Asian horror films have created its own genre because it is not only something different from the usual Hollywood horror flicks but it caters to Asians and tells something about their diverse but quite similar cultures. Asian horror films cover the suspense thriller genre and horror genre all rolled into one. There are six main subcategories of Asian horror flicks; there are Filipino horror films, Hong Kong horror films, Indian horror, J-Horror or Japanese horror, K-Horror also known as Korean horror and Thai horror films. Out of the six sub categories, three are ruling the market mainly J-Horror, K-Horror and Thai horror.
Japanese horror films dwell on murder, youth violence and ghosts coming from the grave that haunt the ones left behind. Japan’s horror flicks gained its prominence when Hideo Nakata’s Ringu more popularly known as “The Ring” hit the cinemas. The main target of the said film was supposedly high school girls but it somehow appealed to the rest of the world.
Japanese horror usually tackles angry and vengeful ghosts with long hair that cover most if not the whole face who come along with killer videos or phone calls. J-Horror as coined by its fans is not so much different from Korean horror films.
J-Horror started in literature and print, it is even seen in old sculptures. It was scary folklore that started these films, from the story of the Kabuki play “The Ghost Story of Yotsuya” in as early as 1825 to modern Japanese manga. The belief in ghosts in this country is something not unusual because ghost stories are deeply embedded not only in the Japanese culture but in other Asian cultures as well.
With Korean horror, the appeal of the said subcategory is much more apparent than the usual Japanese scare. With K-horror, the dynamics of the Asian family and the Asian culture is intertwined with how each Korean horror movie works. One great example of K-Horror is the chilling tale of “A Tale of Two Sisters”. This film however is also an example of Gothic horror. The said film, according to researchers and experts in the field is somewhat related to the story of the evil stepmother and her two daughters only more convoluted. The Korean film as with any other Korean horror flick goes back to the fairy tale with an obsession of flowers, the idyllic home located near the lake, themes that point back to myths and gothic fairy tales.
The 2007 Thai film “Alone” is an example of Thai horror. The story of Pim is somehow related to Korea’s “Tale of Two Sisters” because Pim is haunted by her conjoined twin whom she asked to be separated from so she could have her own life and get married. Before the surgical separation however, Pim and her sister promised each other that they will not leave each other’s side but Pim changed her mind and they were separated. As expected in most horror flicks, her sister died in surgery.
The movie” Alone “deals more with the haunting and if it is true or just psychological. Thai horror has the same theme that Korean horror is most famous for –mental deterioration and guilt.
Thai horror is more similar to Korean horror than to its Japanese counterpart. Korean horror is a mix of both Thai and Japanese horror films because K-Horror usually has a chillingly cryptic way of narrating its stories while Thai horror does it with the usual heart pumping scares. In the contrary, J-Horror ghosts are shown as very real and not a figment of the characters’ imagination making the movie more raw and chilling.
