Horror has always been a tricky genre to play with – more like a hit or miss – for the directors. You either make a great film that attains cult status or you make something so bad that it makes people burst out laughing instead of screaming in fear. After all, there’s a reason why Stephen King’s ‘It’ and ‘The Exorcist’; and ‘1920’and ‘Phoonk’ exist in the same universe. But, no matter how much we shriek and tremble after watching Hollywood classics, Japan is the badass daddy of all when it comes to playing with horror and supernatural thrillers. 

© Showgate

J-Horror has been making people pee their pants in fear since 1960s when classics like ‘Onibaba’ and ‘Kwaidan’ were released and is worshipped globally by every avid fan of supernatural thrillers. They bow down in front of the awesome imagination and rich story-telling of Japanese directors. Well, for a land that has given us Akiro Kurosawa and Takashi Miike; you can’t expect anything but the best. 

So, without further ado, we present to you the ultimate J-horror list that we bet you wouldn’t be able to watch alone. So, go ahead and dare your friends to finish the entire list. 

1. Ringu – 1998

© Basara Pictures

Hideo Nakata does a fantastic job in scaring the life out of people with his 1998 psychological horror ‘Ringu’. The film revolves around a reporter who sets out to investigate the mystery behind a certain videotape that is cursed – whoever watches the tape dies within 7 days. 

The 2002 hit film ‘The Ring’ starring Naomi Watts was an American remake of this classic.

2. Ju-On: The Grudge – 2002

© Pioneer LDC

The brutal murder of a woman and her child casts an evil curse on a house and anyone who sets foot inside gets killed by the vengeful spirits. Directed by Takashi Shimizu, this movie is the third installment in the ‘Ju-on’ series. 

3. Noroi: The Curse – 2005

© Xanadeux

Created in a documentary and ‘found footage’ format, this movie revolves around a paranormal expert who disappeared while filming the most disturbing documentary of his career on an ancient demon. This movie f**ks with your mind as you try to figure out who the real demon is.    

4. Audition – 1999

© Basara Pictures

Takashi Miike waves his magic wand around ‘Audition’ and turns it into a classic film that you just can’t afford to miss. A widower decided to start dating again and stages an audition to meet potential partners. He eventually starts dating a woman only to realize that she might be a psychopath with a dark and brutal past. 

5. Onibaba – 1964

© Kindai Eiga Kyokai

If you haven’t seen ‘Onibaba’, then you are really missing out on the best movie ever made in the world. Directed by Kaneto Shindo, this is a historical drama horror in the backdrop of a civil war, where two women kill soldiers and steal their possessions. One of the women comes across a demon mask and dons it to frighten the other woman.  

6. Marebito – 2004

© Adness K.K.

‘Marebito’ is another classic which many people wouldn’t even dare to watch in the first place. The mere synopsis sends chills down our spine, so one can only imagine how gruesome and intense the movie is going to be. A cameraman, obsessed with fear brings a woman home, only to realize that she survives on blood. How he looks after her, while dodging certain bizarre characters, weaves the rest of the plot.

7. Over Your Dead Body – 2014

© Celluloid Dreams

‘Over your dead body’ also known as ‘Kuime’ is a 2014 J-horror movie that takes on through the life of characters both on and off stage. As the line between reality and fantasy gets blurred, the characters find themselves trapped in a deadly love game that soon turns into an evil grudge.  

8. Kwaidan – 1964

© Toho Company

Another classic film directed by Masaki Kobayashi, ‘Kwaidan’ is a compilation of four Japanese folk tales, each with their own tinge of supernatural elements that will surely leave you trembling in fear. We recommend this as a must-watch movie. 

9. Ichi The Killer – 2001

© Omega Project

When Takashi Miike helms a film, there is no room for any doubts about the movie being an average one and ‘Ichi The Killer’ furthers the same. Also known as ‘Koroshiya Ichi’, this movie is a Japanese crime-horror that revolves around a sadomasochistic hoodlum who comes across a psychotic killer after his boss goes missing. 

10. Dark Water – 2002 

© Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.

The movie talks about a mother who is going through an ugly divorce and fighting for her young daughter’s custody. However, after the mother and daughter move into a new apartment, they realize they aren’t the only residents. They start seeing disturbing visions and start getting haunted by the ghost of a young girl who tries everything to draw them towards the supernatural. 

Most of you must be getting all jazzed up for ‘trick or treat’ aka Halloween. But, for the rest it’s yet another legit reason to binge-watch horror movies, along with the uninvited guests who will join us between 3 and 4 a.m. (ghosts should get an opportunity to watch their on-screen avatars too). 

Sometimes, your past can come back to haunt at a time when you least expect it to go wrong. Veteran actor Kevin Spacey realized this in the most brutal ways possible when his ‘House of Cards’ came crashing down to the ground, after Netflix decided to pull the plug on the show, leading to an unexpected and abrupt end. Yes, our beloved show has been scrapped by Netflix, post the shocking revelation by actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged that Spacey made sexual advances towards him when he was 14-years-old. 

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Netflix announced that they will scrap the show after the sixth season (a 13-episode series), which is currently in production and will premiere in 2018. 

According to a statement issued by Netflix and the studio behind the show, Media Rights Capital, they were “deeply troubled by the news concerning Kevin Spacey.” In fact, the statement further mentioned that, “Executives from both our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported. As previously scheduled, Kevin Spacey is not working on set at this time.” 

This decision came after Spacey apologized publicly for the event that took place nearly 30 years ago, and also came out as gay on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/X6ybi5atr5

— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) October 30, 2017

Interestingly, Kevin mentioned how he has had relationships with both men and women in the past and slipped in that he now chooses to live his life as a gay man. While talking about the shocking accusation, he said that he does not remember the encounter and that he is apologetic for his “deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour.”  

The ‘Rent’ actor broke his silence in an interview with BuzzFeed and alleged that Spacey tried to get with him sexually at a party in Spacey’s apartment in 1986. He further mentioned that after everyone left, Spacey picked him up and put him on the bed, climbing on top of him. Post the accusation, Kevin has been facing a lot of backlash and Netflix hit the last nail on the coffin by scraping the award-winning show altogether. (Brutal!)

© netflix

However, this isn’t the only thing that triggered Netflix’s decision. Talks to end the show with this season had been doing rounds for months. In fact, if reports are to believe then Kevin’s upcoming Netflix film ‘Gore’ might face similar fate and get scrapped as well. The International Television Academy has already decided to revoke the Emmy Award that he was supposed to be honoured with on November 20.

Having said that, in a different turn of events Netflix is planning for a ‘House of Cards’ spinoff. According to Variety, both Netflix and Media Rights Capital are in the early stages of development on ideas for a “potential spinoff”. In fact, all the spinoffs will take place in the same universe as ‘House of Cards’ and for those who haven’t started following the series, the show revolves around Frank Underwood who climbs up the ladder of supremacy while seeking revenge on the people who betrayed him.