15. Hansel and Gretel (2007)
Superpowers don’t often mesh well with horror stories, butHansel and Gretelproved that it can be a good combination when properly done.
While the title suggests that this would be a kids movie based on the famous fairy tale, the South Korean filmHansel and Gretelis far from a kids film with its themes of deceit, murder, and cannibalism.
The story starts with Eun-soo (played by Chun Jung-myung) getting into a car accident and being brought to a house in the middle of the woods by a young girl named Young-hee (played by Shim Eun-kyung).
Once there, things start to get creepy as the ones who let him in aren’t what they seem to be at first.
Related:The Best Movies About Hostages and Captives, Ranked
14. The Mimic (2017)
The Mimicis a horror-thriller story written and directed by Huh Jung, based on a popular South Korean legend.
The story revolves around a family that lives in the woods. One day, the mother takes in a lost child whose voice sounds exactly like her own daughter’s, while the father remains wary and warns her not to. As you’d expect, the lost child is not what they seem.
The Mimicis based on the myth of the Jangsan Tiger, which lures its victims by mimicking human voices—especially those of women and children—into its den to be devoured.
Related:The Best Folk Horror Movies (What Is Folk Horror? Explained)
13. The Cat (2011)
Cats are generally lovable creatures, but sometimes they can be really scary—like when they blankly stare at a corner of the room, as if they can see an entity that’s invisible to us.
InThe Cat, these feline pets bring death to their owners, and the cat-eyed child that appears with them is visually terrifying.
But there’s more toThe Catthan jump scares and empty horror. In fact, buried within is a surprisingly heartbreaking story.
The Catcenters on a claustrophobic pet groomer So-yeon (played by Park Min-young), who becomes haunted by these terrifying cats.
Related:The Best Movies About Grief and Loss, Ranked
12. Phone (2002)
Back before smartphones were ubiquitous, there was the horror filmPhone, which features ghosts who call on primitive mobile phones to communicate with the living.
The film stars Ha Ji-won as a journalist also named Ji-won, who receives phone calls from unknown callers. After she switches to a new phone, the unknown callers keep coming—but this time they’re far more sinister and unrelated to her job.
While the main horror element ofPhonerevolves around these mysterious calls, the story also features a crime drama element that adds a good amount of dread and body horror.
Related:The Best Body Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked
11. Death Bell (2008)
If you love mystery,Death Bellwill give you chills. It’s a perplexing story about guilt, grief, death, and revenge.
Death Bellstarts with a group of elite high school students who are taken down one by one by a mysterious figure. Combined with the disappearance of the top student, this mystery figure leaves questions for the students and teachers to answer.
The movie feels a lot like the originalSaw—where the culprit leaves puzzles to be solved by the victims—with a Korean twist.
Related:The Best Death Game Movies: You Either Win or You Die
10. Bunshinsaba (2004)
Witchcraft is a frequent topic of interest in Korean horror movies, andBunshinsabais a prime example of the genre.
Bunshinsabainvolves a group of high school girls who are bullied by their classmates. To exact revenge, they attempt to use a Ouija board to place curses on their bullies.
Unfortunately, now their class is haunted by the spirit of the dead that they summoned with the ritual.
Bunshinsabatouches on themes of discrimination, bullying, arrogance that leads to one’s downfall, and how far people will go to get revenge. As the story progresses, feelings of guilt grow stronger than revenge—but by then it’s too late to turn back.
Related:The Best Revenge Movies About Vengeance and Payback
9. Voice (2005)
Whispering Corridorsis a South Korean film series comprised of different films released between 1998 to 2021. But the films in the series are all standalone, including the fourth entryVoice.
Voicefollows the story of Young-eon (played by Kim Ok-bin), a student at an all-girls school who’s killed during singing practice. The murder weapon? A music sheet.
Now, her spirit wanders the school premises, and the only person who can hear her is her best friend Seon-min (played by Seo Ji-hye). As they investigate, however, they’re led to unexpected results.
Related:The Best Horror Movies About Possession and Hauntings
8. Metamorphosis (2019)
Demonic possession is a popular angle for horror movies, andMetamorphosisdoes it extremely well. With a concept that feels familiar if you’ve seenThe Conjuring,Metamorphosisinvolves a family that’s haunted and disturbed by an evil spirit.
The story involves a priest who fails to exorcise a demon and ends up being cursed along with his family. The atmosphere and special effects look like the real thing, including one dead cat and a dead goat that’s cut open and mutilated.
Yes,Metamorphosiscontains animal butchering on top of occult rituals and spiritual possession. It may be too much for someone who isn’t good with gruesome violence and inhuman acts.
Related:The Best Movies About Angels and Demons, Ranked
7. The Ring Virus (1999)
The Ring Virusis the South Korean film adaptation of the famousRingnovel by Koji Suzuki, and it can be considered a remake of the Japanese horror filmRingu(1998).
The Ring Virushas nearly the same storyline asRing, but instead of Sadako Yamamura, this time we have Park Eun-suh (played by Bae Doona) as the antagonist who made the cursed videotape.
There are only a few key differences between the two films, so why wasThe Ring Virusmade? Well, there used to be a ban on the importation of Japanese media, and that includedRingu. (Funny enough, the ban was lifted during production ofThe Ring Virus.)
Related:The Best Korean Disaster Movies
6. Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019)
When a film successfully incorporates crime mystery into its horror premise, you can expect more than empty jump scares.
Svaha: The Sixth Fingeris an example of a well-written crime mystery that’s fitted with a supernatural horror theme. All of these elements—the crime, the mystery, the occult—result in a twisted fate for the characters as everything unravels.
Starring Lee Jung-jae as a pastor who investigates cults and exposes them to the public,Svaha: The Sixth Fingerhas him investigating a strange Buddhist sect that’s darker than he first realizes.
Related:The Best Movies About Priests and Ministers, Ranked
5. The Doll Master (2004)
The Doll Masterfeatures one of the most creepy elements in horror films: dolls. The film involves a revenge plot where the creepy figures contribute greatly to the horrific mood of the story.
The film centers on a group of people who are invited to an isolated doll museum as human models, who are told that they’ll have ball-jointed dolls made in their image by a dollmaker.
Unbeknownst to them, someone in the shadows wants to exact revenge on those who have wronged her in the past.
Related:The Best Horror Movies With Toys, Dolls, and Puppets
4. The Call (2020)
The Callis a South Korean horror movie where past meets future, featuring an unexpected connection between two people from different timelines through an old phone.
At first, the relationship is mutual. But as this relationship deepens, the mutuality is eventually broken when it’s apparent that one side is taking advantage of the other.
WhileThe Callisn’t horror in the sense of ghosts, paranormal activities, or slasher sprees, it’s still a terrifying watch. How does one defeat the past when it continues to linger in the present? It’s enough to send chills down your spine.
Related:The Best Foreign Movies on Netflix Worth Watching, Ranked
3. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
A Tale of Two Sistersis a psychological horror film inspired by a Korean folktale titled “Janghwa Hongryeon jeon” (which translates as “The Story of Janghwa and Hongryeon”).
Directed by Kim Jee-woon,A Tale of Two Sistersstars Im Soo-jung and Moon Geun-young as the titular sisters, who don’t have a great relationship with their stepmother.
WhileA Tale of Two Sistersdoes include ghosts and other paranormal elements, the horror of this film goes deeper than that—and it cements its greatness with a surprisingly good plot twist.
Related:The Best Psychological Horror Movies That Are Disturbing & Twisted
2. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018)
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylumis a found-footage horror movie about a group of content creators who visit a haunted asylum in South Korea to boost their views.
The asylum is based on a real-life psychiatric hospital that’s famous for ghost sightings and paranormal activities.
The story begins with the crew preparing for their expedition. As they start shooting and delve deeper into the wards, unexplained occurrences and appearances happen before the crew’s eyes.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylumis a strong example of a found-footage movie done well, making viewers feel like they’re right there with the crew. The atmosphere and characters are totally creepy, amplifying the story that’ll make you want to watch with eyes half-covered.
Related:The Best Insane Asylum Movies, Ranked
1. Warning: Do Not Play (2019)
Warning: Do Not Play(also calledAmjeon) gives the cursed video genre of horror movies a few new twists that take the thrills to the next level. It also incorporates elements of the found footage genre.
Warning: Do Not Playstars Seo Ye-ji as Park Mi-jung, a rookie movie director who’s preparing to make her next horror film.
When she hears about a horror film that supposedly makes its viewers go wild—with one even dying of a heart attack—she resolves to get her hands on it so she can get some inspiration from it.
Despite warnings from the director of said film, she refuses to listen because of the deadline that’s closing in—and it’s only a matter of time before she regrets her persistence.
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