Japanese Horror Films

I’ve never been a big fan of horror films.  May be that’s because I classify all the good horror movies as “psychological dramas,” so all that’s left in the horror category are revolting slasher movies and B-grade films whose paltry attempts at frightening you just seem laughable.  

Putting my personal classification system aside, horror movies are popular in Japan.  The horror movie section at my local DVD rental store is certainly well-stocked with both Japanese and Western titles, and quite a few people I know consider horror to be their favourite genre.

Toshio from Ju-On.  If you see the film, you'll get to know this little kid well.

Worldwide, the two most famous Japanese horror movies would be Ju-On and Ringu.  This is because they were both remade into Hollywood hits.  Ju-On was remade as The Grudge, even though ju-on translates more accurately as “the curse” (or so I’m told), while Ringu was simply remade as The Ring.   I’ve seen both of the original Japanese versions.  Ju-On was quite spooky while Ringu was a little too implausible to have any  effect on me.  (What? An implausible horror film?  That’s a first.) 

After seeing these two famous Japanese horror films, I decided I should expose one of my Japanese friends to two of the scariest Western horror films, just to see how they react.  I chose The Exorcist  and a more recent film which I think is far more unnerving, The Exorcism of Emily Rose.  So what was their reaction?  Well, they weren’t scared by these films at all.  I wondered why this might be.  I now think I know why:  the Japanese aren’t raised in a culture that conditions them to be frightened by such films.

The Exorcist. Not scary.

Japan is largely an atheist country.  The most prevalent religion is Shinto, but that’s not a religion in the sense that Christians understand the concept.  Therefore, the Japanese have not grown up being told that there are demons, hell, a god judging your deeds, a devil who’s keen to claim you as his own, etc.  Being exposed to this sort of dogma, as most Western children are to varying degrees, is essential to finding films such as The Exorcist scary.  I think the only reason why we find The Exorcist scary is because it triggers a little voice in the back of our head, which was implanted there when we were a child, to say, “Perhaps this sort of thing actually happens.  Perhaps it could happen to you!”  If we never had that little voice implanted to begin with, we see films such as The Exorcist as complete nonsense, as we rightfully should.

Ju-On, however, is a different matter.  According to what I have read about Shinto, which admittedly isn't much, Shinto teaches that if a person dies a horrible death their spirit may live on bearing a grudge.  This is precisely the premise of the film Ju-On and perhaps why it is considered scary in Japan.  

Thank you for reading and take care.

Our Man in Japan