There will always be a spot of enduring reverence in our hearts for our favorite childhood cartoons. For us late 90’s-early 2000’s kids, Dragon Ball Z on Cartoon Network spawned a generation interested in Japanese culture and entertainment. For anyone who grew up with the epic monologues and brutal battles of Goku and the rest of the Earth Defense Force, Japanese anime has forever colored your expectations for intense action and colorful explosions.
Anime fandom is no longer reserved for the otaku meganerds or weeaboo caricatures. Spike your hair, dye it blonde, go out in orange, and even the most alpha of frat bros will offer you props on your sick Goku costume.
Personally, I’m a bit more acquainted with Japanese stuff than your average gaijin. As a gamer who’s dated exclusively nerds his entire life, this shouldn’t be surprising. When I heard that The Forest, a film about Aokigahara was coming out, it perked the tips of my fox ears. While Japan’s “Suicide Forest” is common knowledge within its borders, most Westerners are oblivious to its gruesome reputation.
On January 8th, The Forest seeks to rectify this. Taking place in Aokigahara, the dense woods and infamous history provide a perfect backdrop for supernatural spooks. It’s one of those locations that makes you wonder, “Why hasn’t this been done a hundred times before?” The only theory I can come up with is that major production companies have yet to catch up with modern audiences’ adoration for the Land of the Rising Sun. Japan-inspired ghosts and ghoulies have hit the silver screen before, and you might not have even realized it.
5) Dark Water (2005):
Dark Water is a remake that shows us that some stories are universal. While definitely given a Japanese spin with the little girl ghost and water theme, the story is at its core about fractured familial relationships. The spirit wasn’t born from some satanic ritual or vengeful wrath, but simple neglect. She fell into a water tower, and neither parent cared enough to check that she wasn’t with the other one. It reminds us that neglect, abuse, divorce, and the need for love is universal.
Coupled with some great performances by Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, and Tim Roth, the film gets you in the smaller emotive moments. The visuals are impressive, with a constant downpour of rain and permeating wetness giving the film an incredibly dark and oppressive feel. The spirit is more needy than violent, trying to insert itself into their lives rather than displace them. It only results to violence when it feels it’s a last resort. It’s a welcome spin on the genre and worth a watch
4) Pulse (2006):
As technology evolves, we have to stop and wonder if the social networks and constant connection that are meant to bring us together actually keep us farther apart. For Pulse, this danger comes in the form of ghosts that suck out your will to live. It’s a more insidious threat than just killing you, forcing you to trudge through life until you eventually fade away. By the end, all that is left of you is an ashy mark, an afterimage of the life you once had. It’s a disturbing to think about what will remain of our Facebook, Twitter, Instagrams, etc., once we are also gone. Will they be just as hollow and empty of marks, disconnected reminders of what once was?
3) The House Where Evil Dwells (1982):
What a glorious age we live in that we can look upon the schlock of years past with genuine glee. This is an 80’s film about an American family haunted by Japanese Samurai ghosts. The ghosts proceed to make a mess of their pots and pans, before forcing Susan George to take her shirt off and have an affair. As far as possession movies are concerned, I’m way more in the camp of “show me your boobs and get freaky” than “spin your head around and vomit green shit.”
More seriously, this film reflects an idea of honor and vengeance that is generally only hinted about in the West. It isn’t a perfect representation of the Japanese idea of a vengeful spirit, but it is a valiant early attempt to adapt the concept for an American audience. I also like the creative use of demonic crabs, which in my opinion are criminally overlooked in the demonic weaponry community. It’s a totally fun bit of campy goodness that you likely haven’t seen before, so pop it in after a couple of sake bombs and let your tsundere heart melt for a bit.
2) The Grudge (2004)
For the casual horror fan, it can be hard to tell what makes a ghost story particularly “Japanese.” There’s visual cliché, as the young woman in a white dress with long black hair is certainly a telltale sign of J-Horror. A Shinto Kannushi or Buddhist monk performing chants and rituals is also a pretty good sign that this ghost might not be from Connecticut. Also, if your movie takes place in Japan, the odds are in favor of Japanese ghost.
While possessing all of these qualities, The Grudge strikes a deeper chord on what makes Japanese spirits unique. Both Western and Eastern ghosts are manifestations of living people, but European ghosts tend to be a reflection of their former selves. Your ghost is largely you, and if you died vengefully, then your ghost would be vengeful. There’s generally a sliver of your humanity left, and hope for redemption is possible.
The Grudge, on the other hand, shows us the incarnate nature of a cursed spirit. Kayako was the victim of a terrible crime of passion, but that rage transformed her spirit into something abominable. Her rage and pain combine as a force of nature, devoid of logic or reason. She, innocent in the violence, becomes the monster. It seems unjust to us, but who she as a person no longer exists. She is the curse, and not the woman. It is a distinctly Eastern take on damnation… and more terrifying for it.
1) The Ring (2002):
I would be totally remiss to not include The Ring. It deserves this #1 slot. Hell, The Ring made the “little girl with long black hair over her face” a recognizable trope in Western horror. Without Samara, our villains would likely still all be creepy dudes and monsters (with the occasional evil doll or Kathy Bates).
It functions as mystery movie, supernatural thriller, and grotesque horror film all in one. Seriously gut-wrenching visuals and terrifying hallucinations are interjected into a taught investigative drama, with the looming seven-day ultimatum providing a tense and believable timeline. The twists and turns the plot takes are nothing short of shocking, with an unforgiving signature Japanese darkness that isn’t afraid to delve into darker issues. It’s almost unimaginable, but if you haven’t seen this film yet, do so.
The Forest (2016):
There is a darker side to modern Japan that these films do not cover. The rate of suicide in Japan is alarming, averaging 70 a day in 2014. That’s twice the rate per person as in America. While plots can involve rage-driven adulterous murder suicides or Samurai Seppuku, the story of average Japanese citizens driven to the point of taking their lives is not something seen in the west. The Forest brings a light and face to this harsh truth. Starring a white woman in a foreign land dealing with the harsh possibility of her sister’s suicide, she faces both cultural and supernatural barriers in her struggle for the truth. Though terrifying as the spirits may be, they serve as a lens to dig deeper into her own soul. I’ll be taking the trip to see it first-hand January 8th and will let you know how it lives up to my expectations.
So, what did you think of this list? Was your favorite Japan-inspired movie left out? If so, what did you want to see on this list? Do you think I’m a total nerd and Japan is dumb, or do you think I’m a total nerd and got it all wrong? Let me know below!