7 Must Own Cult J-Horror Films
Ted Hentschke
|
3) Marebito (2004):
After watching Marebito the first time, don’t be surprised if you’re left with a look of confusion and muttering “whaaaaat?” If you don’t know that this is one of those experimental films going into it, you’re going to assume that you’re watching a bad VHS bootleg re-cut. It isn’t Jodorowsky level of completely insane, but be ready to open your mind to a lot of obscure concepts very quickly. After filming a homeless man killing himself by shoving a knife in his eye, cameraman Masuoka becomes obsessed with figuring out what terrified him enough to commit such a gruesome act. This leads him to the nightmarish underworld of Tokyo, where white humanoid creatures walk on all fours and the ghost of Kuroki teaches him about hollow earth theory. Kuroki is also the man who killed himself at the beginning and seems more annoyed than anything when informed of this. He eventually finds the vast Mountains of Madness and in the ruins of an ancient village a girl chained in a cave. She won’t speak or eat, and strange shit starts to go down. This movie is out there and should frequently be taken more as metaphor than an actual chronicle of events. It’s weird but will certainly last you well past the first viewing.
2) Occult (2009):
Koji Shiraishi is a fascination of mine. I stumbled upon his works during the found footage craze that followed Paranormal Activity, but his works are far different than the imitations and cash-ins of the West. The style is more “documentary in the making” than “a few nights in a haunted house,” reminiscent of the French classic Man Bite’s Dog. Occult focuses on the interaction between documentary filmmaker Koji Shiraishi (a character in the film, not the real director) and Shohei Eno, a man who miraculously survived a mass killing three years prior. Eno is homeless but seemingly blessed with small supernatural happenings. The purpose of these events is initially unclear, but they are unlikely caused by the “angels” that Eno claims. Shiraishi is a master of the style and has camcorder filming down to an art. The film stumbles in its final minutes, but the twists and turns it takes to get there surpass almost any Western found footage film.
1) The Curse (2005):
Another Koji Shiraishi film, this movie sits in my personal top 10. Along with being one of the best found footage movies to date, it’s a sublime supernatural thriller. Slow and suspenseful, the robust cast and runtime might scare more casual viewers off. The film is devoid of jump scares, choosing instead to build tension with subtle haunting imagery and a building sense of dread. Things reveal themselves in due time, and the conclusion feels heavy and powerful without requiring a ton of flashing lights and booming effects. It is by no means a boring film. It defies boundaries, showing us that found footage can be smart.
Over Your Dead Body (2014):
Discerning fans of J-horror will have noticed by now that I have yet to list a work by Takashi Miike. My reason for doing this is simple: Miike could easily dominate this list. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the genre, the man is a legend. Horror fans the world over are familiar with his films Audition and Ichi the Killer, raising the level of extreme violence in cinema. His artistic breadth is as diverse as Kubrick, and the volume of his library of work is staggering. He is one of the most talented, prolific, and interesting directors in the world.
With Over Your Dead Body, Miike again delivers for fans of his iconic violent horror. Combining visceral bloodshed with a supernatural surrealism, he delivers a unique blend of body and mind that reflects the breadth of his talent. Check out the trailer below and our review, and see if you’re as excited as I am to show this off at nerd parties.
So, what do you think of my list? Did I miss your favorite cult J-horror film? Let me know below!
