31 Days of Asian Horror: 20+ Asian Horror on Tubi
I’m back today with another list, this one exclusively focusing on the streaming platform Tubi. Tubi’s offerings are free with ads making it the best low cost option to find some good horror offerings, some can only be found there. Tubi has literal thousands of movies to choose from, and adds hundreds more every month. It can be intimidating to go through the list of movies to find Asian horror, hopefully this list will give you a good start to fill out your Halloween watchlists.
Hansel & Gretel (2017 - South Korea)
Directed by Yim Pil Sung (Doomsday Book), Hansel and Gretel follows Eun Soo (Chun Jung Myung) after he crashes his car and is rescued by a child in the forest and taken back to her house where he meets the rest of her family. A great retelling of a classic story that keeps you guessing about what is really going on.
Battle Royale (2000 - Japan)
Battle Royale is an ultimate classic movie and if you haven’t already watched it now is your chance. A group of high school students are taken to a remote island where a mysterious person makes them kill each other in a gruesome battle. It is the single best death-survival horror classic, and inspired works such as Squid Games.
The Mimic (2017 - South Korea)
Based on the myth of the Jangsan Tiger who can mimic voices to lure unsuspecting people, the movie follows a family who is grieving after the loss of a child and finds a mysterious girl in the woods of their new house.
13: Game of Death (2006 - Thailand)
I have a full review on the movie, but I wanted to focus it again on this list because I really feel that people should be watching this one. A man, down on his luck, receives a mysterious phone call that enters him into a game where the antics raise as the money pool grows. The movie incorporates humor, suspense and the ultimate horror well.
The Wailing (2016 - South Korea)
After investigating a series of mysterious deaths associated with a strange illness, a police officer (played by Kwak Do Won) goes to investigate what is plaguing the village while trying to save his daughter. The Wailing is a must see Korean horror film.
Tag (2015 - Japan)
A classic Japanese horror, mostly for its famous bus scene, this action horror film follow Mitsuko (Reina Triendl) as she struggles with the death of her classmates, leaving her the sole survivor and to figure out what is going on.
Gonjiam: The Haunted Asylum (2018 - South Korea)
Were you part of the many that watched Squid Games and need to watch more of the cop Jun Ho, played by Wi Ha Jun? Look no further than this found footage film. A documentary crew goes to a famously haunted and abandoned asylum to live stream what they find.
Audition (1999 - Japan)
A quintessential Takashi Miike film that follows a widower who sets up a fake audition to find his new wife that leads to a disastrous outcome when he becomes interested in one.
Rigor Mortis (2013 - Hong Kong)
A tribute to the Mr Vampire franchise, Rigor Mortis follows down on his luck actor Chin Siu Ho who moves into an apartment building following a divorce and finds that the building is inhabited by much more than humans.
Dark Water (2002 - Japan)
A divorced mother moves into a rundown apartment and notices stange things happening, including the appearance of a mysterious water leak. Dark Water is a classic jhorror with slow builds and supernatural tones. One of my personal favorites.
The Uninvited (2003 - South Korea)
TW: While suicide is a reoccurring plot device in almost all Asian horror, this movie focuses on it heavily. Jeong Won (Park Shin Yang) is haunted by two young girls who he saw on the subway and later found to have been murdered and enlists the help of Jeong Yeon (Jun Ji Hyun), the only other person who can see them.
Ring Series (1998/1999/2000 - Japan)
While the series has several more adaptions and sequels, the main four movies are currently on Tubi and a great time to do a marathon. The story follows a cursed tape, and the effects it has on those who encounter and watch it.
Ringu, Ringu 2, Ringu 0 (Birthday), Ringu Spiral
Divine Fury (2019 - South Korea)
Yong Hoo (Park Seo Joon) is a martial arts champion who develops divine powers befriends a priest to fight against evil forces in Korea. MMA + exorcisms.
Bloodthirsty Trilogy (1970/1971/1974 - Japan)
The Bloodthirsty Trilogy is a trio of films directed by Michio Yamamoto and produced by Japanese film company, Toho Studios. None of the film series shares the same plot however, they do follow more classic and British gothic horror tones than the normal jhorror. If you are looking for an older offering, this is a great series that I’ll be focusing more on later this month.
Lake of Dracula, Evil of Dracula, The Vampire Doll
Bedeviled (2010 - South Korea)
More thriller than horror, the film follows Hye Won (Ji Sung Won) who visits her grandfather's house and is reunited with her childhood friend, Bok Nam (Seo Young Hee), and eventually finds out secrets of the island.
The Maid (2020 -Thailand)
Ending the list on a fairly recent movie, The Maid was just released for streaming here a couple of months ago and follows what happens to a maid after she enters the new house of a wealthy family with secrets.
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