The 40 Best Asian Horror Movies of the Decade (2011-2020)

20. ROH (Emir Ezwan, 2020, Malaysia)

“ROH” turned out to be incredibly enjoyable. The biggest attribute present in the film is the impeccable atmosphere created around the remote village. This one plays up the isolation and superstition that runs rampant in the area. Visually, this is impressive as cinematographer Saifuddin Musa captures the evil, foreboding sense of the jungle around them and something living out there they better not mess with. This is helped along by the dark stories about what's out in the woods and the series of accidents that befalls them soon after. This concept from writer/director Ezwan carries out the chilling notion that they've contracted something far more dangerous than they bargained for, simply by being good samaritans. (Don Anelli)

“ROH” is streaming on MUBI Malaysia

19. Tumbbad (Rahi Anil Barve and Adesh Prasad, 2018, India)

On the technical level, “Tumbbad” is nearly perfect, especially given the gap between modest budget and huge period-piece ambition of the filmmakers. The original score written by the video-game composer Jesper Kyd serves the film well, as is the rhythmic editing by Sanyukta Kaza. And speaking about the cinematography, handled by Pankaj Kumar must be done in superlatives since “Tumbbad” is one of the best-looking genre films we have seen in years. (Marko Stojiljković)

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18. DreadOut: Tower of Evil (Kimo Stamboel, 2019, Indonesia)

Featuring a lot of really enjoyable and chilling aspects that are undone slightly by a general lack of comprehension as to what's going on, this is another fun and frenetic Indonesian genre effort. Give this one a chance if you're a fan of these supernatural genre efforts or a follower of the creative team, the wild energy on display is infectious. (Panos Kotzathanasis)

17. Kodoku Meatball Machine (Yoshihiro Nishimura, 2018, Japan)

After the first 20-minutes, all of the radically different themes come together through violence, gore and extreme action, with the film taking the form everyone is expecting from a Nishimura production. Starting with the metamorphosis, which eventually has almost everyone that wronged Yuji transforming into a Necroborg using weapons according to their previous occupation, and continuing with the killing of innocents (including a kid) and much fighting among the creatures and Yuji and his gang, the film becomes a true bloodfest, where, apart from blood, Nishimura's extreme imagination and slapstick humor seem to thrive. (Panos Kotzathanasis)

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16. Violence Voyager (Ujicha, 2018, Japan)

Victims are shown to be impaled with metal poles, harm their arms ripped off, disemboweled or just ripped to pieces. Non-lethal injuries, from being sprayed with accident or shown with melted body parts, run rampant in the film much like the actual body modification processes shown. On top of it all, the gratuitous and frequent child nudity for both male and female children, many of whom are barely double-digits in age if that, creates such a disturbing and uncomfortable feeling that permeates itself in the latter half when the action kicks up. Coupled with the obscure animation style, there's not much else to the effort. (Don Anelli)

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15. Sunyi (Awi Suryadi, 2019, Indonesia)

With a lot of great technical qualities in the most important sections with the ghost hauntings and plenty to say about bullying, “Sunyi” manages to get a lot to like while still feeling somewhat cliched and unoriginal. Fans of the original, Asian horror in general or viewers looking for quality work in these areas should give this a shot, this one has plenty to like and enjoy about it. (Don Anelli)

14. The Call (Lee Chung-hyun, 2020, South Korea)

Overall, “The Call” manages to be wholly entertaining. One of the best attributes is the engaging start-up that offers a fantastic mystery to look into. The frantic quest to find the missing phone leads nicely from the mysterious calls inquiring about someone who doesn't live there, to the discovery of the boarded-up room inside the house. Getting to see how it happened with the incident in the past, with the burning room to the phone conversations here comes off in a novel manner as the girl realizes the hidden connection they have with each other. This factor starts the film in a rather impressive manner. (Don Anelli)

13. Mon Mon Mon Monsters (Giddens Ko, 2017, Taiwan)

Giddens Ko directs a movie that combines supernatural terror with surrealism in the best fashion, through a narrative that unfolds just like a nightmare. Through this unusual but quite entertaining approach, he also manages to present a number of extreme but quite realistic social, psychological, and philosophical comments. The role of teachers, bullying and the general circumstances in the school environment are the most obvious ones, but as the story progresses, human nature and particularly the way people can turn into monsters and the theme of crime and punishment take over. (Panos Kotzathanasis)

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12. Metamorphosis (Kim Hong-seon, 2019, South Korea)

“Metamorphosis” is a decent enough if generally forgettable effort. Among it's few positives are the sporadic supernatural elements at play here that signal something is happening. The way that the build-up occurs around the family, from the behavior of their neighbor to Hyun-joo's dream of being abused by their father and the crazed breakfast where the mother gorges herself before threatening everyone, all come together quite well. The fact that this mentions the uncharacteristic behavior they're exhibiting and how everyone starts behaving manages to offer up some interesting action scenes later on, where the daughters are chased around the house by demonic doppelgangers of the parents in separate scenes. (Don Anelli)

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11. Krasue: Inhuman Kiss (Sitisiri Mongkolsiri, 2019, Thailand)

As there are some highly impressive and genuinely touching aspects here, “Krasue” has plenty to like for just about everyone. This is not only highly recommended for Asian horror genre fans, the curious ones looking for a new creature feature and the general film lovers who aren't into this type of film. (Don Anelli)

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