With the advent of DVD’s and tapes there has been a huge influx of foreign horror into the market. A lot of it gets largely overlooked. Sometimes movies are from other countries but people don’t even realize it. Here is our list of Top Ten Foreign Horror movies that have caught our interest.
Broke and Bookish are taking a break until August 15th with their topics for Top Ten Tuesday, so we’re going to fill the slot with some movie related lists until they’re back at it!
Top Ten Foreign Horror Movies
The Wisher/Spliced – Canada
In a small town, the teenager Mary is obsessed and addicted with horror movies. Further, she is sleepwalker, has frequent nightmares and her father has forbidden her to watch horror movies. However, when the top at the box office “The Wisher” is screened in her town, she goes to the movie theater with her two best friends, Debbie and Kara, and leaves the session before the end, vomiting and impressed with the scary story. Mary notes that her wishes comes true wounding people and she sees the character The Wisher stalking her everywhere. – IMDB
Three Extremes – Hong Kong/Japan/South Korea
An Asian cross-cultural trilogy of horror films from accomplished indie directors. – IMDB
Grabbers – Ireland
Police officer Lisa Nolan comes to Aran Island, Ireland, to take charge during a colleague’s two-week holiday. Simultaneously, blood-thirsty, sea-dwelling aliens arrive at the quiet island to propagate. As dead whales wash up on shore and people start mysteriously disappearing, officers and a few locals slowly discover their peril along with one sure defense – high blood alcohol levels, which the aliens can’t stomach. As a storm approaches, enabling hungry hatchlings access to the locals, an open bar kicks off a desperate bid for survival as inebriated police and friends stagger to remain cognizant long enough to thwart the alien invasion. – IMDB
Rare Exports – Finland
On Christmas Eve in Finland, Santa Claus is unearthed in an archaeological dig. Soon after, children start disappearing, leading a boy and his father to capture Santa and, with the help of fellow hunters, they look to sell him back to the corporation that sponsored the dig. And then there’s Santa’s elves, who are determined to free their leader – IMDB
Kill Baby, Kill – Italy
Dr. Eswai is called by Inspector Kruger to a small village to perform an autopsy on a woman who has died under suspicious circumstances. Despite help from Ruth, the village witch, Kruger is killed and it is revealed that the dead woman, as well as other villagers, have been killed by the ghost of Melissa, a young girl who, fed by the hatred of her grieving mother, Baroness Graps, exacts her revenge on them. Dr. Eswai, along with Monica, a local nurse, are lured into a fateful confrontation at the Villa Graps. – IMDB
The Orphanage – Spain
Laura, a former orphan, raises her adopted son Simón together with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. While at the orphanage Simón tells Laura that he has five invisible friends which she believes are a product of his active imagination. Laura decides to reopen the orphanage to cater for disabled children and throws a party. During the party Simón tries to persuade Laura to go and take a look at his friends cabin but she’s too busy. Later on she sees a mysterious masked boy and realizes that Simón has also disappeared. – IMDB
Let the Right One In – Sweden
Oskar, a bullied 12-year old, dreams of revenge. He falls in love with Eli, a peculiar girl. She can’t stand the sun or food and to come into a room she needs to be invited. Eli gives Oskar the strength to hit back but when he realizes that Eli needs to drink other people’s blood to live he’s faced with a choice. How much can love forgive? Set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in 1982. – IMDB
Picnic at Hanging Rock – Australia
Three students and a school teacher disappear on an excursion to Hanging Rock, in Victoria, on Valentine’s Day, 1900. Widely (and incorrectly) regarded as being based on a true story, the movie follows those that disappeared, and those that stayed behind, but it delights in the asking of questions, not the answering of them. – IMDB
Eyes Without a Face – France
After causing an accident that left his daughter Christiane severely disfigured, the brilliant surgeon Dr. Génessier works tirelessly to give the girl a new face. He does so however by kidnapping young women and attempting face transplants. He has been woefully unsuccessful to date. The doctor’s world begins to collapse around him when his daughter realizes just what he has been doing. – IMDB
The Wicker Man – United Kingdom
A police sergeant is sent to a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl whom the townsfolk claim never existed. Stranger still are the rites that take place there. – IMDB
So, there’s a lot of foreign horror movies that we might not love so they didn’t quite make our top ten list, but they’re still awesome.
Runners-up for favorite foreign horror films:
Train to Busan (2016) – Korean
Demon (2015) – Poland
Dead Snow (2009) – Norway
and, though it pains me (Lilyn) to list it, because I maintain it is not a horror film….
Side note: Credit for the list idea and pretty much the whole post (minus a few of my horror suggestions and the runners-up portion go to GracieKat. I had very little to do with it!
I must catch up on some of them. No, Shaun of the Dead is not horror, but it’s funny…
I’ve seen all but 2 of these. Aren’t there two different versions of Let The Right One In? I swear I’ve seen two. Grabbers was a hoot. You have to be drunk to be safe. I’m in!
Have you seen Troll Hunter. That was a good one too. Blew me away when I saw the first troll.
I believe there is the original version, which is the one listed here, and an American remake (I think). It is also a novel.
There’s an American remake with Chloe Grace Moretz.
Wait, wait, wait…Dead Snow…with the zombie Nazis…isn’t horror?! Also, I must insist that Devil’s Pass, a 2013 UK/Russian film be on this list! The image for this film is completely misleading. There is zero nudity.
Shaun of the Dead was the one I was referring to about not being horror. Sorry, I will clarify that in post soon! And good to know about Devil’s Pass. I will have to watch it soon!
Is that the movie based on the Dylatov Pass incident? It’s been high on my list to watch because that story has always intrigued me. Thanks for bringing it up!
YES. I really liked it. The beginning is fine, the middle bit seems a little more like “I’m not quite sure what’s going on,” but then the last third…good gravy, the shit hits the fan.
I remember stumbling upon Rare Exports a few years ago near the holidays on a cable network and thinking “what the heck is this???” Of course, I was so entranced in it that I watched the entire thing and my husband and I loved every bit of it. I think it’s rather twisted, but in my book, twisted is a good thing.