The 22 Best Korean Horror Movies

Critics Consensus: The Wailing delivers an atmospheric, cleverly constructed mystery whose supernatural thrills more than justify its imposing length.

Synopsis: Suspicion leads to hysteria when rural villagers link a series of brutal murders to the arrival of a mysterious stranger (Kunimura Jun).

Starring: Kwak Do-won, Jun Kunimura, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee

Directed By: Na Hong-jin

Critics Consensus: Train to Busan delivers a thrillingly unique -- and purely entertaining -- take on the zombie genre, with fully realized characters and plenty of social commentary to underscore the bursts of skillfully staged action.

Synopsis: A man (Gong Yoo), his estranged daughter and other passengers become trapped on a speeding train during a zombie outbreak in South Korea.

Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Choi Woo-sik

Directed By: Yeon Sang-ho

Critics Consensus: As populace pleasing as it is intellectually satisfying, The Host combines scares, laughs, and satire into a riveting, monster movie.

Synopsis: Careless American military personnel dump chemicals into South Korea's Han River. Several years later, a creature emerges from the tainted waters and sinks its ravenous... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doo-na

Directed By: Bong Joon Ho

Critics Consensus: A funny and wildly inventive hybrid of various genres, Save the Green Planet! is definitely a unique viewing experience.

Synopsis: Lee Byeong-gu (Shin Ha-kyun) is convinced that there are aliens from Andromeda among us, plotting to destroy Earth. He believes that Kang Man-shik (Baek Yun-shik),... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Shin Ha-kyun, Baek Yun-shik, Hwang Jeong-min, Lee Jae-yong

Directed By: Jang Joon-hwan

Critics Consensus: This anthology contains brutal, powerful horror stories by three of Asia's top directors.

Synopsis: Stories revolve around a witch doctor, a filmmaker (Lee Byung-hun) and a resentful extra, and a novelist and her twin sister.

Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Kang Hye-jung, Yum Jung-ah, Mitsuru Akaboshi

Directed By: Fruit Chan, Takashi Miike, Park Chan-wook

Critics Consensus: Restrained but disturbing, A Tale of Two Sisters is a creepily effective, if at times confusing, horror movie.

Synopsis: After being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Korean teen Su-mi (Yum Jung-ah) reunites with her beloved sister, Su-yeon (Im Soo-jung), and they return to live... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Yum Jung-ah, Kim Kap-soo, Moon Geun-young, Lim Soo-jung

Directed By: Kim Jee-woon

Critics Consensus: Never flinching during its descent into depravity, I Saw the Devil is a pulverizing thriller that will give bloody satisfaction to audiences who like their revenge served with fiery rage.

Synopsis: On a dark road, taxi driver Kyung-chul comes across a scared female motorist stranded in a broken-down vehicle. He pulls over -- but not to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan, Chun Ho-jin

Directed By: Kim Jee-woon

Critics Consensus: The stylish Thirst packs plenty of bloody thrills to satisfy fans of both vampire films and director Chan Wook Park.

Synopsis: Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), a respected priest, volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly virus. He gets infected and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin, Shin Ha-kyun, Kim Hae-sook

Directed By: Park Chan-wook

Critics Consensus: Thrilling and relentless from start to finish, Yeon Sang-ho's Seoul Station is a layered and vicious entry into the zombie genre.

Synopsis: A man desperately searches for his runaway daughter as the government struggles to shut down the area around a zombie outbreak.

Starring: Ryu Seung-ryong, Lee Joon, Shim Eun-kyung, Hwang Seok-jeong

Directed By: Yeon Sang-ho

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Connected by phone in the same home but 20 years apart, a serial killer puts another woman's past -- and life -- on the line... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Park Shin-hye, Jeon Jong-seo, Kim Sung-ryung, Lee El

Directed By: Lee Chung-hyeon

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Starring: Kim Myeong-min, Choi Woo-sik, Park Hee-soon

Directed By: Huh Jong-ho

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The crew of a horror web series travels to an abandoned asylum for a live broadcast. It soon encounters much more than expected as it... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Wi Ha-joon, Park Ji-hyun, Oh Ah-yeon, Moon Ye-won

Directed By: Jung Bum-shik

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Starring: Kim Da-mi, Jo Min-soo, Choi Woo-sik, Park Hee-soon

Directed By: Park Hoon-jung

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: After losing his wife, a father tries to start over in a new home with his daughter. But things take a turn when strange noises... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Nam-gil, Shin Hyun-bin, Heo Yool

Directed By: Kim Gwang-bin

Critics Consensus: Well-acted, genuinely unsettling, and occasionally even funny, #alive proves the crowded zombie genre still has fresh stories to tell.

Synopsis: A rapidly spreading infection leaves one survivor in the entire city.

Starring: Yoo Ah-in, Park Shin-hye, Jeon Bae-soo, Lee Hyun-wook

Directed By: Il Cho

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Hae-won (Seong-won Ji) is a woman on the edge: a series of incidents at work earn her a forced "vacation," but when she travels to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Seo Young-hee, JI Sung-won, Hwang Hwa-sun, Park Jeong-hak

Directed By: Chul-soo Jang

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A woman searching for her missing son takes in a girl she finds near Mt. Jang.

Starring: Yum Jung-ah, Park Hyuk-kwon, Heo Jin, Bang Yu-seol

Directed By: Huh Jung

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A tragedy befalls a family and leads to the discovery that a spirit haunts their home.

Starring: Seo Young-hee, Son Na-eun, Lee Tae-ri, Park Min-ji

Directed By: Yoo Yeongseon

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Mrs. Kang (Na Moon-hee) her husband, Tae-gu (Park In-hwan), and their three adolescent children decide to escape the hustle and bustle of Seoul, South Korea,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Park In-hwan, Na Moon-hee, Choi Min-sik

Directed By: Kim Jee-woon

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A horrifying story of a shaman's inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. What could be possessing a family member might not be the Goddess... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Narilya Gulmongkolpech, Yasaka Chaisorn, Sawanee Utoomma, Sirani Yankittikan

Directed By: Banjong Pisanthanakun

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: After a mysterious girl emerges as the sole survivor of a bloody raid on the research facility behind the top-secret Witch Program, she is rescued... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Seo Eun-soo, Jin Goo, Jo Min-soo, Lee Jong-suk

Directed By: Park Hoon-jung

Critics Consensus: Ghoulish genre-bending asian horror boasts impressive production design, but an unsatisfactory denouement.

Synopsis: Eun-soo gets lost in the forest and is led to a house whose inhabitants never age.

Starring: Chun Jung-myung, Shim Eun-kyung, Jang Young-nam, Jin Ji-hee

Directed By: Im Pilseong

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A life-or-death battle spanning eight days to prevent the breaking of the seal that restrains "That Which Must Not Awaken." Once awakened, it can cross... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lee Sung-min, Park Hae-joon, Kim Yoo-jeong, Nam Da-reum

Directed By: V

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Returning from imprisonment abroad, a prince and his fellow countrymen band together to battle bloodthirsty demons in ancient Korea.

Starring: Hyun-bin, Jang Dong-gun, Jo Woo-jin, Jung Man-sik

Directed By: Kim Seong-hun

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A driven journalist (Ha Ji-won) investigates strange, threatening calls on her cell phone.

Starring: Ha Ji-won, Kim Yoo-mi, Choi Woo-jae, Choi Ji-yeon

Directed By: Byeong-ki Ahn

Critics Consensus: Although a disappointing sense of familiarity threatens to derail Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, fans of the original may find it a thrilling enough ride.

Synopsis: A soldier and his team battle hordes of post-apocalyptic zombies in the wastelands of the Korean Peninsula.

Starring: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Re, Kwon Hae-hyo

Directed By: Yeon Sang-ho

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: After waking up with mysterious wounds on his hands, a champion fighter finds himself in an otherworldly battle against evil forces that wreak havoc in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Park Seo-joon, Ahn Sung-ki, Woo Do-hwan, Jo Eun-hyung

Directed By: Kim Joo-hwan

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A face-changing evil spirit infiltrates a family, placing one brother in danger while the other tries to save him.

Starring: Bae Seong-woo, Sung Dong-il, Jang Young-nam, Kim Hyejun

Directed By: Kim Hong-sun