When we watch a really scary film sometimes we cannot go to sleep and still remember all the ghosts which appeared in that film.
If you are the real horror film lovers, you must watch Asian horror movies because films come from Asia have some unique elements. Although there are a few dialogs, the technique while showing the ghost always stresses the audience. Asian films usually use a myth or hereditary story that gives a feeling of gloom. Even so, if you compare the horror genre between Asian and Western films, it is clear that Asian horror films are scarier and give the Indonesian audience goosebumps.
Here are some of the best Asian horror films that you must watch.
Pengabdi Setan 2017
This film is recycled from the 1980s version of the same name made by director Sisworo Gautama Putra. The 2017 version is written and directed by Joko Anwar and has some differences from the original.
This film tells the story of a mother who became a devil worshipper to have children. The music and sound of this film are almost the same as the 1980s version.
The ‘jumpscare’ in this film is enough and it means the audience still gets some time to breathe easy. It makes us sad and hopeless in the middle of the film, when one of the actors, a child of 7 years, becomes a target of the devils.
There are ridiculousness things, which raise questions, for example when the family is terrorized why they do not call their father and urge him to come home.
The visuals in this film are great and the plot is not too complicated.
Related news: Netflix invests US$1 million in Indonesia's movie industry
Related news: Indonesian movie streaming apps expand consumer market
Pengabdi Setan received 13 nominations and 7 awards at the 2017 Indonesian Film Festival (FFI 2017). Not only that, but this film also won the Indonesian Box Office Movie Awards and some the other awards and on several occasions was in the international spotlight.
Shutter
Shutter is a supernatural horror film by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom and also is considered one of the best Thai horror films of all time. If you are real horror film lovers, you must have watched this film when it was released in 2004.
In the film, numerous shocking moments would make the audience hysterical. The plot is very simple so it is easy for us to understand and there are not too many dialogues. However, the appearance of a ghost often and suddenly scares the audience and makes them scream.
For the first 20 to 30 minutes, you still have time to relax from one scary scene to another, but then it increases and becomes relentless. There is a female ghost with a white dress and long hair and the sound effects are presented to trigger the adrenaline in the audience.
Even if you have watched it several times, you are still not bored watching it again and still feel scared. And, maybe, the atmosphere is even scarier when you are at home alone and watch it with the lights off.
The film, which was released in 2004, was also remade in Hollywood in 2008. Shutter was nominated for the 2005 Kinaree Gold Award for best film at the Bangkok International Film Festival and won various awards at small festivals around the world.
A Tale of Two Sisters
A Tale of Two Sisters is a film from the horror genre directed by Kim Ji-woon in 2003. This film is inspired by the ancient Korean folktale “Jangha and Hongryun”, which has been adapted to film several times. This is the first horror film made in South Korea that was shown in theaters in the United States.
This film has a really good plot. It does not always have ghost sightings. But like the other Korean films, this movie is also full of drama. If we follow the film carefully, it raises some questions in our mind. We must think and understand how the story unfolds because the hallucinatory scenes in the film are solid. That is why we have to watch this film until the end.
The soundtrack of A Tale of Two Sisters is simple enough but sometimes it surprises us. If we enjoy this film, we will be taken in by the sad interaction between the siblings in that film. At the end of the movie, there is a flashback, which explains what happened.
A Tale of Two sisters won various awards at the 2003 Screamfest Horror Film Festival, 2003 Korean Film Awards, 2004 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and the other award.
Ju-on 2002
This Japanese horror film tells the story of a house where a murder occurs which is haunted whenever someone inhabits it.
Ju-on is written and directed by Takashi Shimizu and is just a scary movie without any other story. Some of the scenes are similar and the frequency of ghostly appearances sometimes do not have that shock effect.
This movie impresses because there is no bloody scene, only a tense psychological exploration of the inner fear of human beings for the unknown. There are very few special effects but the sound used in this film is great and the creepy atmosphere is really frightening.
The ending is left to your imagination.
The plot sometimes confuses the audiences but the shocks are genuine and make-up effects as opposed to loads of gore.
Ju-on consists of several series, but all of them succeed in making us shudder.
Rumah Dara
Rumah Dara was directed by Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel, also known as Mo Brothers. The film, with a duration of 95 minutes, is one of the best horror films in Indonesia that received numerous awards in the country and abroad.
Rumah Dara is based on the short film Dara.
This horror film tells the story of a group of young men trapped in the house of a mysterious killer named "Dara" who attacks them with several types of weapons.
There are many scenes covered in blood and of people killing each other. It is so easy to understand the story of this film. The beginning of the story itself leaves the audience horrified.
Throughout this film, we can feel various sensations, ranging from angry, terrible, disgust and sad.
The sound effects of this film support the horrific scenes. The killings also trigger adrenaline.
Rumah Dara received nominations at various international film festivals and won many awards, such as the 2007 LA Screamfest Horror Film Festival in the best international short film category and the 2010 Jakarta International Film Festival.
According to the official Twitter page for Rumah Dara, the film is banned in Malaysia because of excessive violence and the first Indonesian film to be banned there.
Related news: Indonesian film director records movie on vote tally in L.A.
Related news: "Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts" wins award in Poland
Editor: Mulyo Sunyoto
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
