J-horror is one of the most beloved genres for fright-loving audiences. Many of its movies in the 2000s got American remakes, including Death Note.
Japanese horror, also known as J-horror, influences Western cinema in many ways. With a scary movie tradition spanning back to the late 1940s, Japan introduced the world to vengeful ghosts, post-World War II tales of terror, and kaiju monsters like Godzilla. By the 21st century, Japan's emphasis on haunted houses and nuclear families shined through with the island nation's horror movie efforts.
RELATED:10 Great Japanese Horror Films On Criterion Channel
Just like the '90s, the 2000swere an important decade for J-horror. Each year saw the release of crucial fright films, ranging from found-footage flicks to supernatural psychodramas to dystopian gorefests. As with previous decades, the best J-horror films of the 2000s were later remade for American audiences, includingDeath Note,Pulse, andDark Water. But J-horror fans will always prefer the original.
Long beforeTheHunger Games, there wasBattle Royale. This uniquely Japanese action-filled horror movie follows a group of junior high schoolers who, thanks to Japan's new totalitarian government, must fight each other to the death until one victor emerges from the crowd.
Drugged and sent to a remote island, the students employ all kinds of weaponry and skills to kill each other and protect themselves. Viewed as one of the best dystopian movies of all time,Battle Royaleis also mired in controversy because of its extreme depictions of violence.
Pulse is one of the first, and likely the best, horror films to tackle the oncoming internet explosion. Told through two interconnected storylines, the film evolves in a tech-heavy Toyko where ghostsencroach upon the world of the living through the internet.
This digital ghost story is shot with uneasy camerawork, making the storytelling all the more uncanny. While the computers and cell phones inPulse feel outdated by today's standards, the themes of despair, loss, and artificiality at the center of the movie still resonate loudly.
While 2002 is also the yearJu-On: The Grudge hit theatres, most critics believeDark Water is a more effective scary movie. A taut domestic supernatural thriller,Dark Water focuses on a mother and daughter who experience strange occurrences in their new apartment building.
RELATED:5 Horror Films Japan Made Best (& 5 America Did Better)
An imminent divorcelooms in the background forYoshimi as the ceiling of her new apartment starts leaking more and more every day. Soon, a ghost literally engulfs Yoshimi and her daughter ina watery deluge of pain, retribution, and fury.
Only the most extreme of Japan's horror moviemakers,Takashi Miike, could turn a movie about the Yakuza mob into a hallucinogenic fever dream.Gozu centers around a gangster underling named Minami who ventures on a bizarre journey through Japan after he's asked to assassinate an unstable Yakuza leader.
In Miike fashion,Gozu unravels into an absurdist, violent movie that involves ghosts, men donning the heads of cows, and a missing body. Equally macabre and hilarious,Gozu makes for one visceral cinematic experience.
This anthology film is the work of three directors from East Asia: Hong Kong's Fruit Chan,South Korea'sPark Chan-wook, and Japan'sTakashi Miike. In Miike's contribution,Box, a woman is haunted by memoriesfrom her youth as a circus performer
RELATED:Masters of Horror: 10 Best Episodes of the Anthology Series
Now a novelist, 25-year-oldKyoko can'tlet go of a strange accident that resulted in her sister Shoko's death. As the short progresses, the distinction between reality and fantasy disintegrates.
One of Japan's best found-footage horror films,Noroi: The Cursecombines VHS culture, paranormal investigations, and archival images from fictional TV shows to weave together a supernatural story. The fake documentary that structures the film revolves around a filmmaker digging into the legend of an ancient demon known as Kagutaba.
While it builds up to some well-placed jump scares,Noroi develops slowly, relying on atmospherics and old curses to terrify audiences. Each grainy moment of the movie is designed to fill viewers with dread.
When Light Yagami stumbles upon the "Death Note," a magical notebook that leads to the death of anyone whose name is written in it, thecollege student decides it's his duty to take out the world's criminals. This burgeoning vigilante runs into trouble, though, when law enforcement begins connecting all the dots.
RELATED:5 Best Hollywood Remakes Of Asian Horror (& 5 Worst)
A talented detective named L is soon just one step behind the owner of the special notebook. Death Note is based on the popular manga of the same name, and it was remade for American audiences by Netflix in 2016. The remake pales in comparison to the original film.
Set in feudal Japan,Kaidan is a supernatural romance about two ill-fated lovers wrapped up in a ghostly curse.Shinkichi is the son of the cruel samuraiShinzaemon, the latter of whom murdered a moneylender namedSoetsu 20 years prior and dumped the man's body in theKasenega-Fuchi River.
In the present, Shinkichi falls in love withToyoshiga, the daughter of Soetsu. Soetsu's vengeful spirit has no intention of letting the two consummate their love, though.
Much more whimsical and poetic than its contemporaries,Sweet Rain: Accuracy of Deathhighlights the trials and tribulations of a modern-dayGrim Reaper. Seven days before a person is set to die, Chiba arrives on the scene to figure out whether or not the person should get another chance.
Chiba's latest subject is a woman namedKazue Fujiki, who works for a manufacturing company. Will she live past her expected death date, or will Death himself decide it's time for her to move onto the next realm?
Another found-footage film,Occult is directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who is also responsible forNoroi: The Curse. InOccult, another misguided filmmaker with a camera decides to tamper with supernatural forces in order to solvemurders at a popular sightseeing resort.
LikeNoroi,Occult comes across as a real documentary, relying on improvised responses, choppy cinematography, and believable scares. The movie dives into every creepy and curious belief imaginable as it gets closer and closer to the source of all the mayhem.
NEXT:10 Japanese Horror Movies From the '60s You Need To Watch Right Now
Next Bah, Humbug: 10 Holiday Movies For People Who Don't Like Holiday Movies
Megan is a public librarian by trade obsessed with the intersections between art, culture, and society. She's a nerd for horror, obscure memes, weird history, graphic novels, and binge-worthy science fiction series.
Read the original:
The Best Japanese Horror Movie From Each Year Of The 2000s - Screen Rant
- The 30 best classic horror movies of all time - Entertainment Weekly News - March 16th, 2024
- The 23rd Spring, Is Jeepers Creepers Coming Back To Michigan? - 102.5/104.9 The Block - March 16th, 2024
- Winnie The Pooh Horror Movie Dominates The Razzie Awards - 106.3 The Groove - March 16th, 2024
- This Underrated Blumhouse Horror Movie Is Unlike Any Other Creature Feature - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- 13 Horror Movies Where Everyone Dies by the End - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience Villain The Unknown Gets Its Own Horror Movie - TMZ - March 8th, 2024
- The 13 Scariest Horror Movies Streaming on Peacock: Alien, Leprechaun, The Exorcist: Believer and More - Syfy - March 8th, 2024
- Every Horror Movie Releasing in March 2024 - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- 10 Scariest Movies That Have Won Oscars - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- The 10 Best New Horror Movies To Watch in March 2024 - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on Viral Willy Wonka Experience Coming Soon - Bloody Disgusting - March 8th, 2024
- Where To Watch Imaginary: Showtimes & Streaming Status - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Immaculate: Eveything You Need to Know About Sydney Sweeney's Upcoming Horror Movie That Will Give You ... - FandomWire - March 8th, 2024
- The 20 best horror movies on Peacock - Entertainment Weekly News - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on the Willy Wonka Experience Villain, The Unknown, Now in the Works - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Melissa Barrera's Scream 7 Replacement Actually Sounds Better Than Fighting Ghostface Again - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- 'Shaitaan' Movie 2024 Filming Locations: Shooting Spots Of The Horror Flick - TRAVEL + LEISURE INDIA - March 8th, 2024
- The Horror Movie Franchise With the Most Sequels Ever Is One You've Never Heard of - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Jimmy Fallon asked people to ruin a horror movie by adding a single word to its title - Upworthy - March 8th, 2024
- The Absolute Best Horror Movies on Hulu - CNET - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience creepy character 'The Unknown' handed role in new horror movie - The Mirror - March 8th, 2024
- The Best Sea Monster Movies, Ranked - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- The Borderlands Movie's Scary Behind The Scenes Drama That Has Us Worried - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- Netflix Just Quietly Added the Best Holiday Thriller of the Decade - Inverse - February 28th, 2024
- The 20 best scary movies streaming right now - Entertainment Weekly News - February 19th, 2024
- Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - Rotten Tomatoes - February 19th, 2024
- 'Only Murders in the Building' Adds Molly Shannon to Season 4 Cast - Yahoo Eurosport UK - February 19th, 2024
- Why Lindsay Lohan Refused to Kiss Charlie Sheen in "Scary Movie 5" - Best Life - February 19th, 2024
- 15 Best Scary Movies To Stream - Screen Rant - February 11th, 2024
- Eight Skin-Crawling Scary Films That Don't Have Any Jump Scares In Them - Digg - February 11th, 2024
- David Cronenberg names some of the scariest movies ever - Far Out Magazine - February 11th, 2024
- 12 Horror Movies That Will Give You the Biggest Jump Scares - Collider - February 3rd, 2024
- TAROT's Trailer Brings the Iconic Cards to Life and Things Get Weird - Nerdist - February 3rd, 2024
- Review: Baghead - Is the Movie as Scary as it Looks? - Blazing Minds - February 3rd, 2024
- Natasha Lyonne Says James Woods Hit On Her As A Teenager While Filming Scary Movie 2 - 106.3 The Groove - February 3rd, 2024
- The Witcher's Freya Allan explains the challenges of filming her first horror movie Baghead: "You have to surrender ... - Gamesradar - January 26th, 2024
- The 5 Best Uses of Popcorn in Scary Movies - Dread Central - January 26th, 2024
- 5 Horror Films That Transformed The Genre - Study Finds - January 26th, 2024
- Kristen Stewart Wants to Star in Another Horror Movie in the Future - ComingSoon.net - January 26th, 2024
- Best Home Invasion Movies of All Time, Ranked - MovieWeb - January 26th, 2024
- Presence Review: Steven Soderbergh Tells a Ghost Story from the Ghosts POV. It Is Scary? Not Quite. But the Family Demons Lure You In - Variety - January 26th, 2024
- 55 best horror movies that are actually good and terrifying - Digital Spy - January 18th, 2024
- She is a Real Housewife, was in a scary movie franchise, is pals with Bethenny Frankel, has a Hilton connectio - Daily Mail - January 18th, 2024
- The Scream cast talk about the legacy of Scary Movie - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- The 20 Best Horror Movies on Netflix: January 2024 - Vulture - January 9th, 2024
- Scream cast reveals their favorite scary movies - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- Horror fanatics are 'desperate' to watch the first scary movie of the year Night Swim after trailer leaves the - Daily Mail - January 9th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies That Are Too Disturbing to Re-Watch - Collider - January 1st, 2024
- Raging Grace review politicised critique of imperialism in horror movie form - The Guardian - January 1st, 2024
- 15 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes - MovieWeb - January 1st, 2024
- The 19 Best Horror Films of 2023 Best Life - Best Life - January 1st, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies of 2021, Ranked by Tomatometer - Rotten Tomatoes - December 23rd, 2023
- This Is What Takes 'The Descent' From Scary to Terrifying - Collider - December 23rd, 2023
- 15 Best Horror Movies Of 2023 - Screen Rant - December 23rd, 2023
- 25 Best Horror Movies Created in the Last 5 Years - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 12th, 2023
- 25 horror movies that were based on true stories - Yardbarker - December 12th, 2023
- The 30 best horror movies of all time - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movies In Theaters Now (2023/12/06)- Tickets to Movies in Theaters, Broadway Shows, London Theatre & More - Hollywood.com - December 12th, 2023
- What Is the Highest Grossing Horror Movie of All Time? - Collider - December 12th, 2023
- The 27 Best Horror Films of 2023 - MarieClaire.com - December 12th, 2023
- Upcoming horror movies: new scary films coming in 2023 and beyond - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- 20 Best Horror Movies on Max (Formerly HBO Max): Dec. 2023 - Vulture - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movie (2000) - Plot - IMDb - December 3rd, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Netflix - Rotten Tomatoes - October 16th, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Prime Video to Watch Right Now - October 16th, 2023
- From Psycho to a new crop of horror movies, the genre has some mommy issues - The Seattle Times - May 13th, 2023
- Months After Hulu Controversy, Mike Tyson Makes Major Move in the World of Cinema - EssentiallySports - April 8th, 2023
- Best Horror Movies of 2023 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - March 31st, 2023
- Three cheers for the Moose: Everybody knows the name of beloved '80s sitcom star and 'Masked Singer' eliminee - Yahoo Entertainment - March 31st, 2023
- The 10 Scariest Horror Movies Ever - Rotten Tomatoes - February 26th, 2023
- Films Turning 10 in 2013: Oz the Great and Poweful The Croods Oblivion Labor ... - Latest Tweet by Pop - LatestLY - January 1st, 2023
- Family of slain Idaho student from Skagit County relieved to hear of suspect's arrest - KPIC News - January 1st, 2023
- The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time - Reader's Digest - December 24th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy ... - December 24th, 2022
- "I was a side piece and you're a str*pper": Nia Long spills tea about Regina Halls role in The Best Man: The Final Chapters - Sportskeeda - December 24th, 2022
- Mother says scary movie guy wanted to kidnap her child in Spains Castellon area - The Olive Press - December 16th, 2022
- The Daily Show To Replace Trevor Noah with Chelsea Handler, Kal Penn, Al Franken, Sarah Silverman & Leslie Jones - Television - December 8th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy: 'We don't want to try to educate' - Fox News - November 11th, 2022
- 20 Scary Horror Movies to Watch on HBO Max - Harper's BAZAAR - October 2nd, 2022
- Best scary movies of 2022 to watch for Halloween - Dexerto - October 2nd, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero