(Photo by Well GO USA/courtesy Everett Collection)
The 22 Best Korean Horror Movies
Ever since the Asian horror remake boom of the 2000s, which saw American remakes of homegrown movies like A Tale of Two Sisters and Into the Mirror, Korea has leveraged the spotlight by releasing acclaimed takes on zombies (Train to Busan), vampires, (Thirst), eco-terrors (The Host) and more. We’ve gathered every Korean horror movie with a Tomatometer and ranked them in our guide to the best Korean horror movies. And for our most recent update, we’ve added The Call, Monstrum, The Closet, Bedevilled, The Mimic, The Wrath, The Medium, The 8th Night, and Rampant!
Critics Consensus: The Wailing delivers an atmospheric, cleverly constructed mystery whose supernatural thrills more than justify its imposing length.
Synopsis: Suspicion leads to hysteria when rural villagers link a series of brutal murders to the arrival of a mysterious stranger... [More]
Directed By: Na Hong-jin
Critics Consensus: Train to Busan delivers a thrillingly unique -- and purely entertaining -- take on the zombie genre, with fully realized characters and plenty of social commentary to underscore the bursts of skillfully staged action.
Synopsis: A man (Gong Yoo), his estranged daughter and other passengers become trapped on a speeding train during a zombie outbreak... [More]
Directed By: Yeon Sang-ho
Critics Consensus: As populace pleasing as it is intellectually satisfying, The Host combines scares, laughs, and satire into a riveting, monster movie.
Synopsis: Careless American military personnel dump chemicals into South Korea's Han River. Several years later, a creature emerges from the tainted... [More]
Directed By: Bong Joon Ho
Critics Consensus: A funny and wildly inventive hybrid of various genres, Save the Green Planet! is definitely a unique viewing experience.
Synopsis: Lee Byeong-gu (Shin Ha-kyun) is convinced that there are aliens from Andromeda among us, plotting to destroy Earth. He believes... [More]
Directed By: Jang Joon-hwan
Critics Consensus: This anthology contains brutal, powerful horror stories by three of Asia's top directors.
Synopsis: Stories revolve around a witch doctor, a filmmaker (Lee Byung-hun) and a resentful extra, and a novelist and her twin... [More]
Critics Consensus: Restrained but disturbing, A Tale of Two Sisters is a creepily effective, if at times confusing, horror movie.
Synopsis: After being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Korean teen Su-mi (Yum Jung-ah) reunites with her beloved sister, Su-yeon (Im Soo-jung),... [More]
Directed By: Kim Jee-woon
Critics Consensus: Never flinching during its descent into depravity, I Saw the Devil is a pulverizing thriller that will give bloody satisfaction to audiences who like their revenge served with fiery rage.
Synopsis: On a dark road, taxi driver Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik) comes across a scared female motorist stranded in a broken-down vehicle.... [More]
Directed By: Kim Jee-woon
Critics Consensus: The stylish Thirst packs plenty of bloody thrills to satisfy fans of both vampire films and director Chan Wook Park.
Synopsis: Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), a respected priest, volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly... [More]
Directed By: Park Chan-wook
Critics Consensus: Thrilling and relentless from start to finish, Yeon Sang-ho's Seoul Station is a layered and vicious entry into the zombie genre.
Synopsis: A man desperately searches for his runaway daughter as the government struggles to shut down the area around a zombie... [More]
Directed By: Yeon Sang-ho
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Connected by phone in the same home but 20 years apart, a serial killer puts another woman's past -- and... [More]
Directed By: Lee Chung-hyeon
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The crew of a horror web series travels to an abandoned asylum for a live broadcast. It soon encounters much... [More]
Directed By: Jung Bum-shik
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After losing his wife, a father tries to start over in a new home with his daughter. But things take... [More]
Directed By: Kim Gwang-bin
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Hae-won (Seong-won Ji) is a woman on the edge: a series of incidents at work earn her a forced "vacation,"... [More]
Directed By: Chul-soo Jang
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A tragedy befalls a family and leads to the discovery that a spirit haunts their home.... [More]
Directed By: Yoo Yeongseon
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Mrs. Kang (Na Moon-hee) her husband, Tae-gu (Park In-hwan), and their three adolescent children decide to escape the hustle and... [More]
Directed By: Kim Ji-eon
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A horrifying story of a shaman's inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. What could be possessing a family member... [More]
Directed By: Banjong Pisanthanakun
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After a mysterious girl emerges as the sole survivor of a bloody raid on the research facility behind the top-secret... [More]
Directed By: Park Hoon-jung
Critics Consensus: Ghoulish genre-bending asian horror boasts impressive production design, but an unsatisfactory denouement.
Synopsis: Eun-soo gets lost in the forest and is led to a house whose inhabitants never age.... [More]
Directed By: Im Pilseong
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A life-or-death battle spanning eight days to prevent the breaking of the seal that restrains "That Which Must Not Awaken."... [More]
Directed By: Kim Tae-hyoung
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Returning from imprisonment abroad, a prince and his fellow countrymen band together to battle bloodthirsty demons in ancient Korea.... [More]
Directed By: Kim Seong-hun
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A driven journalist (Ha Ji-won) investigates strange, threatening calls on her cell phone.... [More]
Directed By: Byeong-ki Ahn
Critics Consensus: Although a disappointing sense of familiarity threatens to derail Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, fans of the original may find it a thrilling enough ride.
Synopsis: A soldier and his team battle hordes of post-apocalyptic zombies in the wastelands of the Korean Peninsula.... [More]
Directed By: Yeon Sang-ho
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After waking up with mysterious wounds on his hands, a champion fighter finds himself in an otherworldly battle against evil... [More]
Directed By: Kim Joo-hwan
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A face-changing evil spirit infiltrates a family, placing one brother in danger while the other tries to save him.... [More]
Directed By: Kim Hong-sun
