6 Award-Winning Asian Horror Films to Stream on Netflix
It is a given that the Halloween season requires long hours of horror movie marathon with family and friends. What better way to enhance the thrill of the experience than watching some highly acclaimed Asian horror films?
After all, these movies really leave another layer of fear and uneasiness for some reason. Get yourself popcorn (and courage!) as we prepared a list of six Asian horror movies you can stream on Netflix right now:
Shutter (2004)
Nothing beats a classic, and Thailand’s Shutter is definitely one of the contenders to be one of the most terrifying Asian films to date.
Directed by Pakpoom Wongpoon and Banjong Pisanthanakun, the plot revolves around a young couple named Thun and Jane who gets into a car accident, killing a woman in the process. The couple flees the scene and Thun, who is a photographer, started noticing strange shadows and figures in the photographs he took after the incident. This started the story of the dead woman’s karmic retribution to Thun and eventually his friends.
Shutter was nominated for the Golden Kinnaree Award at the 2005 Bangkok International Film Festival. The pacing of the story as well as its cinematography were highly praised.
Train to Busan (2016)
Korean film Train to Busan has taken Asia by storm with its unique take on the zombie genre. The story revolves around a father and a daughter inside a train en route to Busan.
What could have been another ordinary journey was murked by a zombie outbreak. A convulsing young woman boards the train and all hell breaks loose after that. In the end, the father sacrifices himself to save his child and a pregnant woman who they met on the train.
Train to Busan has garnered multiple nominations and awards across international film festivals including the Asian Film Awards and the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA.
Eerie (2018)
Eerie is a Filipino film that has made quite a buzz after its release with international publications raving about its well-placed jump scares, twists, and just the overall sinister feel it brought.
The terrifying plot is set on an all-girls Catholic school where Patricia, a guidance counselor, helps the students cope with the suicide of their schoolmate by investigating what made her do it. Her search for answers also leads her to uncover the gruesome truth about the school and the nuns that run it.
The film was directed by Mikhail Red and premiered at the Singapore International Film Festival. It was also screened at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.
Aurora (2018)
Aurora is a horror-thriller film about a shipwreck, two sisters, and the question of morality. When the ship named Aurora crashes near the inn she manages, Leana was forced to make a deal with the loved ones of those who were on board. She will have to recover the bodies and in turn, she will get paid.
She asks help from a local fisherman and a friend, and that’s where things began to get complicated and downright creepy as the souls of the dead come after her and her sister.
Aurora garnered four wins and seven nominations at the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival and a win at the FAMAS Awards on the same year.
Secrets in the Hot Spring (2018)
For those who are faint-hearted yet still want to feel to join in the horror movie marathon, this Taiwanese film is ideal for you.
A combination of comedy and horror, the story starts when Xiaogin was invited by his grandparents to the hot springs hotel they run. He brings along two classmates who see the vacation as an opportunity to escape bullies in their school.
Upon arriving, they discover that there is something wrong with the hotel since it is giving off gloomy and mysterious vibes. As the boys try to figure out what lurks in the hotel, they also develop a deep bond as friends.
The film won two awards and got seven nominations at the 2019 Taipei Film Festival.
Krasue: Inhuman Kiss (2019)
This film is about the krasue, a Thai myth about a creature who appears normal at day but its head detaches from its body and wanders off to look for flesh and blood to feast on at night.
In this story set in the 1940s rural Thailand, the krasue named Sai falls into a love triangle with her two friends. It follows the lengths the two boys goes through to prove their love for the cursed girl.
Krasue: Inhuman Kiss is chosen to be Thailand’s pick for the International Feature Film Category at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020.
Which among these award-winning Asian horror films are you going to stream on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
