u/Dizzy-Economist6064

for a lot of people I see it’s stuff like “rape” or “animal cruelty”. I don’t really have a no go when it comes to horror because I see everything as fair game when it comes to horror movies.

For instance I’m totally comfortable going into something like Girl Hell (1999) by Daisuke Yamanouchi or Red To Kill (1994) because I don’t really apply any semblance of morals onto fiction itself because its fiction. Another good example would be I Spite On Your Grave (1978), that I can likely watch without being upset, the only time I get upset is when a story or movie is slow paced, I dislike the amount of time it’ll waste on certain things. A good example of a film that I find frustrating to watch is Pulse (2001) or even Isola: Multiple Personality Girl (2000) due to how slow they are to get through, it feels oddly painfully slow, that’ll be the only thing to turn me off is if a movie wastes its time.

Some people may ask how I’m okay with animal cruelty in a fictional context and I just kind of am, like I know no actual animals are being hurt and that it’s just practical effects so my mind basically can discern and make that distinction. It’s different if it’d be a real scenario here but this is horror we’re talking about not reality so I guess my stance on animal cruelty in fictional contexts is a bit different than a lot of people’s. In fact I often give a film bonus points for going there.

Basically I’m attempting to understand what turns people off from a horror movie or novel or any work of horror fiction really as I feel like I operate in a different world or perception than most people. A lot of the mainstream audiences seem to have more issues with rape, animal cruelty, kids dying in horror so I’m trying to kind of understand that because that part of my brain has kinda shut off over time.

Some pretty cool Japanese horror films I’ve recommended on Instagram here.

- Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
- 964 Pinocchio (1991)
- Rubber’s Lover (1996)
- Tokyo Gore Police (2008)
- Helldriver (2010)
- Holy Mother (2022)

I’m going to be doing a PART 2 in future. That’ll include some other lesser known titles in my collection as well as ones I eventually get which may have to wait for PART 3.

Let me know what you all think. If you’ve seen Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) or Ring (1998), and you want something different, then check out this reel. You won’t regret it. There’s some bangers in here.

You thought “Ringu”, “Ju-On” and “Pulse/Kairo” were Japanese horror classics? wait until you see this! this film is a different kind of horror than those films, this film is pure chaotic madness, a lobotomized sex android thrown into the streets of Tokyo only to meet a fellow amnesiac named Himiko as his creators start to search for him to kill him before the world learns of his existence, all hell starts to break loose throughout this film.

There’s a comparability to films such as Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) by Shinya Tsukamoto and Organ (1996) by Kei Fujiwara with how experimental Shozin Fukui’s film 964 Pinocchio (1991) truly is. This trailer highlights some of the madness in this film. Be sure to give this one a watch!

So, what if Kadokawa, Nikkatsu, Nishimura Eizo Co. came together to create a finale to the Ring film series, to basically give up on being a Ring movie all together. It turns into a Sushi Typhoon styled splatter film like Tokyo Gore Police (2008), Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl (2009), Helldriver (2010) and other movies such as Meatball Machine: Kodoku (2017) even.

In this hypothetical the goal was it just happened to be a straight to DVD and Blu Ray movie instead of a Theatrical film like Ring (1998) or the other films post 1995 and goes back to its roots in regards to being a non-theatrical film, however it'd also likely be released on streaming and if Well Go USA signed distribution rights to distribute it on DVD and Blu Ray in North America, I could see it becoming a memorable Ring entry in both Japan and North America for how intentionally absurd it is.

It also likely would have music composed by Koh Nakagawa, which means you'd get some action rock music in there.

I just want a Ring entry where it just stops caring about plot, the plot becomes intentionally self aware, pokes fun at itself and the series, idk maybe throw in a badass 420 IQ cyborg high-school girl with a cyber-katana to confront Sadako at the end, in the meantime the plot is serviceable for it just to become mindless guts, gore, violence all caused by Sadako. I think that'd be the best note to end the film series on, there'd be a lot of people who wouldn't like this, but oh well, ideas are fun to throw around. The whole point would to be not like Ring (1998) whilst using the mascot of that film.

Me personally? I’m already trying to make a body horror splatter project more specifically that’s also a blend of sci-fi, horror, action and dark comedy plus some psychological horror in there that I also will likely also be in as the main villain.

But what would you guys make as your defining and starting horror film? or just a horror film in general, like even if you directed prior what would make THIS ONE stand out amongst your filmography?

Let me know in the comments below. :)

I have noticed a lot of people have been talking about films like Ring (1998), Ju-On: The Grudge (2002), Pulse (2001), One Missed Call (2003) and Audition (1999) for YEARS now. The worst offenders are articles, the ones that are like "10 Japanese Horror Films You Need To See Before You Die" and they'll recite the same 10 films that've gotten enough coverage within 20 or so years, it makes me scratch my head and think to myself that whoever wrote the article is trying really hard for attention either that or they genuinely don't know any other Japanese horror films to talk about, which hey, that's why I am making this post, its to inform. No shade here.

I've noticed this PARTICULARLY on the English language side of the internet and less so on the Japanese side of the internet, seems to be a lot more diversity and other differing films brought up when it comes to horror on the Japanese language side of the internet compared to when people talk about J-Horror on the English side. Another thing is that a lot of Japanese horror is available in places like the UK, North America and Australia. Plus outside of those areas too, Europe has a wide array of Japanese horror releases I've found too.

There's a lot of great distributors, 88 Films has done quite a few Gaira's Guts Trilogy Blu Ray boxset was one I wasn't expecting. Another one who's distributed quite a LOT is Media Blasters, they'd done a 4K UHD Blu Ray for 964 Pinocchio (1991), they had also released a lot of other films like X-Cross (2007), Tokyo Gore Police (2008), God's Left Hand Devil's Right Hand (2006), Hellevator: The Bootled Fools (2004), Id (2005) (Follow up to Organ), Tomie: The Beginning (2005), Tomie: Revenge (2005), Eko Eko Azarak Wizard Of Darkness (1995), Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth Of The Wizard (1996), Eko Eko Azarak III: Misa The Dark Angel (1998), Eko Eko Azarak: The First Episode of Misa Kuroi (2011), all of which are on DVD with Tokyo Gore Police (2008) and X-Cross (2007) having also received Blu Ray releases. Unearthed Films which has distributed films such as A Record Of Sweet Murder (2014), The Sound Of Summer (2022), Red Room (1999), Red Room 2 (2000), 964 Pinocchio (1991), Rubber's Lover (1996), Brutal (2017), Evil Dead Trap (1988), Evil Dead Trap 2: Hideki (1992) and are soon to release a Blu Ray of Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009), the third entry in the Tetsuo trilogy. There's also Massacre Video, they'd released films such as Girl Hell (1999), Tumbling Doll of Flesh (1998), Women's Flesh: My Red Guts (1999) & Suicide Dolls (1999).

Synapse Films have distributed films like Stacy: Attack of The Schoolgirl Zombies (2001), Wild Zero (1999), Battle Girl: The Living Dead in Tokyo Bay (1991), Organ (1996) (prequel to Id), Evil Dead Trap (1988), Entrails Of A Virgin (1986), Entrails Of A Beautiful Woman (1986), Undertaker (2012), Gurozuka (2005) & Horror of Malformed Men (1969) all of which are on DVD with Undertaker (2012) also having a Blu Ray release. You have Wild Eye Releasing + Visual Vengeance which have distributed Violator (2018), Bloody Muscle: Bodybuilder in Hell (1995), Cyclops (1987), Ikenie Man (2019) & Harawata Man (2019). Terror Vision which distributed Cube (2021) & Yellow Dragon's Village (2021) + Visitors Complete Edition (2023). Cleopatra Entertainment distributed The Beast Hand (2024).

New Wave Video had distributed in recent times Rubber's Lover (1996), Strange Circus (2005) & Nighty Night Midnight Nightmares (1986) all on Blu Ray. Error_4444 distributed Anatomia Extinction (1995) (Precursor to Tokyo Gore Police), Scissor Penis (2018), Mukuro Trilogy (2015), Egg (2005) & The Deform Collection (2017-2020) all on Blu Ray!

Not to come across as condescending however I want to know what the excuse is here of bringing up the exact same 5 to 10 to 20 films basically that have been recited for nearly 2 decades? is it a simple lack of knowledge or information on this subject matter? or is it that people can't get over these films and find other Japanese horror films to watch? like you'll see even videos, which are often poorly written and scripted with the title "What happened to J-Horror", Screened's video or even some of Accented Cinema's videos on J-Horror are a good examples of what a lack of information or key knowledge looks like yet at the same time NOTE I'm not here to bash anyone or be disrespectful, just pointing out that the videos themselves aren't very well informed and do a lot more harm than good, also considering there's a lot of distributors right now releasing Japanese horror films overseas in the west and other places as well. Idk, what do you all think about this, let me know in the comments below and remember, stay sharp guys!

So I wanted to say this 2026 J-Horror releases are actually looking great! So far Arrow Video has released Sana (2023) & Sana: Let Me Hear (2024) in February. March New Wave Video released Nighty Night: Midnight Nightmares (1986) on Blu Ray, Treasured Films is releasing both Hellevator: The Bottled Fools (2004) & X-Cross (2007) on Blu Ray, 964 Pinocchio (1991) is receiving a Standard Edition from 88Films who also distributed Helter Skelter (2012) in March of this year. Visual Vengeance is giving Cyclops (1987) an upcoming Blu Ray release, likely around August, Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009) is also getting a Blu Ray release from Unearthed Films.

So I’s say yeah J-Horror releases are looking great this year. Not to mention that New Wave Video had distributed Rubber’s Lover (1996) last year as well as Strange Circus (2005) last year.

What do you guys think? anything up and coming that I missed?