With darker nights drawing in across the northern hempishpere, it is the perfect time to explore a new genre of film. Here, find out all about K-horror, what makes it so unique and the best titles to get you started.
The Guide throw K-Horror
In the last decade South Korean films have been known for their quality and the K-horror genre is no exception.
It is a young and progressive genre – there is no ancient stories or legends from ancestors, like in Japanese cinematography, for instance.
The contemporary view has seen directors follow the path of actual social issues, which are similar for the vast part of the globe.
That’s why Korean ideas are adaptable to the West cinematography.
Their new experiments set as the fresh perspectives for our contemporary world.
Another thing to highlight here is the fact that K-horror is not fulfilled with graphics. As in other specific Korean genres, modern techniques use animation graphics.
There, each episode commands by the feeling and emotions.
Daily, human conflicts in the plot help them awaken the similar inner answers from the audience. In addition, the other-worldly presence makes it horrific and mystic, so that people are easily attracted to the main tool – making their films scary
Here are the best K-horror films to give this extraordinary genre a go.
The Cat
2011
Director: Byun Seung-Wook
One of the girl’s clients named Seo Young dies in an elevator in mysterious circumstances.
There is the only witness – Bi Dan, a cat, who cannot tell anyone about what happened.
The police offered Seo Young to foster the cat, however after the cat showed up at Seo Young’s house, strange, suspicious things begin to happen to her. She noticed known people start to die.
Every time of upcoming relatives’ death, the ghost of a girl with a beautiful blue cat eyes appeared. Later Seo Young would know the main cause why ghost revenge to the offenders.
A riveting tale that will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Killer Toon
2013
Director: Yong-Gyun Kim
The quiet South Korean city is shocked with the series of mysterious suicides. People of different professions torture themselves with brutal cruelty before committing suicide.
At the scene, police find web comics that accurately depict the unfortunate victims.
Detective Lee Gi Cholu and his partner take on the investigation of these cases.
They have every suspicion that a serial maniac has appeared in the city. During the investigation, it turns out that the comics found were drawn by the popular artist Ji Yun.
The artist swears to the police that an unknown person sent her the sketches of the drawings by mail, and she only took the opportunity to gain fame.
But do the detectives trust her?
Cello
2005
Director: Woo-Cheol Lee
The plot of the film tells the story of a house in which an entire family died. These people led a quiet, modest life, constantly listening to cello music in different places.
They had no enemies, and none of their neighbours or acquaintances wanted them dead.
Upon arriving at the crime scene, the police find no signs of intrusion into the house and no traces of violence on the bodies.
Having embarked on the investigation of this mysterious crime, detectives cannot find a single clue.
The only one who can help them solve the murder is a young cellist who managed to survive those terrible events.
But the girl constantly repeats one phrase that it was music that killed them all.
The Divine Fury
2019
Director: Joo-hwan Kim
A K-horror classic. Yong Ho is a martial arts master, champion and skilful warrior.
Even at a young age, because of the tragedy, his father died, and since then Yong Ho doesn’t trust anyone.
One day, strange wounds that resemble stigmata begin to appear on his palms.
And only then he decided to turn to the priest, Father Anu, thinking that he would help get rid of them.
But instead he was embroiled in a struggle with otherworldly forces eager to break free.
R-Point
2004
Director: Kong Soo-Chang
It is 1974 and the Vietnam War is raging.
A detachment of special forces, who are sent on a mission to the very heart of the Vietnamese jungle, go missing.
Six months later, at a military base, the radio operator catches the call signs of this group and a request for help.
Command gathers a group of 10 professionals and throws them into the jungle.
The aim of the commandos is to find the missing squad and find out what has happened to them.
Bestseller
2010
Director: Jeong-Ho Lee
The famous writer Baek Hee-soo, who has more than one bestseller to her name, is unexpectedly accused of plagiarism.
Having experienced a nervous breakdown, she goes to a quiet town, away from human eyes, in order to recover and continue working.
Together, with her child, they rent a house.
But, her small child claims that she can communicate with the ghost of a young girl who disappeared many years ago.
Equipped with the ghost stories, Baek Hee-soo writes a new thriller that spreads fast and becomes one of the best-selling books of the year.
However, the plagiarism accusations returns so Baek Hee-soo decides to find out the circumstances of the girl’s death.
Photo: Shutterstock / Photomontage: Martina Advaney
Interested in South Korean Cinema? Read more about it now:
Support us!
All your donations will be used to pay the magazine’s journalists and to support the ongoing costs of maintaining the site.
Share this post
Interested in co-operating with us?
We are open to co-operation from writers and businesses alike. You can reach us on our email at [email protected]/[email protected] and we will get back to you as quick as we can.
