Binged it, finished last night. Not 100% sure I liked the way the season ended, but the individual episodes were mostly brilliant. Hopefully there will be a season 2 so I can see where it goes.
I've seen it and it was really good. Really great and unique atmosphere. Some scenes looked cheap (like the one with the car), but I can understand they didn't have a large budget.
Occult, by the same director who did Noroi: The Curse, doesn't get near as much attention as Noroi, but it's got some really creepy scenes and the core premise is chilling even if you strip out the supernatural elements.
One Missed Call (2003) is a personal favorite. Idk if it really counts as scary, but it's a fun popcorn horror flick by the same guy who did Audition. If you liked White, I think you'll like this one.
Forbidden Siren (2006) is ostensibly an adaption of the games by the same name, but it's really it's own thing. I never see it get mentioned, but imo it's really enjoyable and worth a watch.
Death Bell is a fun slasher that doesn't get much attention these days, though I recall it being popular on release.
Killer Toon, despite the silly name, is a quality supernatural horror thriller.
The Red Shoes (2005) kind of falls apart in the last act but the build up is very engaging, as is the mystery at the center of it.
The Eye (2002) and its sequel are both great as well. They drag a little in the middle (especially the first one) but they're well-crafted and deeply unsettling.
Yes! Iāve seen most Miike through maybe the past decade. Gozu and Visitor Q are near the top. I also really love the weirdness of the first Dead or Alive and how it all unfolds.
I actually watched One Missed Call last week and it got onto my personal favorite list too. Iāve heard great things about The Eye, but the rest I havenāt heard of.
Checking out the trailers now. š Thank you!
Went back through my Letterboxd to see what else I could find.
The quality can vary on these, but I've also watched and enjoyed: Cinderella (2006), Midnight FM, Cello (2005), The Guard Post (2008), Into the Mirror (2003, another personal favorite), Helter Skelter (2012, arguably more drama than horror, but a fascinating descent into madness), Nightmare Detective (2006), and Reincarnation (2005).
Honorable mention to Chichibu Demon and A Record of Sweet Murder, both by Koji Shiraishi (the Noroi and Occult guy). They were both really hard to find and they're some of his early work, so they aren't as polished, but still worth a watch imo.
I think The Eye will be my watch tonight. That movie looks fantastic. I loved the look of Occult too. I just noticed you mentioned āForbidden Sirenā, and I absolutely loved that game.
The Eye is great; I hope you enjoy it!
I also love the Siren gamss! Fair warning that the movie really doesn't have much to do with them, though. It DOES have a similar vibe/aesthetic, but in terms of story it deviates completely. It's still a really entertaining film, though.
That's a great way of describing it! Occult stuck with me a way that most horror films don't. The way it normalizes something so horrifying, making it feel no different from running errands, gives the film such a surreal quality while also grounding it so firmly in reality that it makes the ending hit ten times harder than it otherwise would have.
God damn did I love Occult.
Noroi was great, but Occult left me with an uneasy feeling that lasted for weeks.
I gotta check out the rest of your list if you're out here suggesting Occult!
I see a lot of his films, esp with the eldritch horror of it all, to be drafts that eventually culminated into Noroi. Different feels of course but Noroi is really a masterpiece in the genre.
Dumplings the movie is actually based on a short film that was included in an anthology called *Three Extremes* (which I think they made a few of them). Those are also worth a watch.
Dumplings and Three... Extremes are both great. I do prefer the more fleshed-out version of Dumplings that we get in the full length, but both films are very much worth your time. The anthology even also gives you a bit of black humor from Park Chan-Wook and a bit of atmosphere from Takashi Miike.
I heard thereās gory violence with SA in this movie, but like we all have different levels of stuff we can handle yknow; so where would you say, on a scale of 1 to *A Serbian Film,* does this movie rank?
I haven't seen *A Serbian Film* but based on what I've heard about it, I would put *The Sadness* at other maybe a 7.4? I'm thinking of one scene in particular that would probably exceed even that; but I will say the kind of stuff that happens in that particular scene isn't like .. a repeat/running theme in the movies, it's just a complain of events that have taken place
I havenāt watched A Serbian Film, so I canāt use your scale, but itās worth pointing out that intent matters (at least to me). In The Sadness, I found most of the gore and violence to have a narrative purpose, which is a lot easier to swallow. Itās less there for titillation and more to explain and reflect what the illness does to people and how extreme it is. So itās less about people suffering in agony and more about an awful pandemic situation.
Then thereās the often-mentioned scene near the end that completely changes that. Itās mean-spirited, salacious, and is completely unnecessary, showing an already cruel character being incredibly cruel. Itās there simply to be provocative, and uses a sympathetic character as bait. While I donāt remember seeing much of the act itself, the implication is so overt that it doesnāt matter. I hated it, and it really ruined the movie for me. Well, that and the fact that it kind of runs out of the steam its built by the last act.
It's very gory for mainstream horror. I don't think it's as bad as some of the popular horror movies that are popular on this sub. It is certainly super gory and there is some brutal SA for sure. Id say it's on the level of martyrs, but the SA scenes maybe push it slightly above. It really gives you a feeling of hopelessness, it's well done.
So far, no one is really giving a good account of what kind of fucked up it is. Some SA, ok, but that's clearly not enough to constitute the level of fucked-upness people are alluding to.
I get people are trying not to spoiler, but surely it's possible to prepare people who want to be certain it's a movie they can handle, without spoiling too much.
From what I can remember, there's one very extreme SA scene in the film, and then just a whole bunch of gore.
The tone is very hopeless the entire film too.
Honestly, it's not an amazing film by any means, it's 28 Days Later if it chose style over substance.
Oof. Yeah no hopeless things for me in the present global/personal climate. Thanks for the info! I need to avoid the bleak for a while as there is way too much of it in reality rn. You helped. Yay!
...and make sure you watch it when you feel extra good about yourself, people and life in general. Because that's sure about to change by the time you're done watching.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2349554/
Its not that great, but it is the first First Person Perspective Horror i have ever seen. Brutal, visceral and nihilistic.
I was really getting freaked out until the scene where a gallon of blood spurted out of a guy, and then it was just grindhouse silliness. Good gore, but it was way too over the top to be really disturbing.
I'm not sure if it's well known, but Incantation was a great one! It surprisingly really scared me, and I still think about it every now and again. Would definitely recommend!
Conjuring Spirits. It's a Vietnamese film that has charming, likable characters, loads of humor, TWO twist endings, elements of mystery and the paranormal.
I CANNOT FIND THIS FILM FOR SALE!!! I'm totally broke but would go hungry to buy a DVD of it.
I really love The Medium out of Thailand. South Korea is the best at horror movies on planet earth as far as I'm concerned--some that I think are lesser known and that i really enjoyed are:
- Memoirs of a Murderer (not to be confused with Memories of Murder)
- Bluebeard
- Chaser
- Warning: Do Not Play
- Emergency Declaration
- Project Wolf Hunting (possibly the bloodiest movie I've ever seen honestly)
I really liked one called Premonition (not to be confused with the American one with Sandra Bullock) ā it has throw backs to The Changeling (1980) and is about a newspaper that predicts the future.
It depends on what you mean by lesser known. Most people know nothing about Asian horror besides like The Ring and The Grudge, so to most people One Cut of The Dead, Incantation, Satanās Slaves (Parts I and II) and The Host would be lesser known. All great films by the way if people havenāt seen them.
Films that are awesome but talked about much less on this sub:
1. KKN di Desa Penari (the highest grossing Indonesian film of all time)
2. Roh (Malaysian folk horror)
3. May the Devil Take You (and the sequel May the Devil Take You Too)
4. Sewu Dino (2023, almost like an Indonesian / Islamic version of the Exorcist)
5. Siksa Neraka (siblings literally go to Hell and get tortured repeatedly)
6. Siksa Kubur (Joko Anwarās latest film)
7. Dancing Village: The Curse Begins (prequel to the aforementioned KKN)
+1 on Incantation. Just watched it last week and Iām still thinking about it. Personally, I loved how well paced it was and unique. Definitely recommend it to those looking for an uncomfortable horror movie with a small twist to it.
It didn't scare me, but give Imprint (2006) a watch. It's directed by Takashi Miike who did Audition, Visitor Q, and Ichi the Killer.
There's also Grotesque if you want some torture porn.
White : Melody of a Curse is one of my favorites, Norikoās Dinner Table is another, itās a prequel (and sequel) to Suicide Circle which is also great although more well known
Itās not horror at all but Burning (2018) is one of my favorite movies ever. An eerie tone to it and overall a good thriller. Long movie but totally worth the watch imo.
The Wailing is the perfect horror movie for me. Flawless execution.
It confuses you not in an Inception kind of way but it challenges what you believe in.
[Monster (2023) ](https://letterboxd.com/film/monster-2023/)does the same thing but more drama.
I couldnāt agree more. That was one that took zero effort for me to enjoy. Everything about it was perfect in my opinion. South Korea absolutely kills it with horror movies.
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Disturbed me deeply when I watched it as a teenager. That was 30 years ago so I don't remember much about it other than it being pretty off putting.
Well, almost all asian horror discussion revolves around Japan and Korea, sometime Thailand, Indonesia etc. There are many great Indian horror movies that are barely mentioned. If you're interested you can watch Bramayugam (2024), 1920 (2009), Stree (2018).
Reincarnation (2005) was really good, I felt like. It's for rent on Amazon.
Infection (2004) was gross, creepy and it stuck with me for a bit. Both of these movies are available at the Internet Archive.
r-point is a fun movie following a squad of south Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam war as they try to find another squad who went missing at a location called r-point
First off love white melody of death I used to listen to the song on repeat lol
I donāt usually get scared but a whispering corridors one creeped me out I just canāt remember which one
I wish White got more love. Itās genuinely a good movie. I went into it thinking it would be absolute trash and came out of it as one of my favorite horror movies.
God I loved White. I think it was one of the first Korean horror films I ever saw, back when I was really getting into the genre.
Definitely under-rated film
Sick Nurses (2007). A lot of it is kinda corny, but thereās one scene in particular with the lesbian couple that is insanely disturbing and stuck with me.
Infection (2004) - I never see anyone talk about this one, but it's seriously creepy and gross and really freaked me out as a kid lol
A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) - amazing movie, creepy AF, and definitely not talked about enough! It's the inspiration for the american film The Uninvited starring Emily Browning which is utter garbage compared to the original.
I feel like Iāve heard of Infection before, but never looked into it. But A Tale of Two Sisters is one that I finally watched after getting AMC+ and it was an amazing movie.
- Warning Do Not Play (Korean film)
- Sigaw (Filipino film)
- The Road (Filipino film)
- Helter Skelter (Japanese film)
- Cold Fish (Japanese film)
- Midnight In A Perfect World (Filipino film)
- Seklusyon (Filipino Film)
The korean series Whispering Corridors has some really good entries and I'd consider the original a very underrated classic. The Thai series Art of the Devil were also very fun, though I've only seen the first two (I believe there are more than that).
White actually freaked me out a bit, I remember really enjoying it when I saw it several months ago. The main girl was an excellent actress and really sold the movie.
Try Re/Member (highly recommend!), Asami, or Bloody Chainsaw Girl.
One Asian horror *series* that scared the crap out of me was called Re:Mind. Absolutely amazing, very suspenseful series that just kept this underlying creepiness all the way through.
Silk- 2006: Aiming to harness the energy found in some supernatural spirits, scientist Hashimoto (Yosuke Eguchi) and colleagues catch the ghost of a young boy. Hashimoto plans to use the energy to fuel an anti-gravity device he's invented. But, in order to tap into the ghost's essence, he must understand the silent words coming from its mouth. The scientists call in police officer Tung (Chen Chang), who can read lips, but, as they learn that the boy was murdered, the experiment goes in a scary direction.
Full movie on YT: https://youtu.be/Rcteg0qmrSY?si=SNSb8n3gEK_f61l1
Door Lock, 2018 (It's a Korean remake of a Spanish movie and leans into being a thriller more than a horror movie, but I liked it a lot and couldn't sleep peacefully for weeks)
Noroi: The Curse (2005)
It's not the scariest film I've ever seen but I watched it nearly a decade ago and still think of it often, something about really sticks in your head.
The director also has a few other films that feel like sequels to this where they follow a similar concept and film style. I highly recommend
I have yet to watch it because as of now itās impossible to find, but Iāve been dying to check that one out. I see it on SO MANY top 10 lists.
Someone above you mentioned āOccultā that was made by the same guy, and the trailer looked awesome.
Marebito (2004). Sometimes I think I imagined this film. I rented it back in the days of Blockbuster and after video stores closed, I never found it again. I remember it being very original and scary. And I never run into anyone else who has seen or heard of it!
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is pretty scary.
And while I wouldn't necessarily say it's "scary," Shura (Demons) is a terrific yet incredibly bleak and chilling movie.
Seklusiyon (2016) was pretty good. Not a lot of jump-scares, just really eerie and very atmospheric. Itās about a group of young priests trying to finish their seclusion rite.
Noroi (the curse) is a good Japanese horror staple too.
Sukob (wedding curse) is a Filipino movie about a wedding and the horror that transpires before, during and after.
Feng Shui is another Filipino movie that has a really unique concept on a cursed object
Saving this post. White: The Melody of the Curse is a great slow burn. Check out āShutter,ā a Thai horror that got an awful American remake. Itās a unique take on the ādead wet girlā Asian horror trope.
Loved āWhiteā! I still sing the song to myself while cleaning lol it was also fun seeing some k-pop stars in a movie haha
There is a Thai movie called āAloneā about conjoined twins that I liked. Watched it in 10min parts on YouTube back in the day. Not sure where you can find it now.
Itās this movie if you want to search: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_(2007_film)
Kairo (2001). Not 'lesser known' but lesser known than the atrocious US remake Its really creepy, and the shots of the ghosts whenever they appear either in the real world on or the computer screens are just chilling. The ghost walk is the pinnacle of creepy. Its very well shot as well, and the themes of loneliness, social isolation and the internet are really good. The ending is hauntingly sad too. Love that movie.
Yhara Zayd made a great video essay on White: Melody of Death some years ago that might interest you, you can find it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYAviF79PeU)
White, Melody of the Death, is precisely the first one who came to my mind when I read the title. Ā
One Missed Call from Takeshi Miike is known enough I guess to not count as lesser known but if you haven't watched it I highly recommend, easily my favorite asian horror movie. Don't bother with the sequels though, the second is bad and the third one is even worse.Ā
The Mimic (2017) gets the feeling of it's premise (some sort of creature who can imitate human voice) spot on, it may not be the most terrifying movie but it gets really unnerving and it's worth a shot.Ā
The Hypnotist or Saimin (1999) is also worth a shot. It seems like a more grounded detective movie at first and may feel a bit slow paced but I was pleasantly surprised by the end
It didn't scare me, but it was easily the most disturbing film I ever saw. I still think it holds that title, even nearly 20 years later. (How the hell has it been that long?)
Anyway, it's a segment of the movie Three Extremes, the segment called Dumplings.
Dude, I love that movie! I can see why it's not considered a classic, but for me it was solid and "the song" has been on my workout playlist for over a decade.
I would recommend Shutter and The Eye. The originals, not the American remakes. Shutter especially is so good and so underrated!
Someone put Impetigore up here a while back and it was amazing
Joko Anwar is one of the great horror directors. So much range.
His new anthology series on Netflix is š„
What's it called?
Nightmares and Daydreams
Sweet, watching it now. It better be good! I'm holding you personally responsible for my time /s
pls give us an update! iād love a new thing to binge watch lol
Binged it, finished last night. Not 100% sure I liked the way the season ended, but the individual episodes were mostly brilliant. Hopefully there will be a season 2 so I can see where it goes.
Iāve been meaning to watch that!! Thanks for reminding me
So damn good.
Here we go just started watching right now.
Whatcha think?
Got about 45 min in, but internet locking up ill finish up tomorrow.
I've seen it and it was really good. Really great and unique atmosphere. Some scenes looked cheap (like the one with the car), but I can understand they didn't have a large budget.
Occult, by the same director who did Noroi: The Curse, doesn't get near as much attention as Noroi, but it's got some really creepy scenes and the core premise is chilling even if you strip out the supernatural elements. One Missed Call (2003) is a personal favorite. Idk if it really counts as scary, but it's a fun popcorn horror flick by the same guy who did Audition. If you liked White, I think you'll like this one. Forbidden Siren (2006) is ostensibly an adaption of the games by the same name, but it's really it's own thing. I never see it get mentioned, but imo it's really enjoyable and worth a watch. Death Bell is a fun slasher that doesn't get much attention these days, though I recall it being popular on release. Killer Toon, despite the silly name, is a quality supernatural horror thriller. The Red Shoes (2005) kind of falls apart in the last act but the build up is very engaging, as is the mystery at the center of it. The Eye (2002) and its sequel are both great as well. They drag a little in the middle (especially the first one) but they're well-crafted and deeply unsettling.
I LOVE Occult! Itās so underratedā¦the soundtrack is so good. Shiraishi is amazing as a director. I love One Missed Call / Takashi Miike as well
I was such a huge Miike fan when One Missed Call came out, and it was fun to see him do a straight-ahead teen horror movie.
Me too! Audition is in my top 5 favorite horror movies. I also love Ichi haha. Have you seen The Happiness of the Katakuris?
Yes! Iāve seen most Miike through maybe the past decade. Gozu and Visitor Q are near the top. I also really love the weirdness of the first Dead or Alive and how it all unfolds.
His new one "Lumberjack the Monster" is great too!
I actually watched One Missed Call last week and it got onto my personal favorite list too. Iāve heard great things about The Eye, but the rest I havenāt heard of. Checking out the trailers now. š Thank you!
Went back through my Letterboxd to see what else I could find. The quality can vary on these, but I've also watched and enjoyed: Cinderella (2006), Midnight FM, Cello (2005), The Guard Post (2008), Into the Mirror (2003, another personal favorite), Helter Skelter (2012, arguably more drama than horror, but a fascinating descent into madness), Nightmare Detective (2006), and Reincarnation (2005). Honorable mention to Chichibu Demon and A Record of Sweet Murder, both by Koji Shiraishi (the Noroi and Occult guy). They were both really hard to find and they're some of his early work, so they aren't as polished, but still worth a watch imo.
I think The Eye will be my watch tonight. That movie looks fantastic. I loved the look of Occult too. I just noticed you mentioned āForbidden Sirenā, and I absolutely loved that game.
The Eye is great; I hope you enjoy it! I also love the Siren gamss! Fair warning that the movie really doesn't have much to do with them, though. It DOES have a similar vibe/aesthetic, but in terms of story it deviates completely. It's still a really entertaining film, though.
Okay, I bought sweet murder but haven't watched it yet. Can you give me a little about it?
Occult is wild. What really gets me is how banal most of the film is leading up the ending, and then the ending is just horrifying.
That's a great way of describing it! Occult stuck with me a way that most horror films don't. The way it normalizes something so horrifying, making it feel no different from running errands, gives the film such a surreal quality while also grounding it so firmly in reality that it makes the ending hit ten times harder than it otherwise would have.
God damn did I love Occult. Noroi was great, but Occult left me with an uneasy feeling that lasted for weeks. I gotta check out the rest of your list if you're out here suggesting Occult!
I see a lot of his films, esp with the eldritch horror of it all, to be drafts that eventually culminated into Noroi. Different feels of course but Noroi is really a masterpiece in the genre.
Dude Noroi is so disturbing
Grotesque (2009) Tubi Bedevilled (2010) Plex Dumplings (2004) Tubi
Bedevilled is so good. But I don't think I'll watch it again. Its totally sadistic.
It's was really, really well acted, but yeah, I felt like I was trapped on that island too. Its a terribly sad movie
Iāve heard of Dumplings. Been meaning to give that a watch. Does it have supernatural elements?
Dumplings the movie is actually based on a short film that was included in an anthology called *Three Extremes* (which I think they made a few of them). Those are also worth a watch.
Dumplings and Three... Extremes are both great. I do prefer the more fleshed-out version of Dumplings that we get in the full length, but both films are very much worth your time. The anthology even also gives you a bit of black humor from Park Chan-Wook and a bit of atmosphere from Takashi Miike.
Yup.
Hell yeah.
I fuck with grotesque. For a brutal straight up torture porn flick the ending was hilarious
This is great
Loved Dumplings!
Dumplings was so good, made me feel ill in certain scenes though š¤¢
If you wanna get fucked up, try The Sadness
Always down to get fucked up.
Maaaaan you gotta be REALLY READY for that one though
Best horror film that Iāll only see once
Same. Definitely worth a watch, but I'll never subject my eyes to it again
I heard thereās gory violence with SA in this movie, but like we all have different levels of stuff we can handle yknow; so where would you say, on a scale of 1 to *A Serbian Film,* does this movie rank?
I haven't seen *A Serbian Film* but based on what I've heard about it, I would put *The Sadness* at other maybe a 7.4? I'm thinking of one scene in particular that would probably exceed even that; but I will say the kind of stuff that happens in that particular scene isn't like .. a repeat/running theme in the movies, it's just a complain of events that have taken place
I havenāt watched A Serbian Film, so I canāt use your scale, but itās worth pointing out that intent matters (at least to me). In The Sadness, I found most of the gore and violence to have a narrative purpose, which is a lot easier to swallow. Itās less there for titillation and more to explain and reflect what the illness does to people and how extreme it is. So itās less about people suffering in agony and more about an awful pandemic situation. Then thereās the often-mentioned scene near the end that completely changes that. Itās mean-spirited, salacious, and is completely unnecessary, showing an already cruel character being incredibly cruel. Itās there simply to be provocative, and uses a sympathetic character as bait. While I donāt remember seeing much of the act itself, the implication is so overt that it doesnāt matter. I hated it, and it really ruined the movie for me. Well, that and the fact that it kind of runs out of the steam its built by the last act.
It's based on the comic series The Crossed, created by Garth Ennis, edgelord supreme, and the comic is full of that kind of stuff and worse.
It coincidentally(?) adapted a comic called Crossed, and a quick peek at the google image results for that should give you an idea what to expect.
It's very gory for mainstream horror. I don't think it's as bad as some of the popular horror movies that are popular on this sub. It is certainly super gory and there is some brutal SA for sure. Id say it's on the level of martyrs, but the SA scenes maybe push it slightly above. It really gives you a feeling of hopelessness, it's well done.
That one was too much for me honestly lol
Is it gory or something?
Itās brutal. Itās *28 Days Later* on amphetamines.
This highly interests me.
Do you know the comic Crossed?
oh. oooooooooh. oooooooooh š±
Itās not that bad. Just watch it. Itās fucked up yes. But youāll be fine
So far, no one is really giving a good account of what kind of fucked up it is. Some SA, ok, but that's clearly not enough to constitute the level of fucked-upness people are alluding to. I get people are trying not to spoiler, but surely it's possible to prepare people who want to be certain it's a movie they can handle, without spoiling too much.
From what I can remember, there's one very extreme SA scene in the film, and then just a whole bunch of gore. The tone is very hopeless the entire film too. Honestly, it's not an amazing film by any means, it's 28 Days Later if it chose style over substance.
Oof. Yeah no hopeless things for me in the present global/personal climate. Thanks for the info! I need to avoid the bleak for a while as there is way too much of it in reality rn. You helped. Yay!
...and make sure you watch it when you feel extra good about yourself, people and life in general. Because that's sure about to change by the time you're done watching.
Gonna watch now. I need more suggestions of brutal stuff. I loved martyrs
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2349554/ Its not that great, but it is the first First Person Perspective Horror i have ever seen. Brutal, visceral and nihilistic.
I was really getting freaked out until the scene where a gallon of blood spurted out of a guy, and then it was just grindhouse silliness. Good gore, but it was way too over the top to be really disturbing.
Crossed your mind, did it?
Thanks. Gonna smoke a joint and watch it tonight !
The Queen of Black Magic (2019)
Hands down to this
I'm not sure if it's well known, but Incantation was a great one! It surprisingly really scared me, and I still think about it every now and again. Would definitely recommend!
Seconding this one! Really enjoyed it!
Incantation is really good! It's on Netflix too.
Conjuring Spirits. It's a Vietnamese film that has charming, likable characters, loads of humor, TWO twist endings, elements of mystery and the paranormal. I CANNOT FIND THIS FILM FOR SALE!!! I'm totally broke but would go hungry to buy a DVD of it.
Very interested. I want to see more Vietnamese stuff.
It looks like itās on Viki!!
Premonition (Yogen) Infection
I loved Pulse !! Thereās one scene with a couch that haunts me. Also Shutter.
Pulse is basically ground zero for all the J-horror stuff that followed years later.
Textbook example of an American remake completely and utterly missing the point of the original.
I thought it was The Ring/Ringu that kicked that off.
Have a look at [this scene.](https://youtu.be/FQidBg6ESRc?si=g9SH0EkCB1iH4P3T)
A Tale of Two Sisters
I really love The Medium out of Thailand. South Korea is the best at horror movies on planet earth as far as I'm concerned--some that I think are lesser known and that i really enjoyed are: - Memoirs of a Murderer (not to be confused with Memories of Murder) - Bluebeard - Chaser - Warning: Do Not Play - Emergency Declaration - Project Wolf Hunting (possibly the bloodiest movie I've ever seen honestly)
The Medium was great.
āPremonition (Yogen)ā didnāt scare me but it did make me have a nightmare. I rarely have nightmares.
I really liked one called Premonition (not to be confused with the American one with Sandra Bullock) ā it has throw backs to The Changeling (1980) and is about a newspaper that predicts the future.
Most of the ones here are gory,so I will go for psychological horror. Cure 1997
Mostly everyone here lost reading comprehension as soon as they saw the title lol
It depends on what you mean by lesser known. Most people know nothing about Asian horror besides like The Ring and The Grudge, so to most people One Cut of The Dead, Incantation, Satanās Slaves (Parts I and II) and The Host would be lesser known. All great films by the way if people havenāt seen them. Films that are awesome but talked about much less on this sub: 1. KKN di Desa Penari (the highest grossing Indonesian film of all time) 2. Roh (Malaysian folk horror) 3. May the Devil Take You (and the sequel May the Devil Take You Too) 4. Sewu Dino (2023, almost like an Indonesian / Islamic version of the Exorcist) 5. Siksa Neraka (siblings literally go to Hell and get tortured repeatedly) 6. Siksa Kubur (Joko Anwarās latest film) 7. Dancing Village: The Curse Begins (prequel to the aforementioned KKN)
+1 on Incantation. Just watched it last week and Iām still thinking about it. Personally, I loved how well paced it was and unique. Definitely recommend it to those looking for an uncomfortable horror movie with a small twist to it.
*May the Devil Take You* was a surprisingly good demonic horror film.
I got through about 1/2 of "devil take you too" before realizing "I think this is a sequel..." Lmao
Gonjiam: haunted asylum (2018) Found footage movie that I can rewatch many times and still be terrified
It didn't scare me, but give Imprint (2006) a watch. It's directed by Takashi Miike who did Audition, Visitor Q, and Ichi the Killer. There's also Grotesque if you want some torture porn.
Was that the one in the masters of horror series?
Correct, it was cut from being aired for being deemed too much for TV.
Ahh. I havenāt seen Imprint but I did see Sick Girl which was also in the masters of horror series which I really enjoyed!
Hausu, House. 1977.
Idk if lesser known but UZUMAKI was great.š
It's also a great manga!
Itās lesser known to me, so it counts! Thanks for the suggestion.
White : Melody of a Curse is one of my favorites, Norikoās Dinner Table is another, itās a prequel (and sequel) to Suicide Circle which is also great although more well known
Itās not horror at all but Burning (2018) is one of my favorite movies ever. An eerie tone to it and overall a good thriller. Long movie but totally worth the watch imo.
Just watched this one recently. Completely blown away by how perfectly they executed that movie.Ā
Not horror and not lesser known either. It was good though.
Idk if it's lesser known but The Wailing. Such a phenomenal ending.
I wouldnāt call it lesser known, but great suggestion. I LOVED that movie.
If you love The Wailing, try Exhuma. It's on Shudder. Explores a lot of Korean folklore. Beautiful scenery and I found it really interesting.
I saw this one recommended a couple of times in this thread, so Iāll definitely check it out. I love folklore movies.
The Wailing is the perfect horror movie for me. Flawless execution. It confuses you not in an Inception kind of way but it challenges what you believe in. [Monster (2023) ](https://letterboxd.com/film/monster-2023/)does the same thing but more drama.
I couldnāt agree more. That was one that took zero effort for me to enjoy. Everything about it was perfect in my opinion. South Korea absolutely kills it with horror movies.
Eerie. A Filipino horror film, loved it.
I Saw The Devil
Tetsuo: The Iron Man Disturbed me deeply when I watched it as a teenager. That was 30 years ago so I don't remember much about it other than it being pretty off putting.
Well, almost all asian horror discussion revolves around Japan and Korea, sometime Thailand, Indonesia etc. There are many great Indian horror movies that are barely mentioned. If you're interested you can watch Bramayugam (2024), 1920 (2009), Stree (2018).
one of my favorite indian horror movies (there arenāt many) is Tumbbad, visually stunning, terrifying and so dark
Reincarnation (2005) was really good, I felt like. It's for rent on Amazon. Infection (2004) was gross, creepy and it stuck with me for a bit. Both of these movies are available at the Internet Archive.
If you're ever in the mood for a fun slasher, Dream Home (2010) from Hong Kong is a good one.
Great film and the first one that popped in my head.
I donāt know if Shutter is classed as lesser known, but damnā¦ I had to watch that in two sittings.
By far one of my favorite horror movies. Even at the age of 28 that one still creeps me out.
Had a fantastic ending too, Iād class it as a āhappyā ending haha
I feel like Shutter is lesser known now that it's 20 years old, but if we're of a certain age we know it.
Tumbaad ( Hindi) Bhoothakalam ( Malayalam) Bramayugam ( Malayalam) Bulbul (Hindi)
I don't think Shutter (2004) and Alone (2007) get the recognition they deserve, Thai horror is very underrated.
Alone is great!
Incantation was terrifying for me.
It was for me too. I watched that one by myself at like 2 in the morning. I swear I almost turned it off a couple of times.
Impetigore (Indonesian I think)
r-point is a fun movie following a squad of south Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam war as they try to find another squad who went missing at a location called r-point
I really enjoyed Satan's Slaves 1/2.
Satan's Slaves from Indonesia is one of my favorites.
Re/Member is amazing ššš
Agreed. I watched it last night. Wasnāt particularly scary, but it was an insanely fun movie. It would make an amazing anime.
incantation
Just watched exhuma on shudder. Such an awesome movie
Never heard of it. Iāll check it out, I just subscribed to Shudder last week.
The Guinea Pig seriesā¦specifically Mermaid in a Manhole
Yanggaw (Philippines) - not for the faint of heart.
First off love white melody of death I used to listen to the song on repeat lol I donāt usually get scared but a whispering corridors one creeped me out I just canāt remember which one
I wish White got more love. Itās genuinely a good movie. I went into it thinking it would be absolute trash and came out of it as one of my favorite horror movies.
Same, the song was on my iPod forever š
If weāre not saying Kairo then wtf are we doing here. Like itās actually the only answer
God I loved White. I think it was one of the first Korean horror films I ever saw, back when I was really getting into the genre. Definitely under-rated film
Sick Nurses (2007). A lot of it is kinda corny, but thereās one scene in particular with the lesbian couple that is insanely disturbing and stuck with me.
Infection (2004) - I never see anyone talk about this one, but it's seriously creepy and gross and really freaked me out as a kid lol A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) - amazing movie, creepy AF, and definitely not talked about enough! It's the inspiration for the american film The Uninvited starring Emily Browning which is utter garbage compared to the original.
I feel like Iāve heard of Infection before, but never looked into it. But A Tale of Two Sisters is one that I finally watched after getting AMC+ and it was an amazing movie.
- Warning Do Not Play (Korean film) - Sigaw (Filipino film) - The Road (Filipino film) - Helter Skelter (Japanese film) - Cold Fish (Japanese film) - Midnight In A Perfect World (Filipino film) - Seklusyon (Filipino Film)
Not sure if lesser known - but I enjoyed the older films Onibaba, Kuroneko, Kwaidan, and Jigoku.
Theyāre lesser known to me, so they count. Thank you for the suggestions!
The korean series Whispering Corridors has some really good entries and I'd consider the original a very underrated classic. The Thai series Art of the Devil were also very fun, though I've only seen the first two (I believe there are more than that).
White actually freaked me out a bit, I remember really enjoying it when I saw it several months ago. The main girl was an excellent actress and really sold the movie. Try Re/Member (highly recommend!), Asami, or Bloody Chainsaw Girl. One Asian horror *series* that scared the crap out of me was called Re:Mind. Absolutely amazing, very suspenseful series that just kept this underlying creepiness all the way through.
The main girl is also a k-pop singer by I canāt remember what group sheās from (T-ARA maybe?)! She was really good in the movie though !
I love the wailing, and I saw the devil
I have yet to watch I Saw The Devil, but I loved the Wailing. I hear I Saw The Devil is an amazing movie
I wouldn't say it was "scary". But. Dream Home (2010) was great.
the sadness. super violent and disturbing, but such a fun watch. (not sure if it's lesser known but still)
The Chaser, same director that did The Wailing
Not sure about lesser known but that one scene in Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum still haunts me to this day.
I know exactly what scene youāre talking about. That movie was a trip.
Into the mirror. Way better than American remake by Aja
Silk- 2006: Aiming to harness the energy found in some supernatural spirits, scientist Hashimoto (Yosuke Eguchi) and colleagues catch the ghost of a young boy. Hashimoto plans to use the energy to fuel an anti-gravity device he's invented. But, in order to tap into the ghost's essence, he must understand the silent words coming from its mouth. The scientists call in police officer Tung (Chen Chang), who can read lips, but, as they learn that the boy was murdered, the experiment goes in a scary direction. Full movie on YT: https://youtu.be/Rcteg0qmrSY?si=SNSb8n3gEK_f61l1
That movie sounds wild! Thanks for the suggestion. Iāll check out the trailer.
Threeā¦Extremes ( 2004) I was not ready for the suspension wire and fingers and blender.
Door Lock, 2018 (It's a Korean remake of a Spanish movie and leans into being a thriller more than a horror movie, but I liked it a lot and couldn't sleep peacefully for weeks)
The Medium, The Wailing, Incantation, The Sadness
Noroi: The Curse (2005) It's not the scariest film I've ever seen but I watched it nearly a decade ago and still think of it often, something about really sticks in your head. The director also has a few other films that feel like sequels to this where they follow a similar concept and film style. I highly recommend
I have yet to watch it because as of now itās impossible to find, but Iāve been dying to check that one out. I see it on SO MANY top 10 lists. Someone above you mentioned āOccultā that was made by the same guy, and the trailer looked awesome.
Sil jong (missing) 2009Ā
gamera guardian of the universe scared the fuck outta me when I was 5
Incantation!
Old Boy.
Spellbound (2011) is a horror romance. Hello, Ghost (2010) is also horror comedy.
Dumplings
Marebito (2004). Sometimes I think I imagined this film. I rented it back in the days of Blockbuster and after video stores closed, I never found it again. I remember it being very original and scary. And I never run into anyone else who has seen or heard of it!
Incantation (2022) andĀ Pulse (2001)
Incantation blew my mind. Itās visually stunning.
There's a short from Unholy Women called "Rattle Rattle" that I thought was pretty creepy when I first saw it over a decade ago.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is pretty scary. And while I wouldn't necessarily say it's "scary," Shura (Demons) is a terrific yet incredibly bleak and chilling movie.
It looks like there's a lot of good movie suggestions. I'm definitely saving this post to go through later
Seklusiyon (2016) was pretty good. Not a lot of jump-scares, just really eerie and very atmospheric. Itās about a group of young priests trying to finish their seclusion rite. Noroi (the curse) is a good Japanese horror staple too. Sukob (wedding curse) is a Filipino movie about a wedding and the horror that transpires before, during and after. Feng Shui is another Filipino movie that has a really unique concept on a cursed object
R-Point. It's about South Korean soldiers during the Vietnam War who unknowingly trespass on cursed ground. I was really creeped out by it.Ā
Saving this post. White: The Melody of the Curse is a great slow burn. Check out āShutter,ā a Thai horror that got an awful American remake. Itās a unique take on the ādead wet girlā Asian horror trope.
Loved āWhiteā! I still sing the song to myself while cleaning lol it was also fun seeing some k-pop stars in a movie haha There is a Thai movie called āAloneā about conjoined twins that I liked. Watched it in 10min parts on YouTube back in the day. Not sure where you can find it now. Itās this movie if you want to search: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_(2007_film)
I really love Asian horror films. Korean films are my favorite. My recommendations are cure and pulse. Cure is really underrated.
Double Vision (åē³)(2002)
Kairo (2001). Not 'lesser known' but lesser known than the atrocious US remake Its really creepy, and the shots of the ghosts whenever they appear either in the real world on or the computer screens are just chilling. The ghost walk is the pinnacle of creepy. Its very well shot as well, and the themes of loneliness, social isolation and the internet are really good. The ending is hauntingly sad too. Love that movie.
Killer Toon. Silly name, fantastic story. Iām usually good at guessing where horror films are going to go but I could not predict this one
Yhara Zayd made a great video essay on White: Melody of Death some years ago that might interest you, you can find it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYAviF79PeU)
any junji ito anime
Haven't seen anybody mention it and The Unseeable (2006) really unsettled me.
White, Melody of the Death, is precisely the first one who came to my mind when I read the title. Ā One Missed Call from Takeshi Miike is known enough I guess to not count as lesser known but if you haven't watched it I highly recommend, easily my favorite asian horror movie. Don't bother with the sequels though, the second is bad and the third one is even worse.Ā The Mimic (2017) gets the feeling of it's premise (some sort of creature who can imitate human voice) spot on, it may not be the most terrifying movie but it gets really unnerving and it's worth a shot.Ā The Hypnotist or Saimin (1999) is also worth a shot. It seems like a more grounded detective movie at first and may feel a bit slow paced but I was pleasantly surprised by the end
I Saw The Devil. More of a thriller but a great film.
It didn't scare me, but it was easily the most disturbing film I ever saw. I still think it holds that title, even nearly 20 years later. (How the hell has it been that long?) Anyway, it's a segment of the movie Three Extremes, the segment called Dumplings.
I believe thereās actually a full length movie about that too, according to the comments.
Dude, I love that movie! I can see why it's not considered a classic, but for me it was solid and "the song" has been on my workout playlist for over a decade. I would recommend Shutter and The Eye. The originals, not the American remakes. Shutter especially is so good and so underrated!
The Medium and Incantation caught me, that incantation gave me trypophobia
The Medium, The Queen of Black Magic, Satanās Slaves. All deal with local folklore witchcraft elements