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Old 10-01-2014, 01:50 PM
ChronoGrl's Avatar
ChronoGrl ChronoGrl is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Waltham, MA
Posts: 8,566
Hey Mett - Here are my favorites - It's a fairly exhaustive list BUT does have some gaps in terms of stuff that I still need to see. I'm going to try to organize them a bit... BTW - I think that all of these are pre-2010 for the most part.


Ghost Flicks - I really love Asian supernatural films - The fact that the ghosts are a) Corporeal and b) Mostly out for revenge just simply unnerve me. Here's my list of favorites, sort of in descending order:
  • Ringu
  • Ju-On
  • Dark Water
  • Pulse
  • Rinne
  • Shutter
  • The Maid
  • One Missed Call (not amazing but not bad - This can also fall under "Miike" - see below)
  • Tale of Two Sisters (not my favorite because I didn't like the end BUT I know a lot of people who swear by it)
  • The Eye (also not my favorite but a lot of other people like it so if you're binging on Asian ghosts, I say include it)


Anthologies - These were actually good introductions to some of the popular Asian horror directors, I like the first one in particular but both are worth a watch:
  • Three... Extremes
  • Three... Extremes II


Chan-wook Park - At times I refer to him as my absolute favorite director. I consider "The Vengeance Trilogy" probably the best trilogy I've ever seen; it's a meditation on revenge and how revenge alters who you are.
  • Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
  • Oldboy
  • Lady Vengeance
  • Stoker (English language, yes, but worthy of note because it is a legitimately creepy film)
  • Thirst - Ahh, then there's Thirst. I wanted to like it a LOT more than I did but found it boring. If you're interested in his directorial style, however and want to see his take on the vampire mythos, I say check it out.


Takashi Miike - So, a discussion about Asian horror flicks can't be complete without the mention of Takashi Miike. He reminds me a LOT of David Lynch... But bloodier and a lot more disturbing (depending on the film) - The only one of his movies that I can broadly recommend is Audition but you should probably check out the other ones too if you want to get a taste of what might be considered "extreme" Asian cinema:
  • Audition (I think this was really my foray into Asian horror - It's incredibly bizarre and then incredibly violent, culminating into a now iconic scene. This is a must-see)
  • "Imprint" - A short he did for Masters of Horror
  • Ichi the Killer - It's been a while since I've seen this one and I should probably check it out again
  • Visitor Q - Not horror but definitely challenging - Will always be on my "top most disturbing movies I've ever seen" list
  • Gozu - I remember liking this movie but it's been a very very long time since I've seen it. Very bizarre and Lynch-like if I recall...


Not sure how these fit into the categories above, but here are some other favorites:
  • I Saw the Devil - I really love this horrifyingly gritty revenge flick. Plus my Korean boyfriend is in it. Same director did A Tale of Two Sisters and Chaser (which I desperately need to see).
  • The Host - Brilliant giant monster flick with humor and legitimately tense moments. Same director as Snowpiercer (which I loved), and Mother (which I haven't seen but heard is great)
  • Battle Royale - Eat your heart, Hunger Games! Drop everything and read the novel and then watch the movie. This movie also informed my love for Asian horror.
  • Tokyo Gore Police - My foray into splatterpunk. Gross, disgusting fun.
  • Art of the Devil II - Surprisingly creepy messed up little film



Asian horror that I haven't seen but I've heard great things about:
  • Chaser
  • House
  • Kwaidan




I'm sure there's much more but that should be enough to get you started.
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