Supernaturally Infective: The Top Horror Series in Japan

This article at Oricon (Japanese only, sorry) discusses the top ten horror film series in Japan, as ranked by a question they sent out, as well as talking about the reasons why they are so scary.

In number one was, not surprisingly, the Ringu series. Many people replied that Sadako, the protagonist/antagonist of the series, leaves a really strong impression on them. The article claims that the series is very characteristic of Japan’s world view and the fear of infection. I don’t know that dead little girls with black hair are characteristic of Japan’s worldview, nor do I really think that such imagery is restricted to Japan (call out for reader comments: do you think the dead girl phenomenon, as personified by Sadako, istarted in Japan? Because it seems pretty popular in Asian cinema in general, and may have origins in Asian mythology), but the infection thing is a constant theme in J-horror. I recommend the American remake (though the “clean” Japanese original contains a starchy horror all her own), as well as Ringu 0: Birthday, starring Yukie Nakayama.

Next up was the 着信あり (one missed phone call) series. It not only continues the infection theme in Japanese horror, but does so with a device that “is always near”, the cell-phone. I recommend checking out the first movie in the series if for no other reason than Takashi Miike directed it. Give the second one a miss.

Following those in popularity is 呪怨 (known to Americans as The Grudge) series. Cat boys. That’s all that needs to be said about the horror merits of this film, in my opinion. I should take the time to point out that the Jyuon series is yet another infection-themed horror movie. There was one good scene in all the movies:

Ha ha. Moving on.

The article stopped describing the movies after number three and I think I will too, but they are ranked as follows: Dark Water (remade in America–question to the readers, did the American version have the guts to have a creepy ending too?) the Scary True Stories series, the Gakkou no Kaidan series, 感染Infection (another infection-based series), “Shikoku,” the Junji Inagawa series, and “The Black House”.

There is one series I am disappointed didn’t make the main list (though it did eek its way in on the womens’ answers): the 富江 (Tomie) series. It’s well represented at my local video store, so I can’t help but wonder what is going on. In any case, it’s an interesting series. You can see the first Tomie trailer here. The soundtrack is pretty creepy too. You can watch an entire Tomie movie on youtube here.

Another movie that I think needs mention is Kairo, another infection-based movie (not series, though there is an American remake: Pulse) where a ghostly infection spreads through electronics. This relatively early movie can be seen as inspiration for the modern themes of the genre. It delves into what the other infection-themed series only hint at: supernatural armageddon.

So in conclusion, as modern Japanese horror movies have become more popular, they have all started to share common themes. Will the cinema-infection continue?
[heads up thanks to Tokyograph]