than 10 years. Soon, Lee Chung faces monsters that run rampant in the night.
I Saw the Devil (2010) – South Korea
Jank Kyung Chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for human flesh. His victims vary from young women to even children. The police have been hunting him for a long time. Soon he will kill the daughter of a retired policeman.
Her fiance is a police agent who will do anything to find the killer. He decides to prepare fierce revenge for the inhuman killer. Even if he became a monster like him.
Eerie (2018) – Philippine
The unexpected and gruesome death of a student threatens the existence of an old Catholic school for girls. Pat Consolacion is the school guidance counselor who involves herself with the students to help them cope. She also helps uncover the mysteries of the student’s death. Most students suspect it is the strict and borderline abusive Mother Alice.
This is because she also threatened Pat’s tenure in the school because of her continuous meddling with the case. But Pat’s unusual talents lead her to know Eri, a former student who has been watching the whole school for years. Pat uncovers the secret of the school and the monster that it nurtured for the past century.
The Divine Fury (2019) – South Korea
After losing his father at a young age in a terrible accident, Yong-hu (Park) abandons his Christian faith and chooses to only believe in himself. Now as an adult, Yong-hu is a champion fighter and has everything he has ever wanted, that is until mysterious wounds appear in the palms of his hands.
He solicits help from a local priest Father Ahn (Ahn), hoping the priest can help relieve him of the painful markings only to find himself in the middle of a dangerous fight against otherworldly evil forces seeking to wreak havoc on the human world.
Shutter (2004) – Thai
Upon returning from dinner, Tun and Jane run into a young girl in their car, who remains motionless on the road after being hit. In the midst of panic, they flee the scene of the accident.
After a few days, Tun takes pictures of the school celebration, and in the developed pictures he sees strange flashes, and eventually the face of a run-over girl. Little by little, strange things begin to happen around him and the girls, culminating in the suicides of his closest friends.
The Host (2006) – South Korea
In February 2000, toxic chemicals were released into the Han River from a US military base in South Korea. Six years later, a monstrous fish reptile emerges from the river and begins attacking the residents of Seoul.
The monster grabs the little girl Hyun-seo and takes her with him to the river, and her father, other members of his family and other citizens who came into contact with the monster end up in quarantine. Gang-du receives a cell phone call from his daughter, who informs him that she survived the monster attack and is in the city sewers. Since the authorities don’t believe him, thinking it’s an illusion of a pain-stricken father, Gang-du and the rest of the family escape from quarantine to save Hyun-seo.
May the Devil Take You (2018) – Indonesia
The story follows Alfie (Chelsea Islan) who, when trying to find answers to her father’s (Ray Sahetapy) mysterious illness, visits his old house and finds out events from his past.
Thirst (2009) – South Korea
Sang-hyun is a priest on duty at the local hospital. He goes to Africa to test if he has found a cure for the disease caused by the Emmanuel virus. But soon he gets infected and dies. He will soon return to this world as a vampire.
Returning home, he becomes a hero and people believe that he performs miracles. Then he starts an affair with his old friend’s wife. She wants to kill her husband and drag Sang-hyun into her intrigues.
Dumplings (2004) – Hong Kong
Aunt Mei’s famous homemade dumplings provide amazing age-defying qualities popular with middle-aged women. But her latest customer – a fading actress – is determined to find out what the secret ingredient is.
Tag (2015) – Japan
Female highs school students, including Mitsuko (Reina Triendl), Keiko (Mariko Shinoda) and Izumi (Erina Mano), become the targets of ghosts with various appearances including a groom with a pig’s face and a female teacher with a machine gun.
