Yūrei (幽霊) is a Japanese word used to describe all kinds of spirits, or ghosts, that became famous with the boom in Japanese horror movies that started with The Ring.
GaijinPot met with Clive Davies, an author based in Japan and writer of an awesome look at movies called The Spinegrinder Movie book: The Most Comprehensive Guide to Movies That Most Critics Won’t Write About.
What is it that makes Japanese horror movies so scary?
Japanese Horror Movies from GaijinPot on Vimeo.
The origin of the styles and imagery of Japanese horror movies goes back all the way to the classic ghost stories of the Edo and Meiji periods.
If you want to go further back than that though, the practice of horror stories being told in Japan can be traced to the Heian period and featured a lot of influence from China and India. Do you still watch Japanese horror movies?
Comments
The Fruit Chan movie “Dumplings” in “Three Extremes” is a weak, editted rendition of the original. The longer, uncut version is available at Chinese P2P sites. I saw it, it's… better? Well, it's definitely more graphical. Tell me if you want to see it, and I'll figure out a way to send it to ya.
Great intro to the genre cinema of Japan. Can't wait for the book
Interesting and informative. I hope to see more of these. A series, if possible.
Japanese horror is rich enough to go across movies, games and books…similar to China, India and Europe…lacking in American horror though
I love Japanese horror. I actually just recieved Suicide Club, 2LDK, Three Extremes, and a few other movies in the mail that I got on Amazon.