With the advent of Spooky Season, it’s time again for #31DaysOfHalloween.
October is here. The nights are getting longer, the shadows a little deeper, and for those of us who willingly subject ourselves to #31DaysOfHorror, it’s time to make our way through another month of cinematic nightmares.
This year, I’m taking a detour.
We’re leaving Hollywood behind and heading east, into the surreal, disturbing, and downright terrifying world of Asian horror.
An Obsession Born in an Anime Backroom
My obsession with Asian horror began sometime in the mid-2000s, when I wandered into a local anime shop that had a tiny horror section tucked away in a corner. At the time, I knew almost nothing about what was waiting for me. There were no carefully curated streaming algorithms, endless recommendation lists, or social media horror communities pointing me in the right direction.
So I did what any reasonable horror fan would do:
I judged the movies by their covers.
Two of the films I brought home that day were Ichi the Killer (2001) and Suicide Club (2001).
And just like that, the floodgates opened.
What started as a random trip to a tiny anime shop turned into a love and appreciation for a different kind of horror. One that could be grotesque without warning, psychologically suffocating, strangely beautiful, and sometimes so unnerving that the credits rolling felt less like an ending and more like a time to revisit my life choices.
Hollywood Takes A Clue From the Far East
Eventually Hollywood caught on.
The mid-2000s saw a wave of American remakes of Asian horror films, bringing titles like The Ring (2002), The Grudge (2004), Dark Water (2005), and Pulse (2006) to U.S. audiences. For many viewers, these films served as an introduction to a style of horror that felt unfamiliar but impossible to ignore.
Back then, finding these movies could be almost as difficult as surviving them. You hunted through specialty shops, dug through DVD shelves, relied on word of mouth, and hoped the strange-looking import you found was actually worth taking home.
Thankfully, the hunt is a little easier now.
Streaming services, YouTube, and the ever-expanding world of international cinema have made it easier than ever to seek out the films that once felt almost impossible to find.
And that brings us to this year’s list.
#31DaysOfHalloween – Asian Edition
Over the next 31 days, we’re traveling across Asia in search of ghosts, curses, monsters, killers, psychological nightmares, supernatural horrors, and things that probably should have stayed buried.
The films will be separated by region and are not ranked in any particular order. Japan and South Korea have been major forces in horror since the late ’90s and early 2000s, so it should come as no surprise that they make up a large portion of this list.
There will be some familiar films that have become icons of Asian horror as well as a few lesser-known titles that deserve to be dragged out of the shadows and brought into the glow of your television screen.
So turn off the lights. Lock the doors. And welcome to #31DaysOfHalloween – Asian horror style!
#31DaysOfHalloween – Indonesia
1. Pabrik Gula (2025)
Director: Awi Suryadi
Starring: Arbani Yasiz, Ersya Aurelia and Erika Carlina
Seasonal workers at a sugar factory face growing terror after one follows a mysterious figure at night. Accidents and brutal deaths follow, revealing angry spirits from a nearby demon realm now demanding lives.
#31DaysOfHalloween – China
2. The Eye (2002)
Director: Oxide Pang Chun & Danny Pang Phat
Starring: Lee Sin-Je and Lawrence Chou
After 18 years of blindness, 20-year-old violinist regains her vision when she undergoes a corneal transplant. She’s overjoyed with the procedure, but her elation dissipates when she begins experiencing ghostly encounters. Desperate to discover why she now sees ghosts, she turns to a psychologist who believes the new corneas are causing the problem.
3. Incantation (2022)
Director: Kevin Ko
Starring: Hsuan-yen Tsai, Sin-Ting Huang and Ying-Hsuan Kao
Six years ago, Li Ronan was cursed after breaking a religious taboo; now, she must protect her daughter from the consequences of her actions. The film was inspired by real-life events about a mass hysteria incident in Taiwan.
4. Dumplings (2004)
Director: Fruit Chan
Starring: Miriam Chin Wah Yeung, Bai Ling and Sum-Yeung Wong
Aunt Mei’s famous homemade dumplings provide amazing age-defying qualities popular with middle-aged women. But her latest customer – a fading actress – is determined to find out what the secret ingredient is.
#31DaysOfHalloween – Thailand
5. The Maid (2020)
Director: Lee Thongkham
Starring: Ploy Sornarin, Kannaporn Puangtong and Sawika Chaiyadech
Joy is the new maid of a royal house, whose previous maid disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and is now haunting and terrorizing the family. Joy works to uncover the reason behind the former maid’s disappearance.
6. The Medium (2021)
Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun
Starring: Narilya Gulmongkolpech, Sawanee Utoomma and Sirani Yankittikan
A horrifying story of a shaman’s inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. What could be possessing a family member might not be the Goddess they make it out to be.
7. Shutter (2004)
Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom
Starring: Ananda Everingham, Nattaweeranuch thongmee and Achita Sikamana
After hitting a young woman with her car, Jane and her photographer boyfriend, Tun begin seeing a shadowy figure haunting the background of Tun’s photographs. Concerned that the figure is the vengeful spirit of the young woman from the accident, Jane does some research and soon discovers that the girl was named Natre and had been a classmate of Tun’s. As the haunting continues, Jane uncovers a shocking secret.
#31DaysOfHalloween – Japan
8. Yellow Dragon’s Village (2021)
Director: Yugo Sakamoto
Starring: Atomu Mizuishi, Takuya Matsumoto and Mayu Suzuki
A flat tire leads a group of college kids to make a stop at a strange village. They are soon persuaded by one of the villagers who offers them a hand to spend the night and their car will be fixed by morning. As the night continues, they soon realize that they will be killed one by one in Yellow Dragon’s Village.
9. Suicide (Circle) Club (2001)
Director: Sion Sono
Starring: Saya Hagiwara, Ryo Ishibashi and Hideo Sako
A wave of unexplainable suicides sweeps across Tokyo after 54 smiling high school girls join hands and throw themselves from a subway platform into an oncoming train. Detective Kuroda and the rest of the police force are baffled as the bloodbath triggers a wave of suicides across the city.
10. Kwaidan (1964)
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Keiko Kishi and Rentaro Mikuni
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning “ghost story,” this anthology adapts four folk tales.
- A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results.
- A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden but his rescue comes at a cost.
- Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts.
- An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior’s reflection in his teacup.
11. Noroi: The Curse (2005)
Director: Koji Shiraishi
Starring: Jin Muraki, Tomono Kuga and Rio Kanno
A prominent paranormal journalist named Kobayashi goes missing shortly after completing a documentary. What begins as an investigation into strange noises soon evolves into the chilling mystery of a demonic entity named Kagutaba.
12. 964 Pinocchio (1991)
Director: Shozin Fukui
Starring: Onn Chan, Haji Suzuki and Koji Otsubo
A memory-wiped and defective cyborg sex slave is tossed onto the streets and taken in by a homeless woman while his corporate creators hunt him down.
13. Pulse (2001)
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Starring: Haruhiko Kato, Kumiko Aso, Koyuki and Kenji Mizuhashi
After college student Taguchi commits suicide, a number of young adults living in Tokyo witness terrifying visions transferred across the Internet. As more people disappear throughout the city, the Internet becomes a breeding ground for malevolent spirits. Three seemingly disconnected stories follow Michi, Ryosuke and Harue as they attempt to solve the mystery behind the ghostly visions that are seeping beyond their computer monitors.
14. Signal 100 (2020)
Director: Lisa Takeba
Starring: Kanna Hashimoto, Yuta Koseki and Toshiki Seto
A group of high school students are forced into a game where they are hypnotized to commit suicide on an unknown command. Where no one is safe from a sudden death, how can they avoid their fates?
15. Ichi the Killer (2001)
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Tadanodu Asano, Shinya Tsukamoto and Nao Omori
As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.
16. House (1977)
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Starring: Kimiko Ikegmi, Ai Matsubara and Eriko Tanaka
In an effort to avoid spending time with her father and his creepy new lover, young Gorgeous resolves to visit her aunt’s remote mansion. With six of her closest friends in tow, including the musically inclined Melody and the geeky Prof. Gorgeous arrives at the estate, where supernatural events occur almost immediately. A severed head takes flight, household appliances come to life and a portrait of a cat seems to contain an evil spirit.
17. Hellevador: The Bottled Fools (2005)
Director: Hiroki Yamaguchi
Starring: Luchino Fujisaki, Masato Tsujioka and Ikuma Saisho
A school age girl’s routine morning elevator ride up from her subterranean home on level 138 to her school many stories above turns horrific when the elevator operator is ordered to pick up two passengers from floor 99, the maximum security level. What starts as psychological manipulation soon turns wholly physical as both the cruel convicts and Luchino’s own dysfunctional past are unleashed. And then every passenger must fight for his or her survival.
18. Best Wishes to All (2023)
Director: Yuta Shimotus
Starring: Kotone Furukawa, Koya Matsudai, Yoshiko Inuyama and Masashi Arifuku
Happiness on earth has a limit. A young woman’s visit to her grandparents’ home leads to the discovery of what’s brought them happiness, a revelation that will lead her to question her choices, sanity and reality itself.
19. Black Rat (2010)
Director: Kenta Fukasaku
Starring: Misaki Yonemura, Rina Saito and Shota Miyazaki
Six classmates receive an e-mail from Asuka; who supposedly committed suicide. Later that night they all get together in a classroom and are surprised by a person wearing a bloody rat mask. The costumed Rat quickly begins attacking them while screaming; this is revenge for Asuka’s death.
20. Audition 1999
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Eihi Shiina and Ryo Ishibashi
Seven years after the death of his wife, widower Shigeharu seeks advice on how to find a new wife from a colleague. Taking advantage of their position as a film company, they stage an audition. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu is enchanted by the quiet Asami. But soon things take a twisted turn as Asami isn’t what she seems to be.
#31DaysOfHalloween – South Korea
21. Bedevilled (2010)
Director: Jang Cheol-soo
Starring: Seo Young-hee, Sung-won Ji and Min-ho Hwang
A young woman who serves as a slave to the residents of a remote island seeks vengeance against her oppressors after tragedy strikes.
22. Ghost Train (2024)
Director: Tak Se-woong
Starring: Kim Ji-in, Jeon Bae-soo and Kim Woo-kyum
Da-kyung is desperate for her failing YouTube channel to get more views. Her latest idea: exploring a haunted train station. The creepy station master leads her through a series of terrifying tales that may be more true than she expected.
23. Hope (2026)
Director: No Hnag-jin
Starring: Jung Ho-yeon, Hwang Jung-min and Zo In-sung
In the remote South Korean village of Hope Harbor, police chief Bum-seok and officer Sung-ae are called to investigate a mysterious creature wreaking havoc on the community. But all is not as it seems, and perceptions can be misleading. What begins as ignorance plants the seed of disaster, escalating through human conflict into a tragedy of cosmic proportions.
24. The Host (2006)
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Starring: Song Kang-Ho, Hae il Park, Go Ah-sung
Careless American military personnel dump chemicals into South Korea’s Han River. Several years later, a creature emerges from the tainted waters and sinks its ravenous jaws into local residents. When the creature abducts their daughter, a vendor and his family decide that they are the only ones who can save her.
25. I Saw the Devil (2010)
Director: Kin Jee-woon
Starring: Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik
Kyung-chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. Soo-hyeon, a top-secret agent, decides to track down the murderer himself. He promises himself that he will do everything in his power to take vengeance against the killer, even if it means that he must become a monster himself.
26. Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019)
Director: Jang Jae-hyun
Starring: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Da-wit, and Pak Jeong-min
Pastor Park works to expose suspicious religious groups. He’s hired to look into the cult group Deer Mount. Meanwhile, Police Captain Hwang investigates a murder case and the main suspect is a member of the Deer Mount cult.
27. Sleep (2023)
Director: Jason Yu
Starring: Lee Sun-kyun, Jung Yu-mi and Lee Kyung-jin
How well do you really know the person sleeping next to you? For one young couple and their new born, this question becomes a twisted psychological nightmare when a husband’s nighttime behavior takes a menacing turn.
28. Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Director: Kim Jee-woon
Starring: Yum Jung-ah, Im Soo-jung, and Moon Geun-young
Two sisters return home after a stay in a mental institution, only to face disturbing events and a strained relationship with their stepmother. As eerie occurrences unfold, dark family secrets begin to surface, blurring the line between reality and nightmare.
29. The Chaser (2008)
Director: Na Hong-jin
Starring: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Yoon-seok, and Kim You-jung
Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp, who’s in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client, whom one of his girls is meeting with right now. Inspired by true events.
30. The Wailing (2016)
Director: Na Hing-jin
Starring: Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min and Jun Kunimura
Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp, who’s in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client, whom one of his girls is meeting with right now.
31. Train to Busan (2016)
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok and Kim Su-an
Train to Busan (2016) involves a zombie outbreak sweeps the country, a dad and his daughter take a harrowing train journey in an attempt to reach the only city that’s still safe.