# The best Japanese horror movies of all time

From Kwaidan to Ringu: the J-horror films critics and fans rank highest (SlashFilm, CBR, Screen Rant).

- 369 votes · 12 items
- Nov 14, 2024 · Katie Hughes
- https://even.best/en/l/1995/the-best-japanese-horror-movies-of-all-time

## Top 12

1. **Ringu (1998)** (36 · ▲37 ▼1) — The cursed videotape that launched the J-horror wave.
2. **Cure (1997)** (30 · ▲34 ▼4) — Kiyoshi Kurosawa and a string of hypnotic murders.
3. **Audition (1999)** (30 · ▲31 ▼1) — Takashi Miike's fake casting call that turns into a nightmare.
4. **Pulse (2001)** (25 · ▲28 ▼3) — Ghosts spreading through the internet.
5. **Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)** (24 · ▲28 ▼4) — Takashi Shimizu's vengeful ghosts, told in fragments.
6. **Kwaidan (1964)** (23 · ▲30 ▼7) — Masaki Kobayashi's elegant anthology of ghost stories.
7. **Onibaba (1964)** (22 · ▲26 ▼4) — Two women, a demon mask and the reeds.
8. **House (1977)** (22 · ▲25 ▼3) — Nobuhiko Obayashi's psychedelic haunted house.
9. **Dark Water (2002)** (21 · ▲26 ▼5) — Hideo Nakata, a leak in the ceiling and a lost girl.
10. **One Cut of the Dead (2017)** (20 · ▲23 ▼3) — A zombie film with a twist nobody sees coming.
11. **Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)** (15 · ▲20 ▼5) — Shinya Tsukamoto's cyberpunk body horror.
12. **Kuroneko (1968)** (9 · ▲15 ▼6) — Kaneto Shindo's ghost cats in feudal Japan.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.