Japanese Horror Movies: A Different Kind of Horror
You might not recognize the horror film titles Ringu, Ju-On, Kairo, but you might be more familiar with The Ring, The Grudge and Pulse. Youll find that many of those American horror movies youve been watching were actually all Japanese horror movies to begin with, and there are probably more remakes to come as long as J-Horror remains a popular trend and American horror struggles to come up with original concepts of its own.
To be fair, America has produced its fair share of popular horror classics like Psycho, The Exorcist and The Shining. However, these movies are more along the lines of J-Horror, while modern American horror seems to focus on explicit sources of terror or capitalize on shock and gross factors. Aliens will take over the world or a brutal, sadistic serial killer will be on the loose. Japanese horror movies tend to focus more on the psychological aspect of horror. In modern American horror movies things might suddenly appear out of nowhere to freak out the audience, where as Japanese horror movie evokes fear in the audience in more subtle ways. Japanese horror movies might build up tension at a slower pace, where as American horror movies will often move more quickly and give you the feeling of something waiting to jump out at you behind every corner.
In Japanese horror movies, horror doesnt necessarily have to come in the form of some rampant monster, disturbed individual or unstoppable plague. Horror isnt always externalit can arise from within us. People can create horrific situations on their own through the way they feel and act towards each other, and psychology figures largely into how horror is experienced. Your thoughts and actions might influence how the horror affects you, or maybe the horror is all in your head, but that doesnt make it any less horrifying.
In the end, what makes good horror is subject to personal opinion. Sometimes you just want a good scare, other times you might want to watch something that you have to wrap your mind around. Some might appreciate a slower pace, while others might find it unbearably dragging. Japanese horror movies arent everyones cup of tea, and youll likely be able to watch their American counterparts if you prefer. In any case, horror is horror regardless of national origin, and the faint of heart would likely prefer another genre entirely.
