Horror.com Forums - Talk about horror. - Recommended Asian Horror Movies

Hey Mett - Here are my favorites - It's a fairly exhaustive list BUT does have some gaps in terms of stuff that I still need to see. I'm going to try to organize them a bit... BTW - I think that all of these are pre-2010 for the most part.

Ghost Flicks - I really love Asian supernatural films - The fact that the ghosts are a) Corporeal and b) Mostly out for revenge just simply unnerve me. Here's my list of favorites, sort of in descending order:

Ringu
Ju-On
Dark Water
Pulse
Rinne
Shutter
The Maid
One Missed Call (not amazing but not bad - This can also fall under "Miike" - see below)
Tale of Two Sisters (not my favorite because I didn't like the end BUT I know a lot of people who swear by it)
The Eye (also not my favorite but a lot of other people like it so if you're binging on Asian ghosts, I say include it)

Anthologies - These were actually good introductions to some of the popular Asian horror directors, I like the first one in particular but both are worth a watch:

Three... Extremes
Three... Extremes II

Chan-wook Park - At times I refer to him as my absolute favorite director. I consider "The Vengeance Trilogy" probably the best trilogy I've ever seen; it's a meditation on revenge and how revenge alters who you are.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Oldboy
Lady Vengeance
Stoker (English language, yes, but worthy of note because it is a legitimately creepy film)
Thirst - Ahh, then there's Thirst. I wanted to like it a LOT more than I did but found it boring. If you're interested in his directorial style, however and want to see his take on the vampire mythos, I say check it out.

Takashi Miike - So, a discussion about Asian horror flicks can't be complete without the mention of Takashi Miike. He reminds me a LOT of David Lynch... But bloodier and a lot more disturbing (depending on the film) - The only one of his movies that I can broadly recommend is Audition but you should probably check out the other ones too if you want to get a taste of what might be considered "extreme" Asian cinema:

Audition (I think this was really my foray into Asian horror - It's incredibly bizarre and then incredibly violent, culminating into a now iconic scene. This is a must-see)
"Imprint" - A short he did for Masters of Horror
Ichi the Killer - It's been a while since I've seen this one and I should probably check it out again
Visitor Q - Not horror but definitely challenging - Will always be on my "top most disturbing movies I've ever seen" list
Gozu - I remember liking this movie but it's been a very very long time since I've seen it. Very bizarre and Lynch-like if I recall...

Not sure how these fit into the categories above, but here are some other favorites:

I Saw the Devil - I really love this horrifyingly gritty revenge flick. Plus my Korean boyfriend is in it. Same director did A Tale of Two Sisters and Chaser (which I desperately need to see).
The Host - Brilliant giant monster flick with humor and legitimately tense moments. Same director as Snowpiercer (which I loved), and Mother (which I haven't seen but heard is great)
Battle Royale - Eat your heart, Hunger Games! Drop everything and read the novel and then watch the movie. This movie also informed my love for Asian horror.
Tokyo Gore Police - My foray into splatterpunk. Gross, disgusting fun.
Art of the Devil II - Surprisingly creepy messed up little film

Asian horror that I haven't seen but I've heard great things about:

Chaser
House
Kwaidan

I'm sure there's much more but that should be enough to get you started. ::wink::