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Japanese Horror films have produced some of the most terrifying and chilling moments in all horror cinema, building a reputation as a powerhouse in the genre. From "documentary" style found footage films to more traditional paranormal stories, Japanese filmmakers demonstrate a unique talent for creating some of the most exceptional horror movies ever. These titles often exhibit cultural nuances and combine them with haunting esthetics and gripping atmospheres, taking everyday life and turning it into something dark and sinister.

Some Japanese horror films transcend both the country and the genre, with titles like Ringu and Ju-On: The Grudge leaving a lasting mark on cinema and inspiring numerous other films. While some horror films trend towards shocking moments and jump scares, these focus on a slow build with incredibly intricate imagery while also not shying away from gore and brutality. In a genre that encompasses great Japanese horror films from as far back as the 1980s,...

For this month’s Let’s Scare Bryan to Death, we’re celebrating Women in Horror Month with the Spinsters of Horror. Jess (Spinster #1) and Kelly (Spinster #2) have been busy since 2018 building a mini-media empire, bringing a female perspective to the horror genre through their blog, podcast, and various social media outlets where they continually engage with the horror community via conversation and live streams.

For this month’s film, Jess and Kelly chose Kôji Shiraishi’s 2005 found footage film Noroi: The Curse. Noroi’s narrative unfolds through a documentary filmed by paranormal investigator Masafumi Kobayashi (Jin Muraki) on a tape mysteriously delivered some time after his house burned down and he disappeared without a trace. The tape follows Kobayashi as he investigates a demon named Kagutaba, whose presence wreaks havoc through a series of seemingly unrelated people, including erratic single mother Junko Ishii (Tomono Kuga), psychically gifted but tormented...

Although certainly not the first, 1980’s iconic piece Cannibal Holocaust has become a major reference in the sub-genre of “found footage” films. In 1999, The Blair Witch Project really familiarized mainstream audiences with the concept. If you aren’t familiar with the term found footage, you’ve probably been living in a cave or under a staircase or something since film studios have been pumping seemingly dozens of these out for the past five years or so. Typically, a found footage film is set up like an unedited documentary or compilation of footage from an unseen entity/character and you are led to believe that this footage was recovered after the demise of those involved in making it.

After Paranormal Activity’s huge success in 2007, filmmakers and studios alike started jumping on this money train which resulted in some pretty terrible films. However, I am a big fan of this approach...