10 Korean horror films that will tickle your nerves

2023 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-07-28 10:38

Strange village murders, a zombie attack on a high-speed train and more await you.

1. Whispering of the walls

• South Korea, 1998.
• Horror, thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 105 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 0.

A young teacher comes to teach at her native school, where her best friend committed suicide many years ago. She learns that several people have already been killed in the school, and the students believe that this is the work of a vengeful ghost.

In the 70s and 80s, there were practically no horror films made in South Korea: it was considered commercially unprofitable. Whisper of the Walls was released in 1998 and immediately drew attention to Asian cinema. The film highlighted such a serious social problem as the too rigid and authoritarian school system, and marked the beginning of the franchise of the same name.

2. Quiet family

• South Korea, 1998.
• Horror, comedy, crime.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 0.

A modest Korean family buys a small hotel on the outskirts. After their first client takes their own lives, the heroes decide to hide his body to avoid publicity. But the situation repeats itself: newly arrived tourists die inexplicably. Then the police are interested in the mysterious house in which people disappear.

The name Kim Ji-un is familiar to many fans of Asian cinema: he directed the sentimental action film "Bittersweet", the comedy western "The Good, the Bad, the Fucked Up" and the horror film "A Tale of Two Sisters."

The director's debut film, Silent Family, combines several genres at once - comedy, horror and detective. And one of the most prominent Korean actors of our time, Song Kang-ho played an incredibly vivid role in it.

3. Conjiam Mental Hospital

• South Korea, 2018.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 94 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

Two teenagers record video in the abandoned Konjiam Psychiatric Hospital and then go missing. After seeing the news of their disappearance, Ha-Jun, the host of the YouTube horror channel, also decides to investigate the building.

A low-budget horror film in the genre of "found tape" from the experienced horror maker Jung Bom-shik takes the story of a real abandoned hospital as its basis (although the building was demolished in the year the film was released). The action unfolds rather slowly, but then it accelerates quickly, and the dynamic ending works just fine in contrast.

4. Door lock

• South Korea, 2018.
• Horror, thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Bank employee Kyung-min lives alone in an apartment building. Its generally cloudless existence is overshadowed only by chronic fatigue. One day a girl has a suspicion that someone sneaks into her apartment at night, but the police believe that she is exaggerating. However, after a while, Kyung-min learns that her neighbor from another floor was also persecuted in a similar way, after which she disappeared without a trace.

Door Lock is more of a detective thriller than a horror movie, but it still makes you nervous. After all, the mere thought that even within your own walls you cannot feel completely safe, it becomes uncomfortable.

The intrigue is also perfectly sustained and will hold the screen up to the credits. The film also touches on the theme of loneliness in a big city and the problem of social stratification of the population that is acute for Korea.

5. Dinosaur invasion

• South Korea, 2006.
• Horror, comedy, fantasy, drama, action.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Due to the miscalculation of the American military, who leaked formaldehyde, a terrible monster is set up in the Han River. The creature drags off 14-year-old Hyun-seo, the granddaughter of the owner of a seaside diner. Having learned that the girl did not die, but is trapped in the sewers, her grandfather, along with his sons, goes in search.

In the works of Pong Joon-ho, author of Parasites, tension and humor calmly coexist. And his third film, combining horror, comedy and satire, changed the mainstream views on films about giant monsters.

The only pity is that for some reason the film was released in Russia under the title “Invasion of the Dinosaur”. This is doubly ridiculous when you consider that the monster around which the plot is built is a mutated amphibian. The original version sounds much simpler and translates as "monster" or "master".

6. The story of two sisters

• South Korea, 2003.
• Horror, mysticism, thriller.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Two sisters Su-yeon and Su-mi return to their father's house from the psychiatric clinic, where they ended up after the death of their mother. Now my stepmother lives with my dad. And she is clearly unwell: she is taking some pills, and at night she hears strange sounds.

The most traditional horror in Kim Ji-un's filmography, the script of which the director wrote based on the Korean folk tale "The Rose and the Lotus". The painting has collected numerous awards and has become popular not only in Korea, but throughout the world. And a few years after the release, the tape was re-shot in the USA under a new name - "The Uninvited".

7. Devilish

• South Korea, 2010.
• Thriller, drama, crime.
• Duration: 114 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

Seoul bank clerk Hae-won witnesses attempted murder. To heal her naughty nerves, the heroine goes to visit her childhood friend Bok-nam, who lives on a small island. For many years she has been bullied by her relatives and her sadistic husband, but there is a limit to all patience.

Director Jang Chol-su started out as an assistant to the classic of Korean cinema, Kim Ki-dook. Later, he directed several short films, and then filmed his full-length debut, the main theme of which was the conflict between the city and the countryside. Moreover, the structure of Chol-su's film is rather unusual: somewhere in the second half of the tape, the focus shifts from guest to hostess, and the genre changes from psychological drama to horror.

8. Scream

• South Korea, 2016.
• Horror, mysticism, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 156 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

In the remote forest village of Coxon, mysterious and terrible events take place: people become covered with ulcers, behave strangely and even kill relatives. Either the poisonous mushrooms or the suspicious Japanese hermit from the forest are to blame. Local policeman Jung-gu is investigating the case slowly, but is forced to speed up when his daughter is in danger.

Director and screenwriter Na Hong-jin prepared for the audience an original signature cocktail based on the national Korean flavor. The first half of the film combines mysticism, detective story, drama and fantasy, in the second part traditional horror begins with an abundance of religious motives, and the ending will certainly leave a lot of questions.

9. Train to Busan

• South Korea, 2016.
• Horror, action, thriller.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

Son Woo, a cynical workaholic and divorced father, is taking his daughter to visit her mother in Busan. But at this very moment, an epidemic of a strange virus begins to spread across the country. As a result, the hero and his daughter are trapped in a train, inside which people, one by one, turn into very fast and dangerous zombies.

The film, directed by Yong Sang-ho, won audiences at the Cannes Film Festival and was a great success worldwide. This film combines genre eclecticism typical of Koreans with powerful social and political overtones.

10. I saw the devil

• South Korea, 2010.
• Horror, thriller, action, crime.
• Duration: 142 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Special Agent Kim Soo-hyun follows the trail of the criminal who killed his pregnant bride. The hero quickly finds the suspect, but is in no hurry to hand him over to the authorities. He has his own plan: to inflict pain on the maniac, a thousand times greater, Soo-hyun will slowly destroy him piece by piece, constantly catching and releasing him with new injuries.

The phrase "bloodbath" is best used to describe Kim Ji-un's film. In Korea, the tape had problems with censorship: to get even a limited rental rating, the creators had to cut out the most violent and naturalistic scenes. But even those that remain can shock an unprepared viewer.