Horror and Thriller Thread

BlindedByTheShining wrote: That's good, now I feel better xD

I just started by myself - only check HK ones: "Red to Kill", "Awakening" and segments of "Three" and "Three... Extremes". "Awakening" is more comedy horror, "Red to Kill" had some deeper message but got lost with some scenes (to warn, two scenes of rape, they're really long, so it deserved Cat III label). "Three" and "Three... Extremes" anyway are pretty good to watch ;)

Thanks! "Three" and "Three...Extremes" sound very interesting. I might give those a try.

kamikki wrote: Would you call something like Audition Horror or Thriller? I think it's one of those examples where it crosses between the two.
But lets see, something like Death Note, for instance. I see it many times qualified as 'horror' although I'd say there's no horror (nor attempt of) in it. It's just a Thriller with supernatural elements. So many times, as BlindebytheShining said, there is this confusion, for both sides that is Horror=Supernatural, Thriller=without Supernatural. So I guess the most plain way to tell between both is ask yourself What was this movie main goal? Was it to scare me, flat out? Or was it to keep me guessing? Of course you can mix both, and you should, specially in horror. But if it is a Horror Movie, your main focus should always be make the audience uncomfortable and scare them.

If you are looking for Horror movies I'd recommend:
Noroi: you can also watch all the other Koji Shiraishi movies i you like the found footage genre like me, but they're kinda hit or miss ahah
Ringu: It's a classic, still one of the best in my opinion. Ringu 2 is good too, and 0. Stay away from Rasen unless you read the books, the dorama spiral is also good, but more of a Thriller honestly. Never watched the sequel to the dorama since I simply cannot find it in the internet. (Other Hideo Nakata movies also come as recommended, but none is quite as good as the original Ringu).
Whispering Corridors Series: Some are good, some are not so good, but worthwhile anyway

As for thriller
Chan-wook Park's Revenge Trilogy: really can't go wrong with this one, or really any othe Chan-wook movie (except maybe I'm a Cyborg but that's ok :p)
Confession of a Murder: Korean Thriller at it's best!
20th century Boys trilogy: I'd say REALLY read the manga, but the movies are also very good.
Confessions: Great OST, great acting, one of best.

@sleepninja: Only Hong Kong horror I remember watching were The Eye 1 and 2 and I don't think they are very good

Well, most movies have more than one genre attached to them. I think that thriller and horror get attached together to movies quite often. ^^

I agree about the horror not equaling supernatural point that you made. According to wiki's definition: "Horror fiction, horror literature and also horror fantasy is a genre of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, scare or startle viewers/readers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere." So it doesn't necessarily have to include supernatural elements. :)


Ahh yes. I have heard of those movies. I have read both good and bad things about them. Not sure if I want to give them a try or not. I may at least take a look at the first one. lol

BlindedByTheShining wrote: It's worth checking. But I think this ending was too long and not necessary. But overall, I was satisfied.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I get irritated with endings that are longer than is necessary. lol

I've seen I Saw the Devil & Audition classify as horror/thriller. In my book they're both thrillers. For me, horror refers to movies like The Omen, The Exorcist, The Ring, The Grudge, Paranormal Activity, Insidious ... basically anything with a supernatural element that sort of messes with your mind ... even after the picture is finished. Now, some people react to extreme violence in the same way ... but violence is intrinsic to human nature. We're familiar with it and we can control it to an extent ... so the 'horrific' nature of it on screen doesn't equate to the same feelings of terror awakened by supernatural elements beyond our realm of comprehension (such as those found in a say ... Paranormal Activity for eg). When I saw the first installment I had to sleep with my lights on that night. When I saw a graphically violent film like 'Inferno of Torture' I was horrified in the moment by the violence & torture, but I was able to put it out of my head and sleep like a baby after the film concluded. And I didn't see Inferno of Torture as neither a horror or a thriller, but a drama, albeit a rather bloody one. :)

Ari_Lee wrote: I think there was no General Asia forum when I made that thread. General Asia is a relatively new forum compared with the rest of site.

Yeah, I think you're right. That thread was made closer to the beginning. Wasn't it later in 2012 that we got our General Asia section? :)

I see your point @MrsLeeSeoJin. This is the most simple way to say what's horror and what's thriller. When is something supernatural, it means you can't control it and that's the worst. But on the other hand you have productions like "Saw" and this whole franchise - it's considered to be horror. Nothing supernatural but people there had problems with controlling the situation. Hmm, in this case "Ab-normal Beauty" can be thriller. Or look at "Lesson of the Evil" - thriller? Nothing supernatural. And any other film about psychopaths - when genre was created, it was told to be a horror, slasher. I was watching such films in childhood (yeah, awesome chidlhood I had, lol) and I never thought about them as thrillers. Thriller must have suspense but it doesn't mean to be gore in any way, just disturbing - but when it gets bloody (but really bloody), in my mind it's changing into exploitation horror (for example). Nah, it's so chaotic I think, lol. And about "Audition" - it's for me thriller too 'cause I don't think the end scenes were dream but real. People who are thinking it's the dream sequence see horror.

BlindedByTheShining wrote: I see your point @MrsLeeSeoJin. This is the most simple way to say what's horror and what's thriller. When is something supernatural, it means you can't control it and that's the worst. But on the other hand you have productions like "Saw" and this whole franchise - it's considered to be horror. Nothing supernatural but people there had problems with controlling the situation. Hmm, in this case "Ab-normal Beauty" can be thriller. Or look at "Lesson of the Evil" - thriller? Nothing supernatural. And any other film about psychopaths - when genre was created, it was told to be a horror, slasher. I was watching such films in childhood (yeah, awesome chidlhood I had, lol) and I never thought about them as thrillers.

And I see yours. It's a good point too.

I haven't yet seen Abnormal Beauty or Lesson of the Evil (both are on the list) so I can't comment, but I'd agree that Saw is a horror. For me what makes it a horror is not necessarily the violence, per se, but the psychological terror (being stuck in those heinous contraptions) what's his name unleashes on his victims. This psychological element is similar, in my opinion, to that induced by the paranormal. And in fact, I'd argue that's why the Saw franchise was ridiculously successful.

I'm more inclined to call violent, gore films - like Hostel or Texas Chainsaw Massacre - slasher ... or torture porn (which technically are subgenres of horror). I do think horror & thriller can intersect, but they're predominantly independent of each other.

wrote: Thriller must have suspense but it doesn't mean to be gore in any way, just disturbing - but when it gets bloody (but really bloody), in my mind it's changing into exploitation horror (for example). Nah, it's so chaotic I think, lol.

I totally agree! Thrillers don't (or shouldn't) induce terror in its viewer. It induces excitement (what's going to happen next????) rather than fear (I need to close my eyes / mentally escape). When it starts to get really bloody, it's no longer thriller, I agree. So you maybe right after all. Have you seen Inferno of Torture? I'd recommend you do.

wrote: And about "Audition" - it's for me thriller too 'cause I don't think the end scenes were dream but real. People who are thinking it's the dream sequence see horror.

People thought the ending scenes in Audition were a dream? What? How? I don't get it! lol

Yes, I'm referring to the Ishii film. I totally agree with you, that was no dream. Moreover, it's a Takeshi Miike, the sadist ... nothing in a Miike film is ever a dream. lol

I feel like Korean Horror movies are most times about some really *****y girl that bullies some girl and then the bullied dies and comes back with revenge. But then it turns out the bullied one was also a *****, and in the end life's a *****. But I always take some kind of enjoyment out of them anyway :p

BlindedByTheShining wrote:

This is the story of the almost whole Japanese and Korean horror. It's always about some sort of revenge but the mean girl can be a very mean man or men too.

Yeah, but what I mean is something that I feel is very Korean, usually related to all girls school, but not always. I can't really explain it perfectly without getting into specific movie spoilers.