J-horror Legends
In the 90s the J-horror phenomenon swept the globe and horror fans were enthralled by a new kind of scary movie. The antithesis of gory 80s slashers, J-horror films were more restrained, but utterly terrifying nonetheless. Focussing more on the psychological and on ghost stories and curses inspired by and based on folklore and superstition, as well as a fear of the effects of new technology and the disintegration of the family unit, a whole host of incredible horror cinema was unleashed and J-horror Legends collects together some of the very best films of the sub-genre.
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Vampire Clay
2018 • Japan • Directed by Sôichi Umezawa
From Japanese special effects master Soichi Umezawa comes a singular horror experience in a wildly hilarious marriage of The Blob and The Evil Dead. After studying in Tokyo, Kaori returns to Aina Academy to finish her prep classes for art school. Quickly...
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Ringu
1998 • Japan • Directed by Hideo Nakata
In 1998, director Hideo Nakata (Dark Water) unleashed a chilling tale of technological terror on unsuspecting audiences, which redefined the horror genre, launched the J-horror boom in the West and introduced a generation of moviegoers to a creepy, dark-ha...
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Dark Water
2002 • Japan • Directed by Hideo Nakata
After terrifying audiences worldwide with the blockbuster J-horror classic Ring and its sequel, director Hideo Nakata returned to the genre for Dark Water, another highly atmospheric, and critically acclaimed, tale of the supernatural which took the common...
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Audition
2001 · Japan · Directed by Takashi Miike
One of the most notorious J-horror films ever made, Takashi Miike’s Audition exploded onto the festival circuit at the turn of the century to a chorus of awards and praise. The film would catapult Miike to the international scene and pave the way for such...
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One Missed Call
Tapping into the same brand of terror as the Ring and Grudge movies, visionary director Takashi Miike ('Audition', 'Blade of the Immortal') presents a modern, high-tech twist on that mainstay of Japanese folklore, the yurei or vengeful spirit, in the form of its own iconic antihero - the terrifyi...
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Tomie
1998 • Japan • Directed by Ataru Oikawa
Based on the smash-hit series of the same name by cult manga artist Junji Itō (Uzumaki), Tomie tells the tale of an evil high-school seductress identifiable by a beauty mark beneath her left eye, whose bewitching kiss drives men to madness.
Photography st...
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Noroi: The Curse
2005 • Japan • Directed by Koji Shiraishi
The chilling Noroi: The Curse adopts a pseudo-documentary format as an investigative reporter into paranormal phenomena is forced to confront horrors beyond his wildest imagination after learning about an ancient folkloric demon.
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Shikoku
1999 • Japan • Directed by Shunichi Nagasaki
In the ghostly pastoral horror of Shikoku, a young woman returns after many years to her rural birthplace, only to find her best friend from childhood has died by drowning when just sixteen. The dead girl's mother, the local Shintoist priestess, has e...
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Isola: Multiple Personality Girl
2000 • Japan • Directed by Toshiyuki Mizutani
The aftermath of the devastating Kobe Earthquake of 1995 creates fissures in the already fractured mind of a high-school girl in Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, allowing an unwelcome intruder to set up home in her head and leaving a volunteer worke...
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Inugami
2001 • Japan • Directed by Masato Harada
A teacher from Tokyo finds himself drawn to a local papermaker, only to find himself the subject of some hostility from her extended family, who have long ties to the region and are rumoured to be the descendants of the guardians of ancient evil canine sp...
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St. John's Wort
2001 • Japan • Directed by Ten Shimoyama
Megumi Okina (Ju-On: The Grudge) plays the art designer for a horror-themed videogame in the innovative St. John's Wort, who is forced to confront her childhood traumas when her colleagues ask her to gather visual materials from the creepy gothic mansion ...
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Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman
2007 • Japan • Directed by Koji Shiraishi
Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman features the titular predatory murderess drawn from urban legend, where it turns out home isn't the safest place for her potential child victims in this disturbing supernatural horror.
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Persona
2000 • Japan • Directed by Takashi Komatsu
A new craze for wearing ceramic masks sweeps the students of a high school, unleashing a wave of anonymous juvenile delinquency amongst the literal fashion-victims of Persona, which boasts early appearances from Battle Royale stars Tatsuya Fujiwara and ...
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Ringu 2
One year after the success of his genre-defining horror classic Ringu, director Hideo Nakata (Dark Water) returned to the world of viral video to deliver his own follow-up, reteaming with much of his original cast and creative team. Picking up where its predecessor left off, Ringu 2 finds Mai (Mi...
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Ringu 0
Discover the horrifying truth behind Ringu's viral video in this spine-tingling origin story. Thirty years prior to the events of Ringu, teenager Sadako (Yukie Nakama, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade), plagued by nightmares and a suspicion that she has inherited her mother's psychic abilities, joins a...
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Ringu Spiral
When Hideo Nakata's Ringu was released in Japanese cinemas in 1998, it did so as part of a double bill with Spiral, a sequel directed by Joji 'George' Iida (Another Heaven; co-writer of the original 1995 TV adaptation of Ringu) and based on Koji Suzuki's novel of the same name. Due to the film's ...
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One Missed Call 2
2005 • Japan • Directed by Renpei Tsukamoto
A Japanese restaurant cook/owner dies after answering his daughter's cellphone. Other people are getting strange, same ringtone calls as well and dying painfully. It happened in Taiwan as well. Can the police stop it if it's a ghost?
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One Missed Call Final
2006 • Japan • Directed by Manabu Asô
The timid, young Asuka is bullied by her classmates. When they embark on a class field trip to Korea, Asuka plans revenge by sending them a cursed phone message they can either pass on or die.