By Vlad Zakh · December 26, 2025
J-horror rewrote the genre’s rules in the late 90s, with cursed videotapes and vengeful spirits crawling out of televisions, and the American remakes rarely caught the original dread. Go further back and it gets stranger. House (1977) is a gleefully surreal schoolgirl nightmare, Onibaba has two women who survive by murder meeting a cursed mask, and Kwaidan tells four ghost stories in painterly style. Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Ringu, Ju-on, Audition, Pulse, Dark Water and One Missed Call round out the list.
01 After a hit-and-run, a man's body slowly and violently fuses with scrap metal.
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto · 1h 07m · Rated NR
Stream: Night Flight Plus, AsianCrush, Midnight Pulp, ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: AsianCrush, Midnight Pulp, ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
02 A schoolgirl's visit to her aunt's house turns into a gleefully surreal, effects-driven nightmare.
Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi · 1h 28m · Rated NR
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Philo, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Stream: BFI Player, BFI Player Amazon Channel, BFI Player Apple TV Channel
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
03 Two women surviving on murder during a civil war encounter a mask that may carry a curse.
Directed by Kaneto Shindō · 1h 45m
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: Amazon Prime Video, BFI Player, BFI Player Amazon Channel, BFI Player Apple TV Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
04 Four traditional Japanese ghost stories told with a meticulous, painterly visual style.
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi · 3h 03m · Rated PG-13
Nominated for 1 Oscar5 wins & 3 nominations
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: BFI Player · Rent or buy: Amazon Video
Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
05 A voicemail from the future previews the exact moment and sound of the recipient's death.
Directed by Takashi Miike · 1h 52m
Stream: Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Shudder · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, Arrow Video Amazon Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: Shudder Amazon Channel, Fandor, Shudder, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC Plus Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
06 The internet becomes a literal gateway for ghosts to invade the world of the living.
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa · 1h 59m · Rated R
Stream: Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, ARROW · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
Stream: Arrow Video Amazon Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: AMC+ Amazon Channel, ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
Stream: Foxtel Now, Shudder Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, Shudder Apple TV channel
07 A mother and daughter's new flat is haunted by a persistent, ominous leak from above.
Directed by Hideo Nakata · 1h 41m
Stream: Night Flight Plus, BFI Player Amazon Channel, ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: Arrow Video Amazon Channel, ARROW · Rent: Apple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Sky Store, YouTube
Stream: ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
Stream: Foxtel Now
08 A widower's staged auditions to find a new wife uncover something far more disturbing.
Directed by Takashi Miike · 1h 55m · Rated R
Stream: Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, AsianCrush, Hi-YAH, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, RetroCrush Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Stream: BFI Player, Arrow Video Amazon Channel, BFI Player Amazon Channel, BFI Player Apple TV Channel, ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: AsianCrush, ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
Stream: Foxtel Now · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fetch TV
09 A vengeful spirit's curse spreads to anyone who enters the house where it began.
Directed by Takashi Shimizu · 1h 32m · Rated R
Stream: ARROW · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: Shudder, Arrow Video Amazon Channel, ARROW · Rent: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies
Stream: ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent: JustWatch TV, Apple TV Store, Amazon Video · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
10 A cursed videotape kills anyone who watches it within seven days.
Directed by Hideo Nakata · 1h 36m · Rated NR
7 wins & 1 nomination
Stream: Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, MUBI, Shudder Amazon Channel, AsianCrush, Shudder Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: Arrow Video Amazon Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, ARROW · Rent: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Sky Store, YouTube
Stream: Shudder Amazon Channel, MUBI, AsianCrush, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel, ARROW · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent: JustWatch TV, Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.
