There's an overwhelming sentiment today that modern horror relies on a technique known as "jump scares." For anyone not in the know, the jump scare is a tactic designed to intentionally rattle you. Critics accuse this practice of being nothing but a cheap ploy to convey fright.

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Horror films made in the west are particularly fond of this contentious technique. Yet other parts of the world put it to good use as well. For instance, Japan is no stranger to this device. That's not to say Japanese filmmakers exploit it; they are comparatively restrained. But looking through Japan's horror history, we would have to say it's a matter of quality over quantity. So, here are some of the best jump scares in Japanese horror.

Evil Dead Trap (1988): A Falling Light

When a news station receives what looks to be a snuff tape, a reporter and her film crew visit the location the movie was shot at. There, they are then each picked off systematically by an unseen maniac.

This '80s Japanese horror movie has a strong Giallo influence in its decorum and aesthetic but on the whole, it's a slasher with a mean streak. As unsettling as many scenes are, they don't exactly make you jump. However, the part where one character is walking in a seemingly empty room before a ceiling light crashes. Now that was a sneaky scare.

One Missed Call (2003): The Birds

Yoko is frightened because she received a creepy voicemail... from herself. Three days later, the events of the voicemail come true before Yoko dies. This is only the beginning as others are receiving prophetic messages, too. A woman and a detective finally learn a vengeful spirit is at the center of this supernatural phenomenon.

A jump scare should not be expected. In the case of One Missed Call, nearly every time you assume something spooky is going to happen, it does. So, here's one scene that will certainly startle you: while Yumi and the detective check out someone's apartment, some birds fly into the windows. It's a small jolt, but an effective one that sets the mood. This is what some refer to as a "cat scare."

The Vampire Doll (1970): The "Other" Yuko

After traveling to visit his fiancée Yuko at her parents' countryside house, a man is told his bride-to-be has died. As he stays the night, he hears strange noises. He looks through the house and finds someone who looks just like Yuko. No one believes him, of course. Then later, the man sees Yuko wandering the grounds. Is she really alive, or is her family harboring a dark secret?

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The reveal of Yoko in the wardrobe in this Toho vampire flick isn't all that surprising, but it's well executed.

Ju-on — The Grudge (2002): The Shower

According to Japanese folklore, a place where an awful, singular horror occurred will absorb that negative energy. Then, those who enter that same location in the future will be cursed. One volunteer caregiver becomes the latest victim to the curse of the Saeki house. And now, she's pursued by two malefic spirits.

If you have seen the American The Grudge, you will recognize this scene. In Takashi Shimizu's original Ju-on: The Grudge, a woman is showering when she feels a third hand at the back of her head. It's far more subtly executed than in Shimizu's 2004 English-language remake. Nonetheless, it's a disturbing moment.

Uzumaki (2000): Body Drop

A teen notices how everyone in her town is now fixated on anything spiral in shape or design. This includes a friend's father, who spends his days videotaping snails and examining narutomaki. This compulsion turns dangerous, however, when people start to die. In due time, the "spiral curse" becomes unstoppable.

There is an undeniably whimsical tone to this adaptation of Junji Itō's macabre manga. Beneath that fanciful surface, though, is a sinister core. The audience is taken aback when the protagonist and her friend are walking up a spiral staircase at school, and, all of a sudden, something plummets past them. They look below and see a classmate has fallen to his death.

P.O.V. — A Cursed Film (2012): A Sudden Visitor

The hosts of a television show watch a viewer submitted video tape depicting a haunting at a local school. When the hosts and their film crew visit the school, they experience a series of supernatural incidents.

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As seen in his films like Ring 0: Birthday, Norio Tsuruta's take on horror is typically more subtle and insidious. He switches things up in P.O.V. — A Cursed Film, though. His approach to the found-footage style is crafty and, at times, chaotic. There are a number of jumpy scenes in P.O.V., but none more so when the characters are trying to escape out the front door of the haunted school.

 Audition (1999): The Body

Ryo Ishibashi in Audition

A widower named Aoyama is looking to date again. His friend, a film producer, creates a fake movie and holds auditions. The women who show up are really being interviewed as potential dates for Aoyama, though. When Aoyama courts an intriguing woman named Asami, he finds she isn't as reserved as he originally thought she was.

Miike Takashi's Audition is a classic example of a movie taking a left-field turn that transforms it into an entirely different film no one expected. Audition lacks any screamer scenes other than the one where Aoyama comes upon that foreboding sack.

The Ring 2 (1999): The Well

When her colleague, Ryuji, is found dead, Mai investigates the urban legend he was so obsessed with. In the meantime, Ryuji's ex-wife Reiko is nowhere to be found. Mai searches for answers about the supposed death curse that's tied to a video tape as the authorities return the body of Sadako Yamamura to her living uncle. However, Sadako is not about to be laid to rest without continuing what she started, as she continues to haunt Reiko's son.

The Ring 2 is the official sequel to Hideo Nakata's The Ring. Another sequel called Spiral (or Rasen) was actually released alongside the original movie in 1998, but poor reception urged the studio to make another one as soon as possible. The Ring 2 fared much better despite bearing no connection to the series of books the first film was based on.

In the finale, Mai Takano scales that notorious well with Reiko's son on her back. She sees Sadako climbing up the well walls before realizing the long-haired ghost is right next to her. It's not the most unforeseen scare, but it's a compelling one accented by Miki Nakatani's credible shriek of fear.

Noroi ⁠— The Curse (2005): The Kagubata

A paranormal expert goes missing after researching a mythical Japanese demon called the Kagubata. Now, his footage has been recovered and pieced together in hopes of finding an explanation to his whereabouts. Kōji Shiraishi coalesces terror with the faux documentary model so well, especially in his first outing of the sort, Noroi: The Curse.

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The story here is admittedly tangled and verbose. It's not the easiest to absorb on a first run. But once you fathom the deep-seated fear that Noroi incites, coherence doesn't necessarily matter anymore. It's about the emotions the film stirs up. Near the movie's end, we are not prepared when Ishii's son is visually implied to be the mythical Kagubata.

The Ring (1998): The Closet Scene

A journalist named Reiko is urged by her sister to investigate her daughter's mysterious death. It all began with a local myth about a video tape that kills its viewers one week after watching. Reiko finds a copy of the video and watches it herself. She's skeptical at first, but evidence suggests there's truth to this ghost story. After her son watches the tape, Reiko hurries to stop the death curse before it's too late.

Hideo Nakata does not dispense jump scares easily; he doles them out with precise measure. One scene here that made hearts race was the flash of Reiko's sister discovering her daughter's terrified corpse in the closet. This moment was later included in the 2002 English-language remake.

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