The 2002 horror film The Ring has become a Halloween classic and is still just as scary almost twenty years later as it was when it was first released. Starring Naomi Watts and directed by Gore Verbinski, The Ring tells the story of a cursed video, which supposedly kills anyone who watches it.
It is one of the most successful horror films of all time, having made $250 million at the box office, there were two sequels in 2015 and 2017 which make up the American Ring series – although there are several Japanese movies also based on the original novels by Koji Suzuki, and The Ring has even found itself being parodied in the Scary Movie franchise.
Ring (Original Japanese Version)
If you enjoyed The Ring, then you should consider checking out the Japanese original, directed by Hideo Nakata, and released in 1998. The Japanese Ring is much scarier than its American remake, even if it does roughly follow the same storyline.
In Japan, Ring and its sequel Spiral, also based on a novel by Koji Suzuki, were released at the same time, with several other movies in the franchise following over the next two decades.
Shutter
The 2008 horror film Shutter was a real international affair. It was based on a film from Thailand and directed by Masayuki Ochiai, who had already made several scary movies in his native Japan.
Starring Joshua Jackson, better known as Pacey from Dawson’s Creek, Shutter is about a couple who are haunted by the ghost of a girl they killed in a car accident through the photographs Jackson’s character takes. The movie was released in March 2008 and grossed almost $50 million at the box office worldwide.
The Eye
The Eye was based on a movie made in South Korea by the Pang Brothers in 2002, a film that has sparked several sequels and several remakes, including this American version starring Jessica Alba in 2008.
The supernatural film tells the story of musician Sydney (Alba) who has been blind since she was born, but who starts to have terrifying hallucinations after receiving a cornea transplant – and discovers that the visions are things that the donor also foresaw before her own tragic death.
Sinister
Directed by Scott Derickson, who has built up a reputation for making horror movies with plenty of jump scares, Sinister was premiered in 2012 at the SXSW Film Festival and grossed an impressive $87 million at the box office.
Sinister stars Ethan Hawke as writer Ellison Oswalt, who moves his family into the former home of a murdered family to write a book about the crime. Oswalt soon discovers a projector and film reels that hint at something more, well, sinister beneath it all.
It Follows
It Follows is a combination of a teen movie and a horror film, with scream queen star Maika Monroe pursued by a deadly supernatural entity that never stops following until it catches up with you. The curse is passed by means of having sex with someone.
The 2014 film was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival that year and made $23 million at the box office. Even writer-director David Robert Mitchell has said that he finds it difficult to explain what the film is about.
The Grudge
After the success of The Ring, Hollywood started to look for other Japanese horror movies that they could remake. One such film was The Grudge, which was remade in 2004 by Japanese director Takashi Shimizu, who created the Grudge franchise.
The remake was still set in Japan, but starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, and boasts some terrifying jump scare moments. There have been three more films in the English-language Grudge series, the most recent being a 2020 spin-off starring Andrew Riseborough and Mexican actor Demian Bechir.
One Missed Call
One Missed Call is a horror movie that could only have been made in the 21st century, as the plot revolves heavily around cell phones and mysterious voicemail messages which appear to have been left in the future. The 2008 movie is another remake of a Japanese film, which was directed by Takashi Miike in 2003.
The American version has become a cult classic, thanks to its terrible reviews, and it is one of those horror films that is so bad it is actually entertaining to watch!
Pulse
Pulse gets a lot of mileage out of the fact that Wes Craven has a writing credit on it. However, he disowned the film upon release, as his original script was heavily re-written by Ray Wright following a delay in production.
The movie starring Kristen Bell and Ian Somerhalder may have not made quite as much money at the box office, but it is still well worth a Halloween viewing. This is also a remake of a Japanese original, the 2001 film Kairo, which was an award-winner at the Cannes Film Festival.
Hereditary
Hereditary is a more complex and cerebral movie than your average horror film, packing plenty of deep, psychological terror alongside some truly shocking and violent moments.
Directed by Ari Aster, who was also behind the camera for the hit horror film Midsommar, and starring Toni Colette, Hereditary was premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in 2018. Colette stars as Annie, a grieving woman who is plagued by ghostly presences and demons following a family tragedy. Hereditary received rave reviews from critics, who compared it favorably to horror classics like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby.
Dark Water
Like The Ring, the 2005 horror film Dark Water is a remake of a Japanese movie, which is in turn based on a novel by Koji Suzuki. The original Dark Water was released in 2002 and was also directed by Hideo Nakata.
The Hollywood remake followed in 2005, starring Jennifer Connelly as a young mother whose new apartment building is not all that it seems thanks to her daughter’s “imaginary friend”. Co-starring Tim Roth and John C.Reilly, Dark Water grossed $50 million worldwide at the box office.