Over time, South Korea has presented cinephiles with masterful movie experiences. After the release of films like Parasite and The Handmaiden, in particular, Korean cinema has garnered a hefty group of thriller-genre lovers in the West. Of course, all-out horror films from the country are exceptional in their style, which, instead of solely relying on jump scares and grotesque creatures like other traditional horror cinemas, plays more with the human mind, leaving the audience with a sense of prolonged fear.
Films like The Host and The Call have been proclaimed globally by viewers, and the list below will include top-notch horror films produced in South Korea that you need to watch. Indeed, with autumn in full swing and Halloween around the corner, now is the time to add some South Korean horror to your list of must-watch movies, specifically these six movies below.
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6 The Call
Netflix
Based on the 2011 British and Puerto Rican film The Caller, the 2020 South Korean horror film The Call will mess with your head only to blow your mind in the end. Directed by Lee Chung-hyun, the film revolves around Kim Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye), who visits her mother in her worn-out childhood home. It’s here that she finds a cordless and receives a call from Oh Young-sook (Jeon Jong-seo), who lives in a different time. After connecting through the call, the lives of these two women change drastically. Meanwhile, the audience gets to experience time travel, thriller, and fantasy from the very beginning of the feature.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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With a gripping storyline, the leading characters take viewers to the past and, more significantly, leaves them hanging as the suspense builds till the very end. Besides the intriguing twists and turns, the performances by Park and Jeon are also top-notch, adding another reason to why The Call is a must-watch. For her performance, Jeon also received the Best Actress - Film Award at the 57th Baeksang Art Awards.
5 Cinderella
Mini Film Productions
Despite its fairytale-like title, Bong Man-dae’s Cinderella is not a happily-ever-after, with a prince charming coming to rescue the girl. Instead, this 2006 supernatural horror film is a thrilling take on South Korea’ unhealthy obsession with plastic surgery, in order to fit beauty standards.
Cinderella follows Yoon-hee (Do Ji-won), a plastic surgeon doctor who lives a happy life with her well-behaved and obedient daughter, Hyun su (Shin Se-kyung). However, after Hyun-soo’s friends — also her mother’s patients — start to commit suicide, Hyun-soo begins to unravel horrors from the past that her mother kept hidden from her.
4 Thirst
CJ Entertainment
Park Chan-wook’s film Thirst is a thriller-horror that beautifully displays a fresh take on the vampire movie. Garnering positive reviews from critics and audience, Thirst won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, and was also nominated for the Palme d’Or. The film follows Sang Hyun (Song Kang-ho), a warm-hearted priest, who, as a result of a failed medical experiment, turns into a vampire. However, after his haunting transformation to a vampire, the film adapts a dark and gruesome take as well. Things change when Sang Hyun become a blood monster, and to quench his thirst, he starts volunteering at a hospital. There, he meets his childhood friend, and his suffering wife, whom he later falls in love with.
Park Chan-wook was lauded by renowned film critic, Roger Ebert, and was called today’s most successful director of horror films. Thirst also become the ninth most successful film in South Korea in 2009.
3 A Tale of Two Sisters
Cineclick Asia
Helmed by Kim Jee-woon, A Tale of Two Sisters is inspired by a folklore originating from the Joseon Dynasty. The psychological horror-thriller masterfully captures the bittersweet tale of two sisters, Bae Su-mi (Im Soo-jung) and Bae Su-yeon (Moon Geun-young), who, after returning home from a mental institution, start to face disturbing events caused by their stepmother and the ghosts haunting their house. The sisters must go through a gripping and scary path to find out the troubled history of their family, as well as the reason behind their sufferings.
The twists and turns and the performances delivered by the entire cast are truly remarkable, and the ending might leave viewers impressed and shocked at the same time. A Tale of Two Sisters is the highest-grossing Korean horror film, and also the first-ever in the genre to be screened in American theaters.
2 The Wailing
20th Century Fox
Coming from proclaimed director Na Hong-Jin, The Wailing not only incorporates horror, but also zombies, thriller, dark magic, and mystery. The unbeatable plot line follows Jong-goo (Kwan Do-won) who starts to investigate a series of mysterious murders in a remote Korean village to save her daughter. The film brilliantly carries the suspense and horror until the very end, without any jump scares and devils, making it different from the stereotypical horror cinema. As stated by Vox, The Waling as the most unsettling Korean horror film in years.
1 The Host
Showbox Entertainment
Bong Joon-ho of 2019’s superhit film Parasite helmed The Host, for which he got the inspiration from a local news article about an S-shaped fish found in the Han River. The film showcases the events after dumping chemical substances in the Han River causes the birth of an amphibious monster who, years after being conceived, displays himself to the locals and causes a bloodbath.
In between the horror, Park Gang-du (Song Kang-ho) loses his daughter to the monster. Later, along with his family, he battles the monster to save his daughter despite the borders getting shut down by the government. In addition to strong-willed characters, The Host presents strong visual effects, effective direction, and a plot for everyone to become engrossed in. The film can be enjoyed by people of all ages, including kids who love to watch action as well as horror. Owing to its many amazing factors, The Host successfully made it to Empire’s The 100 Best Films of World Cinema list.
