Oh! The subtitles! Over a month of only foreign Horror films. We’re glad it’s over, but we’re glad we persevered. Now, this list is compiled of Horror flicks created by filmmakers outside of the United States. If your favorite movie didn’t make it on the list, sorry. But not too sorry. We probably have it in mind for another listy list. Check out our previous list, diving into Psychological Horror.
Whether you’re into the blood and guts, or are looking to feel alive from Horrifying tales on the screen, keep reading. Many fans of Horror we’ve talked to aren’t ready to give foreign films a shot, they’re too much work, and the culture can be different. But let us tell you…start with these:
Train to Busan (2016) South Korea (Tubi, Netflix, Amazon Prime–Shudder)
The Ritual (2017) The UK (Netflix Original)
The Babadook (2014) Australia (Amazon Prime–IFC Films Unlimited)
I Remember You (2017) Iceland (Netflix)
Martyrs (2008) France
Bedevilled (2011) Korea (Tubi, Amazon Prime)
15. The Devil’s Backbone (2001)
Spain/Mexico
Guillermo del Toro creates a tale of paranormal ecstasy wrapped in solitude. Watch this tale of abandonment and primal fear in this flick about an orphanage taken by overwhelming dread. The acting is on point, not artsy, but poetic in nature. Watch this if you’re looking for a fresh take on a ghost story.
Xavier Gens winds us through a grisly story of a group of rebels finding themselves in a messed up situation. Think Rob Zombie had a baby with Rob Schmidt, the director of Wrong Turn.
13. We Are What We Are (2013)
France (Amazon Prime/Tubi)
Now here we go…Our Horror jollies have been rocked after viewing this piece. Dread seeps through each possible crack. We follow a family with many secrets in this Jim Mickle movie. Be prepared to look at your parents a little differently after this one.
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12. The Wailing (2016)
Korea (Amazon Prime-Shudder/Tubi)
Oh, the sweet blend of Horror and Comedy. Paranormal in nature, you won’t expect where this one will take you. Na Hong-jin understands the perfect balance of craziness mixed with normalcy in this movie about a police officer unravelling the town’s current big mystery. And boy, this gets darker than we expected.
11. Tumbbad (2018)
India (Amazon Prime)
What a story! And what a message! A piece all too familiar, this burrowing of greed in our hearts, the breakdown and cycle of our actions. A display of the ever pertinent circle of the ego and it’s effects on the people who look up to us. Rahi Anil Barve took a long six years, the time worth it. Not only is the story in this one good, but the visual and audio components make for a pleasurable watch. This is a story we could all be reminded of every once in a while.
10. A Dark Song (2016)
Ireland/UK (Amazon Prime–IFC Films Unlimited)
The lengths a mother will go to…well, just watch it. Not only are moral concerns obliterated here, but the blood-fest, horrifying ending will leave you hangin’, mouth wide open. It’s slow to start, but Liam Gavin will keep you watching.
9. Climax (2018)
France/Belgium (Amazon Prime)
Ho, ho, ho…what a RIDE! Follow a group of performers as they party, ingesting an unknown substance, sh** hits the fan. All Hell breaks loose in this Gaspar Noé piece. Calling all A24 fans! You won’t expect each revelation, and it’s even loosely based on a true story from the 90s.
8. I Saw the Devil (2010)
Korea (Amazon Prime–Monsters and Nightmares)
Don’t watch this one alone. You’ve gotta have at least a couple people with you. A great movie night pick for ADULTS without weak bellies. Just cut it on and roll with the punches. You’ll love it. There’s NO WAY you’ll guess what’s going on. And the ride, oh, what fun!! Kim Jee-woon is an entertainer like you wouldn’t believe.
7. The Killing of A Sacred Deer (2017)
Ireland/UK (Amazon Prime)
Georgios Lanthimos knows how to build a story. Watch Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman’s characters try to regain control over their lives as Barry Keoghan’s character seeps inside, unsettling moment after another. Another A24 film, it picks up pretty well. Be warned: this is not a film for the faint of heart. Actually, you can heed this warning for the rest of the films going forward. Ha.
6. Parasite (2019)
Korea
Bong Joon-ho just took home four Academy Awards for this masterpiece. We follow a couple families as their lives intertwine in the most odd of ways. Human survival and tough social concerns are battled here. We must say, we were left a little dry mouthed as the film came to a close, but it has grown on us, like a parasite. The tact shines over time, what an accomplishment in the Horror film industry.
5. Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse (2017)
Germany/Austria (Amazon Prime)
Slow and artsy, this one. A metaphoric, seamless debut by Lukas Feigelfeld is guaranteed to hold you breathless. This isn’t a film to just watch an put away, moving onto the next one. We really don’t want to tell you anything else about the plot, but just pay attention from the get go. Every scene, every frame, the audience should be aware: Feigelfeld is certainly trying to tell us something. The clarity on this film didn’t come for days. Enjoy!
4. Goodnight Mommy (2014)
Austria (Amazon Prime/Tubi)
Watch as a set of twin boys try to get to the bottom of the intruder they think has taken their mother’s place following a facial surgery. The camera is taken into consideration here, and the acting is decent. Truly heartbreaking. We only cried for a couple weeks after watching this one, and it still pops in our head every once in a while. This one’s fine to watch alone, and we’d recommend this for any Momma’s out there who want to be scared to death. Literally.
3. Julia’s Eyes (2010)
Spain (Amazon Prime–IFC Films Unlimited)
This one took our number one Foreign Horror spot for the longest time. This isn’t just a story about Julia, but goes further, digging into the sockets of ourselves we don’t share with others. Brilliant, Guillem Morales, thank you. Follow Julia, as she battles with the terms of losing her eyesight, and watch as everything falls apart. Watch for little hits along the way! Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala are a foced to be reckoned with.
2. Raw (2016)
France
The woman of Horror, behold Julia Ducournau. She’s created a horrifying story with hints to social commentary. Human emotions hardly discussed are shouted here, as we follow a young girl and her sister on their quest of self discovery. but there’s a catch. Something’s going on with them that’s not quite right.
Honorable Mentions
Inside (2007) France
Here Comes the Devil (2012) Spain (Amazon Prime–Shudder)
Audition (2001) Japan (Amazon Prime–Shudder)
The Orphanage (2007) Spain
Baskin (2015) Turkey (Hulu, Amazon Prime–IFC Films Unlimited)
1.5) The Skin I Live In (2011)
Spain
This multi-genre masterpiece starring the ever handsome Antonio Banderas deserves so much more attention, especially with the developments in the social constructs of today. It’s relevant and bloody scary. Pedro Almodóvar Caballero isn’t afraid to tell this story, we applaud him.
1) What We Become (2016)
Danish (Amazon Prime–IFC Films Unlimited)
The piece that takes the cake. The most accessible on this list, just like Summer of 84. We follow a family merely trying to survive an outbreak of some sort of sickness. This beauty steals the number one spot purely on relevance. It’s terrifying. With the virus nicknamed the “Kung-Flu” running rampant, this film directed by Bo Mikkelsen is all too close to reality. Check it out. Like, now.
What do you think of our list? Which goodies did we miss? Do you completely disagree with any of our selections? Tell us in the comments below! What list should we put together next?
Wicked City (1987) is a dark fantasy horror and the debut feature-length animation of director Yoshiaki Kawajiri. This unrated film adapts the first novel of the Wicked City series, Black Guard. It stars Yûsaku Yara, Toshiko Fujita and Ichirô Nagai. As of this review, Wicked City is available on Prime and Crunchyroll.
As the peace between the mortal and supernatural worlds ends, forces clash in a plot to establish a new order. Tasked with protecting the best chance for peace, Taki (Yûsaku Yara) must guard Giuseppe Mayart (Ichirô Nagai). A Black Worlder named Makie (Toshiko Fujita) remains his partner in this pursuit. Can the three brave the challenges and establish a world of peace?
What I Like about Wicked City
Wicked City works best in its parts, providing strong and interesting elements that don’t inherently add up to the whole. The art style and design evoke a memorable aesthetic. There’s a charm to this 80s-era anime that creates either an environment for abominations or spectacles.
It makes sense that Wicked City is an adaptation because the plot depicted seems like parts of a larger narrative we do not see in the film. From what remains, the world and political scheming seem worth exploring. Unfortunately, little of this plot receives depth.
Prior to this, Yoshiaki Kawajiri contributed to many TV shows, exercising a new muscle as he directed a film-length work. He seems invaluable on a team, as his filmography and success indicate, but his directorial contributions don’t seem as critically successful. This effort and work best express themselves in the level of animation and scenes depicted in this flawed film.
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Despite the missing pieces throughout the film, the ending seems complete. While there’s clearly room for a sequel, Wicked City tells its story and suggests an answer to the new era’s direction.
Supposedly, this started out as a short film, but Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s execution earned enough attention and respect to get a green light for a feature-length film. This work was all done within a year. Assuming this is true, Wicked City’s completion and animation quality deserve respect.
It received a live-action adaptation. From my understanding, the film adapts the anime, but I hope and imagine some of the manga gets explored to make a more functioning plot.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
Sexual assault and rape remain grotesquely overused in the film. Such subject matter has a place in art, but its use in Wicked City gravitates more toward exploitation and spectacle. Many of the visual designs make most of the fight allegories for sexual assault atop the actual assaults.
As most creatures are organic, there’s a heightened amount of body horror. There’s a level of separation in animation as opposed to live-action body horror, but this point certainly applies to those sensitive to such material.
From what we learn of the characters, many decisions directly contradict their supposed purpose.
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What I Dislike about Wicked City
Wicked City circles forums and rank-listings as a cult classic or niche horror, but it’s flawed in almost every way. Ideally, such works might have a plot that draws one in. Wicked City has a concept of a plot that evokes interest but doesn’t communicate it well or explore its depths. Ultimately, it’s a film made up of its parts. The good gets outweighed by the dysfunctional points.
Frankly, the romantic tension between the two leads is underdeveloped. I hesitate to say it doesn’t exist because there’s some work implemented with this in mind. Viewers note the work in the film, but it lacks polish or sensibility.
Final Thoughts
Wicked City is a flawed work from a successful animator. If given more time to develop, perhaps a staple of the 80s might exist. Unfortunately, the film has merits in its parts but falls in connection to the whole. However, for those who can overlook the limitations and exploitations, there are many worthy parts that excel in terms of animation quality and creative decisions. (2 / 5)
Released in 2023, Late Night with the Devil is a found-footage movie about a late-night host who’d do anything to have the top-rated show.
Don’t worry, it’s not about Jay Leno.
The story
Our story begins, as many found footage films do, with a quick explanation. What we are going to see is the surviving footage from the last episode of a late-night show, along with some never-before-seen footage of backstage during the fateful night everything went wrong.
We then meet Jack Delroy. He’s a late-night host of the show Night Owls. And a year after the death of his beloved wife, he worries that his show is going to be canceled. The ratings are freefalling. So, on Halloween, he invites a girl named Lilly on the show who claims to be possessed.
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Because that’s going to go well.
The show begins with a monolog, like most late-night shows. We then meet the first two guests, a claimed psychic named Christou and a stage magician slash skeptic named Carmichael Haig. After hot-reading the audience, Christou appears to have a real psychic vision. One that involves Jack’s deceased wife. He then proceeds to vomit black sludge all over the stage.
You’d think that would be the end of things. It would be stupid to still bring on the possessed girl after a warning like that.
But, of course, the show must go on.
What worked
Late Night with The Devil dedicated itself to the found footage vibe. As such, it felt very much like you were watching something from the 70s. The whole movie is at a lower, grainy resolution, unlike some other horror films that eventually and subtly switch out for a more modern and clear picture. The clothes, the music, the cheap and cheesy costumes. It all reminds one of a good episode of the Brady Bunch or Bewitched. Even when someone’s puking black blood or has worms pouring out of their freshly opened gut.
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I was also quite impressed by the acting in this film. Especially that of David Dastmalchian, who played Jack Delroy. This role was performed to perfection. Jack manages to come off as a kind, compassionate man. The sort of person you’d be comfortable talking to, even about the most horrible moments of your life. You get the feeling that you could tell him about the worst moments of your life and he’d thank you for sharing.
This kind facade never slips. But we also see his true motivations. He doesn’t care about anyone, no matter how kind he acts. The show must go on is his entire drive and mission. He didn’t let a little thing like a guest dying stop him. Or a mental breakdown on stage. Or even his dead wife calling to him from beyond the grave.
The show must go on. And on, and on.
Even Dastmalchian is outshined, however, by Ingrid Torelli who played Lilly.
Lilly was a creepy character from the first time we saw her. There is something so unnerving about a child who knows far more than they should. This is a hallmark of demon possession films, all the way back to Reagan. But there’s also something else about the way she behaves that has little to do with the possession. She is always looking to either June or Jack for direction. As much as she speaks to the adults like she knows one, she is still always looking to please the adults around her. She is eager to look at the right camera at the right moment. She is eager to be obedient. It’s hidden, but for someone who has seen enough cult content, it’s easy to spot. She played a former cult victim very well. And that was perhaps the most terrifying part of that character.
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What didn’t work
This was almost a perfect movie. Then, like so many others, it just couldn’t stick the landing.
Near the end of the film, there is a strange scene that doesn’t seem to mesh with the rest of it. It appears to be a collection of Jack’s memories. Whether they are true memories or not is left to our interpretation. But they explain the entire reveal of the whole movie. In dull, excruciating detail.
This series of scenes was insulting. It was the equivalent of asking someone if they got the joke. But are you sure you got it? Wait, let me explain it and really just kill the effect altogether.
We were already laughing. Or, to step away from this metaphor, we were already creeped out. We were already grossed out. We were already living in the scene, sitting in the audience right next to the lady who lost her son or the man dressed as a skeleton. Rather than explain the twist, which didn’t need explaining, this scene pulls us rudely out of that audience and deposits us back in the real world.
All that being said, Late Night with The Devil is still a terrific horror film. It was dark, it was gorey, and it left us with unsettling questions even after the ill-planned info dump. If it isn’t already on your Halloween watch list, it certainly deserves a spot.
“B is for Brain” is an episode of the supernatural drama Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King. The central cast includes Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, and Andrea Martin. It originally aired under CBS before moving to Paramount+. As of this review, it’s available through Netflix and Paramount+ and its add-ons.
The assessors investigate new brain mapping research that might expose others to God and Hell. Kristen (Katja Herbers) struggles with aggression as Andy (Patrick Brammall) returns from his expedition. Ben (Aasif Mandvi) struggles with what he sees while in the brain mapping process. David (Mike Colter) returns to the basics to find God.
What I Like about “B is for Brain”
“B is for Brain” provides a unique opportunity for viewers to gain more insight into Ben’s past. While not his episode, as “B is for Brain” balances the leads nearly perfectly, he has his most emotional moment in the series so far. Despite the lower stakes, it provides a more vulnerable moment than “E is for Elevator.”
Leland (Michael Emerson) and Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) meet again on more equal terms and establish their hostile relationship. Sister Andrea proves herself to be a woman who doesn’t back down when a Satanist tries to intimidate her. It also raises the necessity of David’s training, creating a more tangible threat.
Kristen’s deteriorating relationship with Andy reaches a boiling point as her impulsiveness and hostility reach new heights. It seems her sabbatical to the monastery might have increased the evil influences. “B is for Brain” builds upon what “S is for Silence” introduces and creates an interesting interpretation of the last episode’s events.
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“B is for Brain” brings a new dynamic to its horror by focusing on how technology, science, and religion intersect. There’s an incredibly diabolical conversation on how this technology could induce fear to empower religion. This idea evokes a more subtle horror than most episodes.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
There is a potential nay-theist trope. By that, I mean there’s a single line where one can interpret an atheist character turned from God because God turned from them. It’s a single line that remains interpretable, but it’s worth mentioning.
There’s a moment of self-harm with clear implications that this is a pattern with the specific character. This harm has some implication of demonic influence, but this remains unconfirmed at the moment. I will mention this becomes more obvious as the season continues.
What I Dislike about “B is for Brain”
Unfortunately, such a big reveal for Ben’s character doesn’t have time to get fully explored in “B is for Brain.” While the focus between the three is great, a few big reveals only earn a light address. It’s less that Ben doesn’t get a fair amount of attention and more that these subjects don’t receive that attention.
A similar point remains relevant about the claim of using brain mapping as a way of evoking religious conversion. That point merits interrogation from the characters and the plot, but it’s only lightly touched on. Further expanding these points is that there’s only light reference in the future specifically about brain mapping.
Final Thoughts
“B is for Brain” gets placed into two memorable episodes, diminishing its lasting power. While not a fault of the episode, it does overlook some potentially big reveals. Some of the more relevant character moments will receive the attention they deserve in later episodes, but it doesn’t aid “B is for Brain” in execution. While a strong and enjoyable episode, diving into those moments might have created an episode that haunts the viewer. (3 / 5)
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