The immense popularity of Verbinski's The Ring — the American remake of Japanese
horror film Ringu — created a tidal wave of interest in Japanese horror in the United
States.
And despite mixed reviews of other remakes, like 2004's The Grudge, American horror fans
will find plenty to scream about in these original, underappreciated Japanese horror
movies.
Whether it's body horror or supernatural curses you're after, these films are definitely horror
classics.
Creepy
Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a well-known auteur in Japan, but his films have gone mostly
overlooked in the U.S. 2016's Creepy was no different — despite receiving critical acclaim
from The New York Times.
What begins as a story about the creepy neighbor next door evolves into an epic funhouse of
scares with one of the most visceral endings in recent horror history.
Audition
Before the cult classic Ichi the Killer, prolific director Takashi Miike made the horror movie
Audition.
You may have yet to cross paths with this intense film, mostly because of the terrifying
reputation that precedes it.
1999's Audition has gone down in horror lore as one of the most disturbing horror films
ever made.
Although it seems like a slow-burn mystery movie at first, Audition's terrifying conclusion
is nothing short of relentless.
Dark Water
The poorly received 2005 American remake of this movie starring Jennifer Connelly is probably
the reason why the original doesn't get the credit it deserves.
2002's Dark Water was directed by Hideo Nakata of Ringu fame.
And fans of that film will recognize some familiar tropes, most notably the single mother
and her child fighting to break a curse before they get totally wrecked by a supernatural
force.
But Dark Water definitely isn't a repeat of Ringu.
It's got enough fresh scares to stand well on its own.
Hausu
Undoubtedly one of the strangest horror films ever made, Nobuhiko Obayashi's Hausu defies
categorization.
A group of friends travel to an aunt's haunted mansion filled with an Alice in Wonderland-style
cast of spirits, including a floating, demonic Cheshire cat and a piano that likes to eat
people.
Released in 1977, Hausu is now considered a horror classic.
Not bad for a movie that was inspired by Obayashi's 11-year-old daughter.
Battle Royale
The Hunger Games often draws comparisons to Battle Royale, and for good reason.
There are plenty of differences, but both stories focus on a dystopian world in which
children compete in televised fights to the bitter end.
Battle Royale is just...way more violent.
Based on a 1999 Japanese novel of the same name, the film adaptation of Battle Royale
was one of the highest-grossing films in Japan, raking in nearly $1.9 million in its opening
weekend.
Despite its success overseas, Battle Royale wasn't officially distributed in the U.S.
for nearly 11 years because of the controversy surrounding its violent content.
Jigoku
It's hard to believe that this classic Japanese horror film was released in 1960.
It feels as if it could have been made yesterday.
When a student flees the scene of a hit-and-run, he's not only pursued by his guilty conscience,
but also by a demonic double of himself.
"Jigoku" translates to "hell," and director Nobuo Nakagawa takes the viewer literally
to the fiery pits, making Jigoku a horror masterpiece for the ages.
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Another J-horror classic, Tetsuo: The Iron Man feels custom-made for fans of the weird
body horror of David Cronenberg or the fleshier David Lynch pictures like Eraserhead.
Released in 1989, Tetsuo is about a man who begins growing metal body parts after he accidentally
takes out a freaky half-metal man.
Nearly 30 years later, Tetsuo is still hard to watch, making it one of horror's most overlooked
classics.
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