Japanese horror

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Japanese horror is Japanese horror fiction in popular culture, noted for its unique thematic and
conventional treatment of the horror genre in light of western treatments. Japanese horror tends to
focus on psychological horror and tension building (suspense), particularly
involving ghosts and poltergeists, while many contain themes of folk religionsuch as:
possession, exorcism, shamanism, precognition, and ykai.
Contents
[hide]

1 Origins

2 Film
o

2.1 Notable films

2.2 Notable directors

3 Anime and manga

4 Video games

5 Influence

6 See also

7 References

8 Further reading

9 External links

Origins[edit]
The origins of Japanese horror can be traced to horror and ghost story classics of the Edo
period and the Meiji period, which were known as kaidan. Elements of several of these popular
folktales have been worked into the stories of modern films, especially in the traditional nature of
the Japanese ghost.
Ghost stories have an even older history in Japanese literature, dating back to at least the Heian
period (7941185). Konjaku Monogatarish written during that time featured a number of ghost
stories from India, China and Japan. Kabuki and noh, forms of traditional Japanese theater, often
depict horror tales of revenge and ghastly appearances, many of which have been used as source
material for films.

Film[edit]
Notable films[edit]

Audition

Carved

Cure

The Curse (Noroi)

Cursed

Dark Tales of Japan series

Dark Water (Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara)

Eko Eko Azarak series

Forbidden Siren

Gakk no Kaidan series

Guinea Pig series

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Shrill Cries of Summer)

Infection (Kansen)

Jigoku

Ju-on series

Kakashi

Kuroneko

Kwaidan

Marebito

Naked Blood

Onibaba

One Missed Call (Chakushin ari) series

Parasite Eve

Premonition (Yogen)

Pulse (Kairo)

Pyrokinesis

Reincarnation (Rinne)

Ring (Ringu) series

Shikoku

Suicide Club (Jisatsu Skuru)

Sweet Home

Tales From The Dead

Tomie series

Unholy Women

Uzumaki (Spiral)

Versus

Notable directors[edit]

Akihiro Higuchi (Uzumaki, based on Ito Junji's manga of the same name)

Masaki Kobayashi

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Takashi Miike

Nobuo Nakagawa

Hideo Nakata

Ataru Oikawa (Tomie, based on Ito Junji's manga of the same name)

Takashi Shimizu

Kaneto Shindo

Kji Shiraishi

Sion Sono (Suicide Club and Exte)

Norio Tsuruta (Yogen, Borei Gakkyu and Ring 0: Birthday)

Anime and manga[edit]

See also: Category:Horror anime and manga
Certain popular Japanese horror films are based on manga, including Tomie, Uzumaki, and Yogen.

Video games[edit]
Further information: Survival horror

Ao Oni

Calling

Castlevania

Corpse Party

Deadly Premonition

Dino Crisis

Fatal Frame

Ghost House

Monster Bash

Ib

Ju-on: The Grudge

Kenseiden

Kuon

Laplace no Ma

Overblood

Parasite Eve

Resident Evil

Silent Hill

Siren

Splatterhouse

Sweet Home

The Witch's House

Influence[edit]

Hidetoshi Imura as Seijun fromTales from the Dead.

In the past few years several of the more popular Japanese horror films have been entirely
remade. Ring was one of the first to be remade in America as The Ring, and later The Ring
Two (although this remake bears almost no similarity to the original Japanese sequel).
Here is a list of some Japanese horror films that have been remade for the US market.

The Ring (2002)

The Grudge (2004)

Dark Water (2005)

Pulse (2006)

One Missed Call (2008)

With the exception of The Ring, most American remakes of Japanese horror films have received
negative reviews.[citation needed] One Missed Call has received the worst reception of all, having earned the
Moldy Tomato Award at Rotten Tomatoes for garnering a 0% critical approval rating. The Grudge
4 was announced in 2011, but no news has surfaced since. Similarly, The Ring 3D was
reportedly green-lit by Paramount in 2010,[1] and it was reported in 2015 that the film would be
renamed "Rings" and would be released in early 2016.
Many of the original directors who created these Asian horror films have gone on to direct the
American remakes.[citation needed] For example, Hideo Nakata, director of Ring, directed the remake The
Ring Two; and Takashi Shimizu, director of the original Ju-on, directed the remake The Grudge as
well as its sequel, The Grudge 2.

Several other Asian countries have also remade Japanese horror films. For example, South
Korea created their own version of the Japanese horror classic Ring, titled The Ring Virus.
Inspired by current trends in Japanese horror, the first film by Los Angelesbased writer-director
Jason Cuadrado, Tales from the Dead, is a horror film in four parts which Cuadrado filmed with a
cast of Japanese actors speaking their native language.