by Matthew Molgaard

Created on: April 20, 2010

The J-Horror sub-genre began gaining extreme notoriety upon the release of Hideo Nakata’s 1998 shocker The Ring. The film, a truly inspiring piece that managed to capture comfort fear from viewers spawned a slew of similar films, unfortunately few even begin to flirt with the quality of Ringu, That isn’t to say however, that there aren’t a few gems out there worth seeking out… oh, quite the contrary.

Kairo made waves in the J-Horror scene in 2001. The film, a cruel mind bend that fuses vulnerability with haunted technology is harrowing to the darkest degree. Never (not even in Ringu) have so many haunting visuals been captured on film; Asian or American. The story rides a track that’s both easily follow able and firm on it’s tracks. But the haunting scenes that decorate this picture are unique in the sense that they do truly haunt.

In 2002 Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang crafter a sleek, disturbing tale of a woman who receives a nightmare of a transplant. The film is The Eye, and the outcome is chilling. Beautiful post production, solid performances and a harrowing underlying element that wreaks of hopelessness help to make this one o the best J-horror films to hit the market in years. The Eye is absolute must see for ghost fans.

For the sadistic of mind, Odition is a nightmarish dream brought to visual life. The tale of a lonely man who finds himself in a relationship that Herschell Gordon Lewis couldn’t image, Odition is not just frightening it… lingers. There are some absolutely repulsive visuals that are a surefire winner for gore fans. But for those looking for love, this is a film to run away from. One of my personal favorites on this list, Odition is a magnificent character study with a bleak undertone that quickly finds its way to the surface.

If you’re a fan of war and horror flicks, then I’ll assume you’ve caught R-Point. Driven by beautiful and in depth character development R-Point tells the tale of a platoon sent on a one way mission. Spine tingling while subtle, the effects are gorgeous. There are too many quality performances to list, and that’s an amazing feat for any film this day and age. The direction is intricate in execution, and the films pace works in perfect synchronicity of the storytelling itself. R-Point, in short is a film that should under no circumstance be missed. Kudos to Su-chang Kong for this masterpiece.

For the monster feature fans out there, Host remains the greatest Asian release in decades, if not ever. Black comedy, intimate emotions, rage, fear, and a nasty giant mutant fish make Joon-ho Bong’s Gwoemul a staggering piece of work. Great visuals, and a very realistic undertone to some of the characters responses to their predicament leave this film standing head and shoulders above most Asian cinema today. Emotions run the gamut while viewing this shiner, but it’s a shiner I’m happy to brag about anytime!

If you’re a diehard fan, a few more I’d suggest are Chinese Ghost Story, Rahtree: Flower Of The Night, Hansel and Gretel, and A Tale Of Two Sisters, all great pictures.

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