BEST FOREIGN HORROR FILMS
Horror movies that are beyond scary, disturbing, traumatic, unappetizing, sinister, possibly poetic and, best of all, meaningful.
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- DirectorGyörgy PálfiStarsCsaba CzeneIstván GyuriczaGina MorenoThree generations of men, including a pervert that constantly seeks for new kinds of satisfaction, an obese speed eater and a passionate embalmer.This movie achieves its aim of making you feel repulsed throughout. When it's all over, you couldn't be more appreciative for the experience. It reminds you of all there is to be grateful for, including the fact that we don't live in a world with such creepy characters. And, if we do, we can at least be thankful that they will remain hidden in a dark corner of the world that we will never stumble into. EVER!!!!!
- DirectorPascal LaugierStarsMorjana AlaouiMylène JampanoïCatherine BéginA young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.You know those CDS that you listen to from beginning to end, because each of their individual parts is in such pure harmony with one another, that they become a single uninterrupted whole? This film is the movie version of that, where each scene counts for so much, and is so essential to the overall effect, the sequence, and rythm, could, almost objectively speaking, not be improved. The concept is dynamite, and so convincing, you start to become jealous of the pain our protagonist is going through. There is something horrifying about films where one starts to relate to the crazies, and this is an example of that.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.So much power with so little. Simplified and marvellous.
- DirectorGeorges FranjuStarsPierre BrasseurAlida ValliJuliette MaynielA surgeon causes an accident which leaves his daughter disfigured and goes to extreme lengths to give her a new face.Another movie that is way ahead of it's time, and has been a major influence of the horror genre ever since it's conception. A must-see for the horror enthusiast who wants to understand the origins of the genre.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsAntonio BanderasElena AnayaJan CornetA brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.An adaptation based on the 1960 version 'Eyes Without a Face'. The result, though, becomes something entirely of itself, and quite the original that stands on its own, needing no comparison between it, and the 'original'. Enjoy this movie as an entity unto itself, and not through the microscope of its inspiration.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsMonica BellucciVincent CasselAlbert DupontelEvents over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.This is one of those movies, I used to say, whose subject matter is something that Hollywood would never dabble in, which is why it is necessary for Americans to go outside of the American horror genre to truly be scared or repulsed. Then, after saying that about this movie, specifically, I hear this movie IS being redone by Hollywood, has been, will be.....either way, who cares!!!!! No matter the version they will create, nothing can beat this original.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsHa Jung-wooPark Ji-yeonBaek Gwang-DooTo save her relationship, a woman puts herself through extensive plastic surgery.Brilliant concept. There are some things that money can't buy, and one of those things include turning back the clock on the choices we have made. That is what haunts you in this movie; the idea of regret.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoKim Ok-binChoi Hee-jinThrough a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
- DirectorFruit ChanPark Chan-wookTakashi MiikeStarsBai LingLee Byung-hunKyoko HasegawaAn Asian cross-cultural trilogy of horror films from accomplished indie directors.
- DirectorAlexandre BustilloJulien MauryStarsAlysson ParadisJean-Baptiste TabourinClaude LuléFour months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.In this movie, dripping blood glistens.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.Movies where the director has the confidence, and ability to use talented, and fairly anonymous, kids as the lead always seems to work out. In this movie, the kids take over the screen, and really make for a human experience, despite the blood covered snow.
- DirectorJulian GilbeyStarsAlec NewmanEd SpeleersMelissa GeorgeA group of mountaineers in the Scottish Highlands discover a kidnapped girl and are pursued by her captors.The breath-taking celebration of the natural landscape in this film has impregnated the most beautiful imagery in my mind, and will stick with me for a while. I really love this movie, and despite my inability to understand the various accents (actually, the accents may not be that varied, considering it all just sounds muttled to me, really) I would recommend this movie to anyone. It is a wonderful compromise between action for those with a short attention span, and the indie advocate, who is looking for somethign slightly different and exploratory. Well well done!!!!
- DirectorSion SonoStarsMasumi MiyazakiIssei IshidaRie KuwanaThe erotic novelist Taeko is writing a morbid story of a family destroyed by incest, murder and abuse. Her assistant, Yuji, sets on a mission to uncover the reality of this story, but the reality might be too much to bear.Strange, strange, indeed. The main characters are so messed up that you can't help but feel bad for them, and their complexities. Nothing like a horror movie with obscenely traumatized individuals who maniacally pursue their agenda. This movie is a triumph!
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsFederico LuppiRon PerlmanClaudio BrookA mysterious device designed to provide its owner with eternal life resurfaces after four hundred years, leaving a trail of destruction in its path.
- DirectorSean ByrneStarsXavier SamuelRobin McLeavyJohn BrumptonWhen Brent turns down his classmate Lola's invitation to the prom, she concocts a wildly violent plan for revenge.This movie is an Australian export, and one of the best movies I have EVER seen come out of the country. I always enjoy seeing a movie where there is so much achieved with so very little, and this movie is an example of that. Most of the movie takes place in one room, and depicts a maniacal father daughter duo, as well as the emotional journey to healing of our protagonist, despite his newly incurred pain. Unfortunately, sometimes the price one has to pay to heal inner scars is to attain new ones in the process.
- DirectorCheol-soo JangStarsSeo Yeong-hieJi Seong-wonMin-ho HwangA woman subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse on a remote island seeks a way out.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
- DirectorJan SvankmajerStarsVeronika ZilkováJan HartlJaroslava KretschmerováA childless couple passes off an anthropomorphous tree stump as their baby, but things get out of hand when the monstrosity comes to life and demands to be fed.Claymation Horror at its campiest and finest! A very folktale-like feel.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJessica HarperStefania CasiniFlavio BucciAn American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.Supposedly ahead of its time. I think I could see that
- DirectorHideo NakataStarsNanako MatsushimaMiki NakataniYûko TakeuchiA reporter and her ex-husband investigate a cursed video tape that is rumored to kill the viewer seven days after watching it.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoByun Hee-BongPark Hae-ilA monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
- DirectorJennifer KentStarsEssie DavisNoah WisemanDaniel HenshallA single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.
- DirectorNacho CerdáStarsPep TosarTrae HoulihanA sculptor is traumatized by the death of his wife in a car accident. He builds a sculpture in her memory. As the lifelike sculpture begins to bleed through the cracks of clay, the sculptor's flesh mutates and crumbles away...
- DirectorNacho CerdáStarsPep TosarJordi TarridaÁngel TarrisA short film wherein a man working in a morgue mutilates and defiles one of the corpses.
- DirectorJames WatkinsStarsKelly ReillyMichael FassbenderTara EllisRefusing to let anything spoil their romantic weekend break, a young couple confront a gang of loutish youths with terrifyingly brutal consequences.
- DirectorXavier GensStarsKarina TestaAurélien WiikPatrick LigardesA gang of young thieves flee Paris during the violent aftermath of a political election, only to hole up at an Inn run by neo-Nazis.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsAnthony FranciosaGiuliano GemmaJohn SaxonAn American novelist visiting Rome to promote his latest book is stalked and harassed by an obsessed fan who is committing a string of murders that appear to be tributes to his work.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsNathaniel BrownPaz de la HuertaCyril RoyAn American drug dealer living in Tokyo is betrayed by his best friend and killed in a drug deal. His soul, observing the repercussions of his death, seeks resurrection.
- DirectorAlexandre BustilloJulien MauryStarsChloé CoulloudFélix MoatiJérémy KaponeThe suggestion of a big treasure hidden somewhere inside Mrs Jessel's once renowned classical dance academy will become an irresistible lure to a fiendish trap for Lucie and her friends.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsMoritz BleibtreuChristian BerkelOliver StokowskiFor two weeks, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a prison. The "prisoners" have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the "guards" are told to retain order without using physical violence.
- DirectorGok KimSun KimStarsHahm Eun-jungHwang Woo-seul-hyeMaydoniGirl group "Pink Dolls" is always pushed into the background by other popular idols. When the girls release their new song "White", a remake from unknown origins they become instant sensations.
- DirectorGuillem MoralesStarsBelén RuedaLluís HomarPablo DerquiThe story of a woman who is slowly losing her sight whilst trying to investigate the mysterious death of her twin sister.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
- DirectorDouglas AarniokoskiStarsPaz de la HuertaKatrina BowdenJudd NelsonBy day, Abby Russell is a dedicated nurse, but by night, she lures cheating men to their brutal deaths and exposes them for who they really are.
- DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsGong YooJung Yu-miMa Dong-seokWhile a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.
- DirectorFede AlvarezStarsStephen LangJane LevyDylan MinnetteHoping to walk away with a massive fortune, a trio of thieves break into the house of a blind man who isn't as helpless as he seems.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsSofia BoutellaRomain GuillermicSouheila YacoubFrench dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.