Best Japanese horror movies
A curated collection of popular horror movies from Japan.
Ring (1998)
Ring (1998)
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla (1954)
Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.
The Grudge 2 (2006)
The Grudge 2 (2006)
A young woman encounters a malevolent supernatural force while searching for her missing sister in Tokyo, a mean high school prank goes horribly wrong, and strange things begin happening in a Chicago apartment building.
Pulse (2001)
Dark Water (2002)
Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (2003)
Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night (2010)
Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night (2010)
Koichi takes care of his sister, who has recently returned from a trip abroad in the United States as she is not well. While caring for her, he records evidence of ghosts in their home.
Lesson of the Evil (2012)
Lesson of the Evil (2012)
Seiji Hasumi is a popular English teacher in a private high school. He is also a violent and sociopathic killer who concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body.
Grotesque (2009)
Grotesque (2009)
An unnamed doctor has always had everything he's ever wanted, but that has only made him develop more extreme and depraved needs. He kidnaps a young couple in the prime of their life together and forces them into a game of torment that slowly extinguishes their hopes for survival.
Guilty of Romance (2011)
Guilty of Romance (2011)
In a Tokyo love hotel district, a woman is found dead in a derelict apartment. As police investigate, a romance novelist's wife lives a life that seems simply a daily repetition without romance. To break away from the loveless monotony, she follows her desires and becomes a nude model enacting sex in front of a camera. Soon, she meets a mentor and begins selling her body to strangers, while at home, she hides behind the façade that she's still the doting wife she's supposed to be.
The Empire of Corpses (2015)
The Empire of Corpses (2015)
The story takes place in 19th century Europe, and revolves around John Watson. He is scouted by the government to become a secret agent. However, Watson lives in a world where "Frankensteins"—human corpses that are re-purposed with a false soul in order to use them as laborers—are used to improve industrial development.
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
In an alternate timeline the original Godzilla is never defeated and repeatedly reemerges to feed on Japan's energy sources. A new inter-dimensional weapon called the Dimension Tide is created with the intent of eliminating Godzilla. However, the new weapon might also serve as a gateway to something far more sinister.
The Return of Godzilla (1984)
The Return of Godzilla (1984)
After a fishing boat is attacked, the sole surviving crew member realizes it is none other than a resurrected Godzilla. However, efforts to bring the story to light are suppressed by the Japanese government amid growing political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, who are both willing to bomb Japan to stop the monster.
Chime (2024)
Chime (2024)
A chef's life is disrupted by a chime that brings with it an increasing sense of dread.
The Spiral (1998)
The Spiral (1998)
A young pathologist seeks answers to the mysterious death of a friend and soon comes into contact with the same cursed videotape that caused the death of the friend's wife and son, which is haunted by the curse of Sadako, a relentless spirit.
Evil Dead Trap (1988)
Evil Dead Trap (1988)
A talk show hostess takes a camera crew out to an abandoned factory to investigate a purported snuff film that was made there. As she gets closer to the truth, she and her friends are subjected to a brutal nightmare.
Retribution (2007)
Retribution (2007)
A detective investigates a series of murders. A possible serial killer might be on a rampage, since they all are in the same vicinity and by the same method, but as the evidence points toward the detective as the prime suspect, a ghost in red follows him, and he begins to question his identity. His realization of what seems to have really happened results in something much more sinister and larger in scope, and it leaves his psyche scarred.
Exte: Hair Extensions (2007)
Exte: Hair Extensions (2007)
An aspiring hair dresser becomes the infatuation of a tricophilic man who sells hair extensions to nearby hair salons. The source of the hair is the corpse of a girl whose dead body continues to grow beautiful, voluminous, black hair that comes alive, driving those who use the extensions insane or killing them.
Liverleaf (2018)
Liverleaf (2018)
The story follows Nozaki Haruka, a middle school student who transfers to a new school in a small town because of her father's work. Unfortunately, she becomes a victim of horrific bullying, but since the school will be closing in 2 months after graduation, no one is willing to help her.
Blind Beast (1969)
Blind Beast (1969)
A blind sculptor kidnaps an artists' model and imprisons her in his warehouse studio – a shadowland of perverse monuments to the female form. Here a deranged passion play of sensual and sexual obsession is acted out in world where sight is replaced by touch.
Occult (2009)
Occult (2009)
Koji Shiraishi interviews the survivors of an indiscriminate attack at a sightseeing resort and starts investigating the strange events that have been happening to them.
964 Pinocchio (1991)
Mutant Girls Squad (2010)
Mutant Girls Squad (2010)
Rin a young high school student is your everyday awkward girl who gets bullied by her fellow students. On her 16th birthday, Rin gets an unexpected surprise: she finds out that she is, on her father's side, a half-mutant.
Ajin: Demi-Human – Compel (2015)
Ajin: Demi-Human – Compel (2015)
For high schooler Kei—and for at least forty-six others—immortality comes as the nastiest surprise ever. Sadly for Kei, such a feat doesn't make him a superhero. In the eyes of both the general public and governments, he's a rare specimen who needs to be hunted down and handed over to scientists to be experimented on for life—a demi-human who must die a thousand deaths for the benefit of humanity.
Matango (1963)
Matango (1963)
Five vacationers and two crewmen become stranded on a tropical island near the equator. The island has little edible food for them to use as they try to live in a fungus covered hulk while repairing Kessei's yacht. Eventually they struggle over the food rations which were left behind by the former crew. Soon they discover something unfriendly there...
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
A "metal fetishist", driven mad by the maggots wriggling in the wound he's made to embed metal into his flesh, runs out into the night and is accidentally run down by a Japanese businessman and his girlfriend. The pair dispose of the corpse in hopes of quietly moving on with their lives. However, the businessman soon finds that he is now plagued by a vicious curse that transforms his flesh into iron.