Japanese culture is one known throughout the world. It's often emulated and unique and the Japanese approach to horror is no different. With iconic imagery like pale girls with long black hair and common themes of the wronged woman, Japanese horror is often easily recognizable. There are also a lot of horror films produced by Japan that don't fit into the norms and there is a diverse and often strange side to Japanese horror cinema.
This list looks at 5 of the strange and scary offerings from the Japanese horror genre that may have gone unnoticed. There are surreal musicals, found footage nightmares, and feminist gore fests meaning there is something for every genre fan to discover.
As The Gods Will
Directed by the legendary Takashi Miike, As The Gods Will sees a classroom full of students pitted against each other and an evil Darumaka as they compete in games designed to kill. Shun Takahata is lamenting about how boring his life is but soon regrets his words when he and the rest of his school are fighting to win games featuring giant lucky cats, dolls with telekinesis, and a tricky polar bear. It's revealed that Shun and his friends aren't the only ones participating, students across the globe are also facing the same trials.
As The Gods Will was released in 2014 and features exploding heads, buckets of blood, and piles of bodies. The design of each of the games is fun, ridiculous, and grotesque with interesting effects and nemesis to outsmart. It is reminiscent of Battle Royale, but it takes itself a lot less seriously and is worth a watch for the singing Darumaka alone.
Tag
Tag starts as it means to go on with an entire bus full of students being shorn in half by what seems to be a gust of wind. The only survivor is Mitsuko, who struggles to come to terms with what she has just witnessed and lived through. As the film progresses, everywhere she goes all the other women die. The scenarios change, but the outcome doesn't. Is it fate that only Mitsuko survives or is something more nefarious at play?
Filled with symbolism and bizarre scenarios, Tag may look a little rough around the edges but its premise and ideas are solid. There are some interesting notions about dismantling male control and taking back sovereignty over your actions. Fate is what you make of it and no matter how many times you get stuck there's always a way out in the end. Also, don't mess with girls.
Sweet Home
1989's Sweet Home has been credited as the inspiration for the Resident Evil game franchise. A television crew is investigating an abandoned mansion that belonged to the famous painter Ichirō Mamiya. They hope to uncover the secrets of his life, death, and maybe some hidden masterpieces in the process. Things go sideways when they find they can't leave and the house is filled with ghosts and ghouls and every inch of the building wants them dead.
Dark and atmospheric, it's easy to see how Sweet Home influenced the early days of Resident EviI, and it also had a joint release with a game of the same name. The house itself is one big trap and there are puzzles to solve to get out. There are dissolving men, living shadows, and vengeful ghosts aplenty and the film more than deserves a Blu-ray release in the near future.
The Happiness Of The Katakuris
Another strange film directed by Takashi Miike, Happiness of The Katakuris mixes musicals, murder, and claymation to create something truly unique. The movie follows the Katakuri family who lives in and runs a remote bed and breakfast. Money is tight and guests are few and far between as the road running nearby has yet to be expanded. Meanwhile, the eldest and recently divorced daughter has met and fallen in love with a man who claims to be a U.S Naval Officer and is deeply weird. When a guest does come knocking, he commits suicide in his room. Not knowing what to do the family panics, dumps the body, and cleans the room. Unfortunately, things only get worse from there for the Katakuris.
Scenes randomly descend into musical numbers, there are strange claymation scenes, threats from volcanic activity, and zombies. It truly is a film that smashes genres together and somehow sticks the landing. The extremely strange landing.
Noroi: The Curse
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Found footage documentary-style movie Noroi: The Curse is a truly menacing exploration of folk ritual, tradition, and paranoia. Masafumi Kobayashi is a paranormal researcher who has been creating a documentary about strange occurrences across the country for years. However, before he could complete his latest film, Kobayashi disappeared. What follows is the remnants of his investigation as he pieces together horrific events that seem to all be related.
All the events seem to emanate from the same place, a town called Shimokage that seems to have been performing rituals to appease a demon named Kagutaba. The village was demolished to make way for a dam, could this be the reason for the restless spirits? Noroi is dripping with dread, a slow and frightening film that builds to a truly disturbing finish.