Gamera: Super Monster (1980)
Nov 10, 2015Japanese Monster Movie
Possibly the worst Kaiju film ever made – produced by a bankrupt studio in order to recoup losses and cheaply slung together by rehashing footage from the other Gamera films
Kadokawa
Ring (1998)
Aug 31, 1999Cursed Video Broadcast/Japanese Ghost Story
Kaidan eiga (Japanese ghost story) that was a huge hit, spawning several sequels and an English-language remake, plus a horde of imitators. For all its reputation, the film is often crude, nevertheless does evince an eerie atmosphere
MPD Psycho (2000)
Feb 23, 2021Split-Personalitied Detective vs a Body-Hopping Killer
Takashi Miike tv mini-series with a mind-bogglingly confusing plot involving a split personalitied detective, possession, a terrorist pop star and barcodes imprinted in eyeballs
Dark Water (2002)
May 2, 2005Japanese Ghost Story/Haunted Apartment
Hideo Nakata made the highly influential Ringu but his other films have been uneven. This ghost story is one of his few follow-ups that comes near recapturing the same uncanny mood
Three … Extremes (2004)
Aug 5, 2005Asian Horror Anthology
Standout horror anthology designed to highlight episodes from three Asian directors – Hong Kong’s Fruit Chan, South Korea’s Park Chan-wook and Japan’s Takashi Miike - all of whom are on top form
One Missed Call 2 (2005)
Oct 14, 2015Haunted Cellphone Calls
Sequel to the Japanese original, not the English-language remake. This quickly forgets about haunted phonecalls and becomes even more of a copy of Ring, the inspiration of the original, and fails at generating spooky atmosphere
The Great Yokai War (2005)
Dec 15, 2007War in the Realm of Japanese Spirits
Takashi Miike jumps aboard the mid-00s fad for secondary world fantasy films, creating a realm of spirits where he and his makeup and creature effects team go absolutely wild
One Missed Call: Final (2006)
Dec 11, 2025Haunted Cellphone Calls
Takashi Miike’s One Missed Call was one of the more popular of the Ringu-influenced Japanese ghost stories, concerning a viral curse passed by cellphone calls. This was the second Japanese sequel
Summer Wars (2009)
Mar 12, 2011Anime/Amok A.I./Family Saga
Beautifully made Mamoru Hosoda film about a rogue A.I. taking over a social media network. A film that is also a heartwarming work about family togetherness
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010)
Jun 16, 2011Anime/Alternate Timeline/Reality-Bending Teenager
Extraordinary anime where the members of an after school club secretly harbour great powers. From there, this expands out with reality-bending scope
Sadako 3D 2 (2013)
Jul 16, 2020Ring Sequel/Japanese Ghost Story
This was the eighth of the Ring films. This is made as a sequel to the earlier Sadako 3D, the worst of the Japanese series, although is actually a better film
Patema Inverted (2013)
Dec 7, 2016Anime/Two Worlds With Gravity in Opposing Directions
This anime has a surprising number of similarities to Upside Down, which was released one year earlier, both being set in two different worlds where gravity in each operates in the opposite directions and of the forbidden relationship between a boy and a girl from either world
Your Name. (2016)
Apr 17, 2017Anime/Cross-Time Bodyswap
Makoto Shinkai anime that starts as a light and fluffy piece about a boy and a girl who keep waking up in each other's bodies but expands out into a wholly different story, gaining unexpected emotional depths
Sadako vs Kayako (2016)
Feb 25, 2017Ring/Grudge Series Crossover
The two most popular Japanese horror franchises come together to fight it out. Both series work on the provision of intensely uncanny effect but brought together the result is diluted at best
Sadako (2019)
Mar 21, 2022Ring Sequel
The thirteenth film in the Ring/Ringu franchise. The question is whether the return of original director Hideo Nakata to the franchise can revitalise the series
Weathering With You (2019)
Jan 13, 2025Anime/Girl Who Can Control Weather
From Makoto Shinkai who made Your Name., a lovely anime about a girl who can control the weather. An odd premise about orphans that soon develops unusual and unexpected depths