8 Japanese horror movies that will make you stop sleeping

1. Call

Japan, 1998.
Horror, thriller, detective.
Duration: 96 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 2.

Young journalist Reiko Asakawa, along with her ex-husband, is trying to investigate the case of an unusual cassette. Those who have watched this recording are called by a stranger and said that in a week they will die. And people do die from cardiac arrest. Among the victims of the tape is Asakawa's niece, so the heroine feels that she must get to the bottom of the truth. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the little son of the journalist also saw the fatal tape.

Hideo Nakata's film revolutionized the horror genre and sparked international interest in Asian horror. The director deliberately abandoned the happy ending: in the finale, the heroes' attempts to come to terms with evil do not lead to anything, and the circle (which is why the original name means both "bell" and "ring" at once) is closed.

The image of Sadako, a ghost girl with black flowing hair covering her face, came from traditional Japanese mythology, and after "The Ring" became cult throughout the world and spawned many imitators. Although the picture is scary not only for this: it is distinguished by a skillfully created atmosphere of suspense and alienation.

Gloomy colors, incessant rain, silence in deserted rooms - all this emphasizes the loneliness of Asakawa and her husband, their immersion in themselves. Moreover, the heroes are not accidentally made by spouses in divorce.

In 2002, the American remake of The Ring by Gore Verbinski was released. The merit of the American creators is that they not only copied the original, but also combined the typical features of Japanese horror films with the cultural traditions of their country.

For example, production designer Tom Duffield drew inspiration from the paintings of Andrew Wyeth, who with extraordinary precision conveyed in his works a sense of loneliness and despair. And some of the visual techniques for building a frame were borrowed by Verbinski from the master of horror Alfred Hitchcock.

2. Screen test

Japan, 1999.
Horror, drama, detective.
Duration: 115 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 2.

The widower Shigeharu Aoyama is about to find a new lover. On the advice of a producer friend, he arranges screen tests to choose a bride. There, the modest beauty Asami Yamazaki immediately attracts his attention. But behind the mask of innocence hides that monster.

In just a few weeks, director Takashi Miike managed to create an extremely unusual film at the junction of several genres. The film begins as a sentimental melodrama, develops as a detective story, and in the end turns into a real meat grinder with sawing off legs and cutting off the head with wire. Just a word of warning: watching these scenes can traumatize even the most spirited viewers.

3. Dark waters

Japan, 2001.
Horror, thriller, drama, detective.
Duration: 101 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 7.

Young mother Yoshimi Matsubara recently divorced her husband and is now trying to defend in court the right to keep her daughter Ikuko. Together they move into a creepy apartment building where dampness is everywhere and water drips from the ceiling. Moreover, Yosimi periodically sees a little girl and finds the same red handbag in different places.

The movie from the director of The Ring may not be the creepiest on this list, but it is definitely the most moving. This picture is unlikely to shock or greatly scare you. But from her anyway, anyone will feel uncomfortable. After all, few people know how to show the theme of loneliness in a huge city in such a way as Japanese authors and in particular Hideo Nakata do.

Four years later, an American remake was filmed based on "Dark Waters", which is called almost the same - "Dark Water". Events in it develop a little differently, but the story of a girl abandoned by her parents and died in tragic circumstances has remained approximately the same.

4. Pulse

Japan, 2001.
Horror, fantasy, thriller, detective.
Duration: 119 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 6.

One of the girl's colleagues named Michi Kudo commits suicide, leaving her with a mysterious floppy disk. At the same time, the computer of economist student Ryosuke begins to behave in an unusual way: images of creepy people appear on the screen.

This film made director Kiyoshi Kurosawa famous and, of course, inspired colleagues from the United States to create a remake. But watching the western version is hardly worth it, since its creators did not understand the plan at all. In the American interpretation, it is technology that separates us from each other, while Kiyoshi's people are alone on their own - even after death.

Finally, it should be said that the Japanese "Pulse" is definitely not an entertainment movie. Perhaps this explains the rather low audience ratings of the film. The picture is designed for thoughtful immersion and is unlikely to amaze with the plot or fascinating intrigue. But rarely where you will find the same atmosphere of depression and apathy, as in this tape.

5. Curse

Japan, 2002.
Horror.
Duration: 92 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 7.

The main events unfold around a house occupied by a family of ghosts. Once, out of jealousy, a husband killed his wife and son, and then himself. And now the spirits haunt everyone who crosses the threshold of their home.

Among the classic J-horror films (from the English Japanese horror - "Japanese horror film") "The Curse" is traditionally called among the most terrible. And this is quite a fair assessment. Having looked at the painting by Takashi Shimizu, you will involuntarily look into the dark corners for a long time, checking if there is something unkind lurking there.

It is the "Curse" of 2002 that is considered the most famous and iconic part of the franchise. Before him, Shimizu shot one full-length film with the same name and two short films within the same universe, but all these works were shown only on Japanese television, bypassing cinemas.

Unlike the remake of "The Ring", the American version of "The Curse" hardly differs from the original, since it was shot by the same Shimizu. It was produced by Sam Raimi, creator of Evil Dead.

6. One missed call

Japan, 2003.
Horror, detective.
Duration: 112 minutes.
IMDb: 6, 2.

Several young people receive strange calls from their own numbers. Having approached the phone, they first hear their own dying cry from the future, and after some time they die in a strange way. Yumi's girlfriend and former police officer Hiroshi begin their own investigation and find out that after death, victims have always dialed the same number from their cell phones.

Another unusual film from the author of the cult "Screen Test" Takashi Miike. The director mixed and amusingly played with all the famous clichés from Asian horror films. At the same time, he somehow managed to organically combine satire and suspense.

7. Curse

Japan, 2005.
Horror, thriller, detective.
Duration: 115 minutes.
IMDb: 7, 0.

Journalist Masafumi Kobayashi is a professional paranormal investigator. One day he takes on a simple matter, but during the filming, terrible things begin to happen to him and his team.

In the Russian translation, the picture is called "The Curse", although it has nothing to do with the series of films of the same name by Takashi Shimizu. This tape was staged by another talented director - Koji Shiraishi, who usually shoots in the genre of mocumentari, that is, pseudo-documentary.

8. Paranormal Activity: Night in Tokyo

Japan, 2010.
Horror, thriller, detective.
Duration: 90 minutes.
IMDb: 5, 1.

Japanese Horror Movies: "Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night"

Haruka Yamano returns home from his trip to America. He was overshadowed by an accident: Haruka ran over an unfamiliar girl who was crossing the road, and at the same time injured both legs. After the heroine and her brother Koichi are left home alone, strange events begin to occur there.

"Night in Tokyo" is an alternative sequel to the acclaimed "The Paranormal Activity" by Oren Peli. The movie has nothing to do with the mainstream franchise, but that doesn't mean it scares you less than the original.

The creators have retained all the techniques inherent in the "Phenomenon": filming with a night vision camera, doors opening by themselves and the appearance of a spirit that possesses one of the main characters. But at the same time, they added features of a national horror.