Uzumaki - 2000

Uzumaki aka Spiral deals with the weird concept of supernatural feel. This film directed by Higuchinsky earned a good reputation in the history of Asian Horrors.

Kirie Goshima (Eriko Hatsune), a young girl came across her boyfriend's father videotaping a snail. The father was unware of it and soon became obsessed with Spirals, which led to her suicide in a washing machine. Slowly the entire population of the small Japanese town became possessed with the spirals.

The movie is not really based on incidents related to ghosts, rather it deals with incidents, which took place of the form of 'spiral'. The camera work is excellent and it gives you ample space to run your imagination wild.

My Rating - 5/10

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White Lady - 2006

White Lady falls in the category of a very average Asian horror movies. This 105 min horror flick was directed by Jeff Tan.

A gang of college students used to tease and harass the newcomers. Because of their behavior, a fellow student lost her mental balance and locked herself up in her room for more than a year. People soon started to see a White Lady in different parts of the college. Strange incidents began to happen with each members of the gang and they all began to die under mysterious circumstances.

The movie has a very weak story line, almost allowing you to accurately anticipate the very next scenes of the movie. The character of the ghost is quite similar to the character of Sadako Yamamura from the movie Ringu. The special effects are very amateurish and its very hilarious. The movie seriously lacks any sorts of originality.

My Rating - 3.5/10
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Raatri - 1992

Hardly there are any good Indian horror movies worth discussing in a public domain. Raat aka Raatri directly by Ram Gopal Verma does not fall under the so-called Indian-horror-movie category. This is the first of its kind totally away from the Ramsey series.

The Sharma family consisted of Mr. Sharma (Akash Khurana) and Mrs. Sharma (Rohini Hattangadi), there daughter Mini (Revathi) and their grandson Bunty. Bunty has lost his parents in a road accident. The Sharma family witnessed strange incidents after relocating to a new house. Soon a dead kitten was discovered and Mini's best friend was murdered. These incidents troubled the peace of the Sharma family.

Made on a string budget, it is quite an exceptional work in the history of Indian cinema (read: the horror genre). The movie has a very suitable background scores, which makes it more thrilling. The use of special effects are minimal and it can be considered as one of the best work of Ram Gopal Verma.

My Rating - 8/10
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Janghwa, Hongryeon - 2003

Janghwa, Hongryeon aka The Tale Of Two Sisters in one of the rarest horror movies, which touches every aspect of human emotions. This Korean movie was directed by Ji-woon Kim and was even considered better than Ringu by the critics as well as fans.

The two sisters Su-Jeong (Bae Soo-mi) and Geun Yeong (Bae Soo-yeon) after recovering from a mental illness, was discharged from the hospital and came home. The girls lived with their father (Bae Moo-hyeon) and step-mother. It seemed that the obsessive step-mother made their lives miserable. Add to this, they were began to be troubled by ghosts.

The movie is full of twists and turns. A very bold storyline, which touches every heart and keeps you anticipating till the end. It is really difficult to predict the climax and understand the whole movie, and admire it, unless and until you watch the full movie. It is a perfect combo of horror, emotion and drama.

My Rating - 9/10
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Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara - 2002

From the Director of Ringu, Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara aka Dark Water is one of the brilliant J-horrors by Hideo Nakata. Nakata has own International Critics Award at Gerardmer Film Festival along with several other awards for this movie. This movie is inspired by the novel Dark Water by Kozi Suzuki.

Yoshimi Matsubara (Hitomi Kuroki) fights the legal battle and wins the custody of her daughter Ikuko. With an intention to start a new life, she moved to a new apartment, which at the first sight looks perfect. Things begin to change when water stains appear on the ceiling and drip regularly. Yoshimi calls the landlord but he refuses to do anything. Very soon a strange red bag of a kid begin to appear everywhere in the apartment followed by the mysterious appearance of the kid. Yoshimi soon started discovering the reason behind it.

This is one of the brilliant work of Nakata. It has a very strong storyline, world class cinematography and editing. The superb background score makes the movie more enjoyable.

My Rating - 8/10
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Spoorloos - 1988

Adapted from a novel by Tim Krabbe and directed by George Sluizer, Soorloos aka The Vanishing is one of the best available murder mystery/ thriller movie in the European film circle. Released in 1988, this movie has own more than 5 awards in various categories.

Rex Hofman (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia Wagter (Johanna Ter Steege) were young couple who were deeply in love. While on their way for a holiday, the couple stopped at a gas station. Saskia mysteriously disappeared from there. For the next three years, there were no traces of Saskia. In spite of giving the best effort, Rex failed to obtain any clue of Saskia. Then Rex received a postcard from the abductor Raymond Lemorne (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), who promised to reveal the truth behind Saskia's disappearance. Rex was drawn towards Lemorne in order to find the cause behind the disappearance of his lover, Saskia. But the truth revealed by Lemorne was more chilling that Rex expected.

Spoorloos has a very tight storyline and it will let you keep guessing till the end. With a bunch of talented actors, the movie is pretty interesting. It has every ingredients those are needed to make a classic thriller movie.

My Rating - 7.5/10
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Gin Gwai - 2002

Gin Gwai aka The Eye is a supernatural/horror movie directed by the duo Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang.

Eighteen years old blind girl Wong Kar Mun (Angelica Lee) went through an eye transplant in Hong Kong. She began to see the images of dead people while recovering. She started to search for the 'eye-donor' with the assistance of Dr.Wah (Lawrence Chou). Mun tried to solve the mystery behind the vision of her eyes.

This movie ideally falls into the category of any typical Asian horror movies. It has ghosts, supernatural powers, curse and the willingness to take revenge, yet it is an interesting movie. In spite of having a not-so-strong storyline, it catches the attention of the audience pretty well. Some scenes are shot extremely well with clever use of graphics/ special effects. This movie has recently been remade in English too.

My Rating - 6/10
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Oldboy - 2003

This is one of the best movies that has ever been produced in Asia. Directed by Chan-Wook Park, this psychological thriller have already won 16 awards in different categories all across the globe along with other 10 nominations. This movie is presumed to have inspired a school-shootout in the US.

Ho Dae-su (Min-Sik Choi), an ordinary man got completely drunk and was arrested on his daughter's birthday. His best friend No Joo Hwan bailed him out of the police station and called Dae-su's home from a public booth. Dae-su vanished. He had been kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years without any explanation. He was kept inside a single room, which had a bed, a TV and a bathroom. Nobody was allowed to interact with him during this period. Suddenly, one day Dae-su was released. He was given new clothes, money and a cell phone. Dae-su met Mido (Hye-jeong Kang), a Japanese Chef and got attracted towards her. Dae-su desperately searched for the reason of his 15 years long imprisonment. He wanted to take revenge. In the process, Dae-su discovered many dark secrets of his past. His life became more painful than his imprisoned life.

This is a brilliant movie. An excellent story line with loads of twist and turns. One of the best movie that has been every produced in Asia. Min-Sik Choi has done a wonderful job in the lead role. Apart from few scenes of bloody violences, the movie is a tale of human relationships and their outcomes. A must watch for all, especially those who are into abstract themes.

My Rating - 8.5/10
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The Village - 2004

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Village was nominated for Oscar in the category of best music written for motion picture.

The story was of a very quiet and isolated village of old Pennsylvania. There was almost an unwritten contract between the villagers and the creatures who resided in the woods; the villagers would never go to the woods and the creatures would never come to the village. This had been followed for many years. But Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) violated the unwritten contact when he had to go to the town beyond the woods for medical supplies. Soon animal carcasses began to appear in different parts of the village. The elders of the village considered it to be a 'bad luck' for them. But Hunt decided to go the woods and challenge the creatures that lived in the woods.

This a an exceptional horror movie. We hardly get to see any Hollywood horror movies without any blood and violence. Perhaps, this is the charm of the director. An exceptional cinematography and a mind bogging background score that is enough to give you goosebumps throughout the whole movie.

My Rating - 8/10
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A L' Interieur - 2007

Directed by the duo Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, A L' Interieur aka Inside is a French movie containing gruesome bloody violence and loads of disturbing contents. This movie has won a Carnet Jove Jury Award after its release in 2007.

Sarah (Alysson Paradis), a photographer, met with a car accident in, which she lost her boyfriend, Matthieu. She was four months pregnant then. Four months later, on a Christmas Eve, Sarah decided to stay home alone. While grieving over her boyfriend's death and getting ready to go to the hospital the next morning for her delivery, Sarah heard a knock on the door. A strange woman (Beatrice Dalle) wearing black, hit the door and wanted to come in. Sarah was scared and informed the Police, but by then the woman had vanished. Later that night, while Sarah was sleeping, that woman broke in and attacked Sarah with a knife. To save her own life, Sarah locked her inside the bathroom. This mysterious woman brutally murdered couple of Sarah's visitors which included the Policemen. During this bloody ordeal, the murder disclosed who she was and what she was looking for.

This is one of those typical European movie with much effort in the storyline and cinematography. If you like movies like Saw or Hostel or Cradle of Fear, you might like it as well. The whole movie is shot inside the entire villa, and more than half of the movie was shot inside a bathroom. It looks like one of those low-budget European cinema. The movie is extremely graphic in nature and you might find it too disturbing for your taste. The story will interestingly twist at the end. Not highly recommended, but it is worth a watch.

My Rating - 5.5/10
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The Shining - 1980

The Shining was adopted from a novel of Stephen King. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this movie is considered as a masterpiece in the history of modern horror movies.

Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a novelist, took a winter job as a caretaker of an old, isolated and beautiful Overlook Hotel. Jack was told by the hotel manager, that the previous caretaker Delbert Grady (Philip Stone) had chopped of his (Grady's) family members. Ignoring this fact, Jack took the job and shifted to the hotel with his wife Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall) and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd). On the very first day, Danny was warned by the hotel cook not to enter the infamous Room No.237. Danny soon developed the secret power of seeing things from the past as well as from the future. Danny began to see the previous guests and employees of the hotels and their deaths inside the hotel. Jack, on the other hand, turned insane and became more hostile and aggressive. Danny and his mom, Wendy was convinced that Jack would repeat the notorious act of Grady.

This a classic horror and Kubrick has presented really well. You will not find unnecessary violence or sound effects to scare you. The cinematography is really brilliant along with the story line with all inputs of a psychological thriller. Brilliant classic horror flick, a must see.

My Rating - 9/10
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Odishon - 1999

Odishon aka Audition is considered as one of the most popular movies in the history of J-Horrors. It is directed by Takashi Miike and released in 1999.

Middle aged company executive Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) lost his wife when his son was a pre-teen. His son convinced him to have a girlfriend or to get married but in vain. After seven years, when his son moved out, he became very lonely. He finally decided to get married. Aoyama was asked by a friend to judge an audition for a non-existent film so that he had a wide range of prospective wives. While Aoyama was going through all the resumes, his eyes stuck on Yamazaki Asami (Eihi Shiina), an young beautiful ballet dancer. He noted Asami's number and called her. Asami willingly let her phone to rang for sometimes before she actually answered Aoyama. She was in a dark room, sitting alone. Aoyama soon fell deeply in love with Asami, the beautiful bright young woman. But soon things started to go wrong as they say first impression is not always the last.

This is a movie where each and every scene is vital for understanding the story. If you are not familiar with Japanese language, you have to carefully follow the subtitles. Unlike other popular J-Horrors, this movies has some scenes, which are violent in nature and pretty disturbing especially towards the climax. It is a must watch for all J-Horror lovers.

My Rating - 6.5/10
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The Blair Witch Project - 1999

The Blair Witch Project was partly colour and party b/w 86 minute thriller directed by the duo Daniel Myrick and Eduardi Sanchez.

Three students film-makers Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard went to the forest nearby Burkittsville, Maryland to make a documentary on the local legend, the Blair Witch. During the mid-1900, many children had mysteriously disappeared from the same woods. These three film-makes never returned. Almost after a year, the backpack of one of the missing student was found. Police discovered a camera, other recording apparatus along with few recorded tapes. One of the tape contained the chilling experience of the three film makers in the woods.

This movie is bound to involve you in the whole experience. Without using too much of sound effects in the background and special effects, the movie has been able to make you anticipate till the end. It is a horror movie and you will not watch it, but you will be in it.

My Rating - 7.5/10
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Ringu - 1998

The movie Ringu is based on a novel with the same name by Koji Suzuki. This famous J-horror directed by Hideo Nakata and was released in 1998.

Just after the mysterious death of her cousin Tomoko, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) hears the rumour of the cursed video tape. Whoever watches the video tape, dies exactly after one week. Reiko first thought it to be a rumour but later she learnt that Tomoko's friends (who have also watched the cursed video tape along with Tomoko) are also dead. Reiko went to the cabin in the woods where Tomoka had spent her last weekends with her friends and watched the "cursed video". Reiko with the assistance of her Ex-husband Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sananda), began to investigate and also made copies of the video. Reiko's son accidentally sees the "cursed video" and just have a week to live. Soon they discovered a connection between the "cursed video" and an old psychic woman who died 30 years ago and her daughter Sadako.

Inspite of being a horror movie, it deals extremely well with human emotions and psychology. The story, screenplay and lightings are handled with extra care which make this horror movie 'beautiful'. The frontal appearance of Sadako in this more is of not more than a minute.

My Rating - 8.5/10
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Chakushin Ari - 2003

Chakushin Ari aka One Missed Call is a popular Japanese horror flick which has recently been remade in English. The original J-movie was directed by the renowned director Takashi Miike.

Young Yoko Okazaki (Anna Nagata) received a voice mail announcing the future date and time when she would die. Yumi (Kou Shibasaki) soon overhears fellow students talking about an urban legend when people receives mysterious voice mails which predict the future date and time of their death. Yoko died when a supernatural force attacked her in the station while she was talking to her friend Yumi. Soon Kenji died a mysterious death in the elevator. Yumi and Hiroshi Yamashita (Shin'ichi Tsutsumi) began to investigate the matter.

The movie has a very tight story line and it makes you anticipate every moment. The usage of special effects are very apt. The background score gives an extra strength to the movie.

My Rating - 7/10
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Jisatsu Saakuru - 2002

Written and directed by Sion Sono, Jisatsu Saakuru aka Suicide Club is one of the well know horror flick available.

The movie starts with a mass suicide of 54 Japanese school girls, who throw themselves infront of a running train in Shinjuku Station, Tokyo. This incident lead to the investigation by Detective Kuroda (Ryo Ishibashi). The mass suicide began to continue and the investigators failed to obtain any clue. Then Detective Kuroda received an email from a woman called The Bat (Yoko Kamon), stating that there is an website which has red dots that reflects the actual number of death. The investigators began to investigate but find themselves in a helpless situation.

This movie contain extremely graphic images. The suicide scenes (the railways station mass suicide and the school suicide) have been shot in a very realistic way which is bound to give you goosebumps. The concept of the movie and the story is really abstract. But if you like Asian horrors, you should not miss this.

My Rating 6/10
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Mirrors - 2008

Mirrors was directed by Alexandre Aja who Mirrors was released in August 2008.

While trying to escape, a man entered a locker room. The largest mirror in that locker room began to crack while he approached the mirror. He tried to pick up a broken portion of the mirror from the ground in order to fix it, but the reflection of the mirror slashed his throat. The man died.

Ben Curson (Kiefer Sutherland) was a undercover detective who was asked to work as a night security guard at a departmental store which was destroyed by fire recently. This store earlier used to be a psychiatric hospital. Soon at the job, Curson began to hallucinate, discovered hand prints on the glass windows, the glass mysteriously broke and injured his hands. Curson finds the wallet of Gary Lewis (Josh Cole) (the man who dies during the first scene) and learns that Gary Lewis was convicted for burning the same departmental store in which Curson was working as well as for the murder of Gary Lewis' own wife and children. Curson told this to his sister Angela (Amy Smart), with whom he wass living, but Angela was unconvinced.

Angela was soon killed under mysterious circumstances while taking bath. Curson went to the departmental store and tried to destroy the mirror. The mirror reflected a word 'ESSEKER'. It was learnt that Anna Esseker was a patient in the old psychiatric hospital who was presumed to have died during a mass killing. But Anna was actually discharged just two days before the mass killing. Cursor went to his estranged wife and told the story; she did not believe and thought that Curson is going through a breakdown.

Curson went to the house of Anna Esseker and the family member confirmed that strange incidents used to occur with the mirrors during the stay of Anna. The mirrors want Anna. To know more about it, you have to watch the movie. Curson was told that Anna was left at a monastery. Curson went there and forced old Anna (Mary Beth Peil) at gunpoint to accompany him to the departmental store in order to save Curson's estranged wife Amy (Paula Patton) and two children.

With the help of Anna, the spirits those were trapped inside the mirrors were set free and that saved the lives of Curson's family members. In this whole process Curson was severely injured. At the end of the movie, Curson came out from the departmental store and noticed that all the alphabets around him was in "mirror image". The audience needs to presume that Curson had died inside the departmental store.

This was a typical english horror movie. Though there was nothing extraordinary about the story line, yet it was able to keep the suspense throughout the movie. The murder of Anna, Curson's sister was bit graphic in nature. The background sounds could have been done better. Overall, it had all the ingredients to prepare a grand 2008 horror meal.

My Rating - 6/10
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