The quote, “the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown,” can be attributed to either H.P. Lovecraft or an evil cosmic entity posing as him. There’s truth to it, and one of the best ways for horror aficionados who no longer get a kick from cookie-cutter American horror movies to rekindle their love for the genre is by watching movies made in different countries.
These movies teach us that there are different techniques and approaches to filmmaking that will catch us off guard, and also that the language of horror is universal and will cross any frontier to get you.
Cuando Acecha La Maldad (When Evil Lurks) – Argentina, 2023
When Evil Lurks offers one of the most original takes on possession horror that you’ll ever see. Don’t expect to see a good exorcist saving the day here, as the film takes place in a world where all religions have already been defeated by the devil.
If you’re a seasoned horror watcher, US-made horror movies might still scare you, but it’s possible that they also leave you feeling too comfortable because you might’ve already noticed that there are some lines that these movies just won’t dare crossing. I won’t state which lines those are, as that would spoil When Evil Lurks, so let’s just say that its greatest strength is going where no other movie dares going, and then going there several other times. When Evil Lurks is harrowing, even in comparison to other horror movies many already find excruciatingly rough.
The Wailing – South Korea, 2016
Na Hong-Jin’s horror epic invites viewers to be as puzzled regarding who is good and who is evil as the inhabitants of a small village in the mountains of South Korea. The Wailing is a great story about uncertainty that won’t let viewers stop guessing until the very end, but, most importantly, it’s a damn great horror movie that will certainly hit you hard in the gut before the credits roll.
Cure – Japan, 1997
Kiyoshi Kurosawa was cursed to the life of a movie director who shares the last name with someone whose popularity will always overshadow his. That sucks, as Kurosawa has put out a lot of bangers over the years. My favorite of the bunch is Cure, a dark detective story where the main character follows a serial killer who doesn’t kill anyone.
What does that mean? I think it’s best if you check it out by yourself, as the movie’s one-of-a-kind atmosphere and mystery should be savored in all of its mystery. 2023 saw a soft American remake with Ben Affleck’s Hypnotic, but this one is just leagues better.
Audition – Japan, 1999
Haunting stories are usually about a person or family who unwittingly moves in to a place already inhabited by some evil entity. Takashi Miike’s Audition asks the question of, what if the haunting is an actual person you invite into your life? Instead of traditional jump-scares, Audition takes viewers on a crescendo of creepiness until they reach one of the darkest and most messed-up climaxes ever seen on film.
It’s possible that most already know Audition, as it became one of the most famous horror foreign films of all time, but it’d just be unfair to leave such a unique gem out.
Noroi – Japan, 2005
If you loved Blair Witch Project and feel like no other found footage horror film has managed to scratch that itch, then I’d like to recommend you watch Noroi. Though it follows BWP’s structure very closely, it tells a uniquely atmospheric tale that sinks viewers in a sea of tension that only goes away when the end credits mercifully decide to roll.
If I got you hyped about Noroi, I recommend you go watch it without Googling anything about it, as Google will immediately show you a bunch of pictures that will spoil the film’s fantastic climax.
Speak No Evil – Denmark, 2022
Speak No Evil feels like a great adaptation; not of a novel, but simply of the great quote by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, in which he says that “hell is other people”.
Speak No Evil begins quietly, as any nice tale about a beautiful European vacation should, but quickly turns awkward, and then spends the rest of its runtime descending into horrifying territory. Best of all, the main characters aren’t facing off against a super-powered evil entity, but rather against their own inability to say “no” to the questionable queries of others. This one puts all doubts regarding whether you can have great horror without otherworldly or demonic entities to rest, and will likely make resting a bit harder for anyone who watches it.
Speak No Evil has an American remake starring James McAvoy in the works. Though it actually looks pretty good, my recommendation is that you check out the original beforehand.
La Region Salvage (The Untamed) – Mexico, 2016
What if instead of murder, the evil alien is actually interested in sex, but the result is just as horrifying? The Untamed offers one of the most original takes on alien-related horror as it tells the tale of an alien entity that lands in a remote location in Mexico and somehow causes every living creature around it to care only about engaging in sexual intercourse until they die.
The paragraph above could be describing a bad adult film plot, but The Untamed never fails to be scary and weird over steamy. If you haven’t heard about this one, I believe that has less to do with its quality, and more with how hard it must be to market.
Kairo (Pulse) – Japan, 2001
Kiyoshi Kurosawa makes a return to this list with Kairo, a horror gem from the early 2000s that should be as well known as other foreign language horror classics such as Ringu, Shutter, and Ju-On (The Grudge).
If you’re into the American The Ring, which absolutely owns, you should also check out Kurosawa’s harrowing and mesmerizing quasi sci-fi take on ghost stories. See the frame above? Be warned that once you see that, you’re about to witness what a large number of horror lovers on the Internet consider the scariest scene of all time.
Martyrs – France, 2008
How many times does a horror movie stay mysterious until the end? Martyrs provides one of the very rare instances where viewers are glued to their seats, mortified by what they’re seeing, but can never stop looking because they just need to know what the hell is happening. Martyrs is very tough to watch, but totally worth the pain.
Martyrs has an American remake and, even though I don’t consider every single of these remakes trash, I wholeheartedly recommend you stay away from this one.
Goodnight Mommy – Germany, 2014
Martyrs lets viewers take breaks from suffering with the main character by sometimes giving away some pieces of a Hellraiser-like puzzle to connect, but Goodnight Mommy is a test of resilience from start to finish. This one starts off moody and depressing, and only ever gets much worse from there. I don’t want to spoil you, but that would’ve been okay, actually; there’s nothing I can reveal about this one that will make the experience any less harrowing. Watch this one only if you want a movie experience that feels like the movie equivalent of beating the toughest of video game bosses.
Goodnight Mommy also has an American remake. It’s not terrible as a movie, but it’s nothing compared to this monster-piece.
