Since the release and success of Parasite and even more recently, Squid Game, there is now a well-deserved interest in Korean cinema. South Korea has been producing absolutely fantastic movies for decades, and one genre they seem to excel at is horror.
Whether it is atmospheric, supernatural horror, truly gruesome crime thrillers, or good old-fashioned monster movies, there is no doubt that Korean horror movies and Korean movies, in general, are in a league of their own and have been for a long time.
10 #Alive (2020) - 6.3
This zombie movie follows a video game streamer as he finds himself alone in his Seoul apartment while a zombie apocalypse rages outside. Initially posting online in an attempt to alert anyone who may still be alive to his whereabouts, the internet, along with the water supply and electricity, soon become unavailable.
Focusing more on his struggle to survive and less about the zombies or how they were created, #Alive offers a fresh take on the zombie genre, mixing modern themes like social media, genuinely believable fear from its main character, and an unlikely relationship between the main survivor and his neighbor.
9 Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018) - 6.4
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum follows a film crew, similar to that seen in Grave Encounters, as they set out to investigate a well-known haunted asylum. Due to numerous online videos featuring people who have attempted and failed to investigate it without being hurt, the film crew believes that if they live stream the event, they will make thousands of dollars.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, while following the now well-known and often-used found-footage style, does so in a very refreshing way, containing believable dialogue in the form of behind-the-scenes joking and chatter from the characters and a pacing that, although works well to set up the story, cannot prepare its viewer for the sheer terror that it soon starts to deliver.
8 The Call (2020) - 7.1
The Call was released in 2020 and is based on the 2011 movie, The Caller. It follows a young woman who, upon arriving at her derelict childhood home, receives a telephone call from a mysterious woman who claims she is being tortured. It is revealed that this phone call was made from the same house, but 20 years prior.
The plot, mixing fantasy, horror and drama, makes for intense and extremely entertaining viewing. While there are no jump scares or usual horror movie tropes, the atmosphere created here is one of pure psychological dread.
7 Thirst (2009) - 7.1
Written, produced and directed by Park Chan-wook (director of Old Boy), Thirst is a dark and fresh take on the vampire movie. Following a catholic priest who, as a result of a failed medical experiment, turns into a vampire, Thirst shows the transformation and its side effects in a realistic and believable way.
It follows the main character, Sang-Hyun, as he slowly starts to drink the blood of the patients in the hospital where he volunteers. As his insatiable need for blood increases, his mother allows him to drink her blood to give him the strength to continue his life, which now involves him falling in love with his best friend's wife. Mixing horror, drama, and modern vampire stereotypes and lore, Thirst is a movie like no other.
6 The Host (2006) - 7.1
This is far from the standard Hollywood b-movie. Directed by Bong Joon-ho long before he became a household name, The Host follows a sometimes hilariously stupid father as he attempts to save his daughter from a strange river-dwelling creature after it takes her from the family's snack stall during the middle of the day.
More than just a horror creature feature movie, the film delivers scares and laughs and was inspired by a real, albeit less otherworldly case in South Korea, as reported by The Guardian.
5 A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003) - 7.2
This psychological horror movie sets itself apart by not only being truly terrifying but also by containing a heavy dose of family drama, only increasing its ability to pull in its viewer and thus make the scares even more effective.
A Tale Of Two Sisters is based on a South Korean folktale and follows two sisters, one recently released from a mental institution, as they return to their family home. Featuring a few fantastically timed jump-scares and scenes and imagery that will stay with its viewer long after the credits roll, A Tale Of Two Sisters is a fascinating story that delivers superb horror and a dark family story that will continue to haunt for days after it's over.
4 Bedevilled (2010) - 7.3
2010's Bedevilled is a deeply disturbing movie about a mother who seeks revenge after her daughter is murdered. The movie deals with some very unsettling topics and makes for a rather nihilistic and bleak experience. That said, as a horror movie, it stands tall above its peers and delivers not only unflinching gore and violence but also an edge-of-your-seat experience that any horror movie fan will enjoy.
While some movies contain gratuitous and unnecessary violence, Bedevilled justifies its brutal scenes by making them the result of a torturous and believable emotional story.
3 The Wailing (2016) - 7.5
After a mysterious Japanese man arrives in the small mountainous town of Gokseong, local residents begin to brutally murder their families, leading the local police force, including the main character, Jong-goo, to intervene and begin an investigation.
The Wailing is a slow burn but is eventually full of twists and contains stunning cinematography, believable dialogue and characters, truly unsettling and disturbing scenes, and some genuine laughs along the way to its truly breathtaking ending. The slow setup with the rural backdrop of Gokseong makes for an experience that is both unique and unforgettable.
2 Train To Busan (2016) - 7.6
Set almost entirely on a train that's going from Seoul to Busan, this zombie movie is full of just as many superb action sequences as it is incredibly tense and nail-biting scenes. The zombie apocalypse depicted is caused by a leak at a local biotech plant, and its zombies are not the shuffling slow type. Instead, they are fast, ravenous, and truly terrifying.
The audience follows Seo Seok-woo, a divorced, workaholic father, as he and his daughter board a train in order for her to spend her birthday with her mother in Busan. However, along with them and all the other passengers, an infected woman also boards the train, causing sheer chaos and 118 minutes of superb storytelling.
1 I Saw The Devil (2010) - 7.8
Kim Jee-Woon's 141-minute thriller is an unforgiving, brutal example of the boundary-pushing filmmaking that has become almost exclusive to the best South Korean movies. It follows a NIS (National Intelligence Service) agent on his journey for revenge after his wife is murdered by a serial killer (played by Choi Min-Sik of Oldboy fame).
The lengthy runtime is nothing to be put off by, as the movie, from start to finish, delivers compelling characters, gruesome visuals, and a genuinely heart-wrenching and emotional story.
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