31 Days of Halloween - Day 6: Asian Horror

If you saw this coming down the stairs in your home, it'd be time to call a realtor and move!

Some of the creepiest films I've ever seen were Asian imports. God, these films scare the gray out of my hair. I remember in college when I saw the original The Ring (not that crap American remake.) It was the middle of a rainy day, I was home hungover sick from class, so I decided to watch a film. 25 minutes in and I was practically begging one of my roommates not to leave me home alone. It was THAT scary. Ju-on, the original version of The Grudge, was just as terrifying. Soon after my introduction into the world of J-horror, I started to see just how superior it was to American horror and why Hollywood is so keen to remake their movies.

Asian horror is awesome, plain and simple. They don't rely on cheap jump-scares or those fake "cat hiding in the closet" moments. Asian horror amps up the spook factor with atmosphere, basic sound effects, and camera movement. They make you feel unsettled and eventually work well to scare the hell out of you. Not many current and original American horror films can boast such achievements. Hollywood sees the Asian horror market puts out an excellent product. The problem with the remakes is that the overall message of the film gets lost in the societal differences between the East and West. In Asian horror films, there is usually a cultural significance to the film. J-horror version of Pulse was a statement against how technology that was supposed to bring us together only succeeds in alienating us further from one another. This message was lost on American audiences in favor of the typical storyline that the ghosts just want life again. The American remake of Pulse made... no... sense! Nor did it give me that same goosebumpy feeling that the Japanese version did. What a disappointment.

I don't care that I have to "read" my film due to my inability to understand any Asian languages. I don't care that I might miss certain nods to Japanese or Korean culture. So long as Hollywood continues to churn out mostly junk horror and/or butcher horror from other countries until they've completely Americanized it, I will be turning East-ward for my fix on what a REAL frightening horror film is to look like. Don't get me wrong, I still have hope for the horror genre in this country. Call me an eternal optimist, but we haven't been without our own horror gems here. There's a couple American releases on the way that have me encouraged that we can still hold our own. Let's hope I'm not proven wrong.