Best Korean movies to watch (Horror suspense and thriller)

Koreans have an innate talent to express terror. The North Korean Dictator expresses it literally through being a Dictator and the South Korean Directors express it through movies. Here’s a list of top-notch thrillers. These movies aren’t for people with weak stomachs and hearts. So here are the best Korean movies to watch.

So here are the best Korean movies to watch

Old boy

This is one of the best Korean movies to watch. When a guy was kidnapped and imprisoned in a room for 15 years by a mystery man, for an unknown reason, is released for an unknown reason. The rest of the movie is all about the protagonist in search of the man who imprisoned him, to show vengeance. This movie contains plot twists that go totally against our culture and moral beliefs. With a gripping revenge storyline, this would surely keep you on the edge of the seat.

Train to Busan

Ain’t a fan of Zombie films as the storyline of all zombie films are all same. And I’ve never been able to empathize with the characters of no zombie films except “I am Legend” and “Warm Bodies”. But out of all zombie films, Train to Busan tops the list. It has terror, a soul, and a story. It’s when a zombie disease strikes people of Korean on a day when the protagonist and his daughter are on their way to Busan on a train. Most of the movie happens on a train and you tend to feel claustrophobic and empathize a lot for characters.

Man from Nowhere

The storyline is simple. There’s an assassin who’s in low key now. He wants to have a normal life. He makes friends with a little girl. The little girl is kidnapped by a huge mafia gang that unleashes the terror. The event turns out to be a tipping point for an assassin to unfurl his violent side and goes in search of the girl, which leads to the death of many men. It’s fast, it’s gripping and the action sequences are clean shot and top-notch.

Parasites

This film brought Korean film making out into the world of fame which made it bag quite a few Oscars. This movie is about the gap between two classes of families and how events would affect the poor and rich differently. The film starts with a poor family with smart members who try to get into a rich family by assuming different jobs, without letting the rich family know that, the driver, maid, tuition and art teacher are all related. Aesthetically shot and impressive acting, this film would be an inspiration for many to make films. Especially for cinematographers.

Host

Right from the start, this keeps you hooked. It’s a satire thriller based on incidents that happened in Korea where the American scientists ill-treated the natural resources of Korea and it’s repercussions. The movie starts with a scientist pouring dangerous chemicals into a river that leads to mutation of a fish (am not sure why just one fish). This fish turns into a monster creating havoc in the city killing many people. Apparently it takes the daughter of the protagonist and he eventually comes to know that she’s alive but is in an unknown place, a spot where the monster stores its food. The rest of the movie is about how the family tries to find the girl.

I saw the devil

It must be the most violent Korean best movie yet. And one of the most horrific villains I have seen in a movie. The film starts with the villain kidnapping the pregnant wife of a professional bodyguard, who kills her brutally and dismembers her body into many parts (which is shown in detail). The hero manages to track down the villain (the best thing about most Korean thrillers is, their movies kinda start with scenes which would have been a climactic scene for other movie industries. This makes us wonder, what now?) . The protagonist and villain gets into a fight and rather than killing the villain, the protagonist plants a GPS tracker into the body of villain without his knowledge, enabling the hero to constantly monitor the villain and beat him black and blue, the moment he’s relieved from a previous beating or when he attempts a crime. The rest of the film is all about the exciting cat and mouse chase. This is no way for a person with a weak stomach. It’s gore. Real gore. And real thrill. But I won’t watch it again.

The Handmaiden

When a guy conspires a plot to make a rich lady marry him so that he could inherit all her wealth. So he arranges a maid for the rich lady, whose responsibility is to make the rich lady fall in love with him. Now don’t even imagine that it’s a cliche. The revelation after the first hour of the film drops your jaw and confuses you to the core. Then it’ll twist after twists. It’s a beautiful shot film with great acting.

The chaser

This film is about an ex-cop turned pimp in search of his missing prostitute. Two of his prostitutes went missing and when he realizes that he received a call from the same client the third time, he sends another prostitute to track down his location. But things go wrong. Very wrong. The rest of the film is whether the protagonist manages to find the antagonist. This is, of course, my third favorite film coz I was in anxiety since the beginning, every moment of it.

Memories of Murder

Never have I ever experienced a murder film that looks and feels like a poem. Bong Joon Ho’s innate ability to create terror, comedy and poetic feel makes this film my second favorite. The movie is based on a true story of a serial killer in a village in Korea between 1986-1991. Two police officers are appointed to investigate. The rest of the film is all about whether they find the culprit soon enough as the body counts keep increasing. (SPOILER ALERT: This is a super coincidence. Towards the end of the film, they never find the murder since they never found the murderer in real. This made me to Google the actual incidents which turned out to reveal a shocking incident. I watched this film in September 2019. And that’s when the actual killer was found and the 30-year cases were closed).

The wailing

I watched this three years ago and tried to re-watch it a few times but didn’t manage to cross 10 minutes. That’s the kind of creeps this film gives and that makes it my most favorite film. I have watched tons of horror films and this is the movie other than Stephen King’s 1406 that stroke horror in me. Mysterious and violent deaths happen in a village even since a Japanese man comes to this village. He is believed to be involved in occult practices. So a detective is appointed to investigate the events. What makes this film brilliant? The story? No, even though it’s great, it’s not the story that makes it brilliant. It’s the pure skill of movie-making, direction, acting, and impeccable editing. Closely associated with the Bible, this film manages to make you confused, scared, and pray for it to end. A masterpiece in the horror genre.