Best Japanese Horror Movies

Updated April 1, 2024

Have you heard all of these Best Japanese Horror Movies? We guarantee you'll find some new picks. Here are 14 of our favorites.

One Cut of the Dead (2017)

★★★★

3 out of 4 stars

From Shin'ichirô Ueda, starring Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Harumi Shuhama, Kazuaki Nagaya
Rated Not Rated

One Cut of the Dead is a 2017 Japanese horror-comedy film directed by Shin'ichirô Ueda. The film follows a low-budget filmmaking team in a derelict water filtration plant as they attempt to shoot a zombie movie. As strange occurrences begin to take place, it soon becomes clear that the cast and crew are being terrorized by actual zombies. In order to survive the night, the team must use their wits and improvise in order to complete the movie and make it out alive. The film is notable for its surprise twist, which sees the first 37 minutes of the film actually being the completed zombie movie itself. The remaining runtime of the film follows the story of the film-within-a-film, as the team work to complete the movie and fight off the attacking zombies.

Battle Royale (2000)

★★★★

3 out of 4 stars

From Kinji Fukasaku, starring Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama
Rated Not Rated

Battle Royale is a 2000 Japanese action thriller film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. The story follows a high school class of 42 students who are selected by a mysterious government organization to participate in the titular Battle Royale, a deadly game of survival in which the students are forced to battle each other to the death until only one survivor remains. The students are given three days to kill each other and the last one standing will be the winner. The story follows Shuya Nanahara and his classmate Noriko Nakagawa as they try to survive the ordeal and bring down the oppressive government organization behind the game. The film has become a cult classic, praised for its dark subject matter and its exploration of themes of violence, oppression, and loss of innocence.

Godzilla (1954)

★★★★

3 out of 4 stars

From Ishirô Honda, starring Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi
Rated Not Rated

Godzilla is a 1954 Japanese science-fiction Kaiju monster film directed and co-written by Ishirô Honda, and produced and distributed by Toho. The film stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, and Takashi Shimura and tells the story of a giant prehistoric monster, Godzilla, that rises from the sea and wreaks havoc on Tokyo. After a fishing boat is destroyed at sea by a mysterious force, a second boat is destroyed while investigating the first. As the Japanese government attempts to uncover the identity of this force, a giant monster appears and ravages the city, leaving widespread destruction in its wake. As the scientists and military scramble to find a way to stop the monster, Godzilla continues to wreak havoc and terrorize the city. Ultimately, the scientists find a way to create a powerful weapon to destroy Godzilla and the city is saved.