The J-Horror Virus

A thoughtful, slightly eerie documentary that dissects the dread of Japanese ghost films, offering insight rather than scares.

Directed by

Jasper Sharp, Sarah Appleton

Genres

Horror, Documentary

Starring

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Tom Mes, Lindsay Nelson

Overview

How did a single ‘Big in Japan’ videotape change the course of global horror history? Find out in this insightful documentary charting the origins, evolution and diffusion across the world of a distinctive brand of Japanese supernatural chillers featuring vengeful ghosts manifesting themselves through contemporary technology against a backdrop of urban alienation and social decay. From Psychic Vision: Jaganrei (1988) and straight-to-video scary true stories to such key titles as Ring (1998), Pulse (2001) and The Grudge (2002), critics and filmmakers reflect on how the bleak Dystopian visions and unsettling atmospheres infiltrated their way into the world’s shocker consciousness.

How it feels

Dark, eerie, melancholic and earnest. Measured and needs your attention.

About

Technology, isolation, death, fate

Content

Mild violence, gore and language. No sexual content.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Watch the trailer on YouTube (opens in a new tab)