Editorials
[Anime Horrors] Celebrating the Best Horror Anime of the 2010s
*Keep up with our ongoing end of the decade coverage here*
This past decade has not only been tremendous for anime as a whole, but there have been incredible works of horror-related anime in particular. With shows exploring various subgenres of horror, the 2010s have offered viewers an awesome selection of anime entertainment that exudes chills and adrenaline.
Before we dive into the focus of this article, I want to express sincere gratitude to the audience who reads Anime Horrors. Anime was one of the first art forms I ever discovered in life, and I’m so incredibly thankful to Bloody Disgusting for allowing me this opportunity. Shifts had to take place earlier in the year where the column came out bi-monthly, but I am proud to share that as of 2020, I am back to releasing new installments on a monthly basis.
So with that said, let’s talk about some of the best horror anime of the 2010s.
One of the defining qualities coming out of horror anime this decade has been the emphasis on psychological and thriller based stories. Packing numerous twists and brutal tension, these titles do a tremendous job keeping the viewer in the dark and excited for what is to come next.
Looking back at the earlier part of the decade, anime audiences were gifted the incredibly subversive and grim Puella Magi Madoka Magica. At first the show comes across as a slightly darker version of the typical magical girl anime we’ve all come to know and love; however, it doesn’t take long for the show to not only flip audience’s expectations, but also submerge them in an eerie and heartbreaking story. School-Live! was also a surprising gem many did not see coming. It’s still one of the best anime to go into totally blind, for it subverts anime tropes in a fascinating way and presents a chilling psychological tale.
Where pre-2010 anime fans had the incredible Death Note, post-2010 anime fans have The Promised Neverland. As one of the more highly anticipated shows of 2019, The Promised Neverland’s first season proved to be a riveting experience. The narrative makes for a consistent rush of suspense and tension, keeping viewers on edge and awaiting each new shocking surprise.
The 2010s also saw two fantastic supernatural driven narratives, Another and Shiki. These shows do a tremendous job exuding unease throughout their narratives; as each story progresses, the characters find themselves mixed up in haunting and gruesome terror. Embracing mystery and supernatural elements, Another and Shiki offer viewers nightmarish atmospheres, gory visuals, and large doses of emotional storytelling.
Along with all the suspenseful and psychological anime titles, however, there have also been an excellent amount of action driven shows incorporating creepy imagery. This decade saw the likes of Tokyo Ghoul and Attack on Titan; the latter is one of the standout anime titles of the 2010s, making for a terrific blend of action, emotion, and philosophical intrigue. Each show utilizes haunting visuals, providing adrenaline and tension throughout their various conflicts. Another title that has been seeing great recent success is Demon Slayer. With its stunning visuals, as well as enjoyable characters and intense emotional depth, Demon Slayer has been shaping up to be an awesome anime for those who love fantastical battles.
An interesting development that took place this decade was the increase in anime releases from none other than Netflix. The massive streaming service has certainly helped to elevate the mainstream appeal of anime, offering such titles as the live action Full Metal Alchemist and Death Note movies, as well as providing a means to stream the iconic Neon Genesis Evangelion. However, some of the strongest contributions to come out of Netflix are its original content; among all of Netflix’s anime titles, that of Devilman Crybaby and Castlevania are the most epic and satisfying works of action-driven horror.
The short first season of Castlevania was just enough to get viewers excited for season 2; the latter not only offered killer action set pieces, but also displayed an excellent blend of emotion and creepy imagery. This sentiment extends to Devilman Crybaby – a show brimming with gruesome violence and tragic drama. What begins as a riveting ride of ultraviolence eventually develops into existential anxiety that reflects the darkness of humanity.
The 2010s was amazing for horror, and anime fans got their fair share of fantastic works. Moving into 2020, I personally am looking forward to Attack on Titan and The Promised Neverland; among the Netflix library, I’m on the edge of my seat for the next season of Castlevania, as well as the new Devil May Cry anime the platform will be releasing. And of course… there’s the adaptation of Junji Ito’s classic story, Uzumaki (releasing through Adult Swim). I am beyond thrilled to see the animation behind this haunting manga. Along with these titles, I’m sure we will see many other surprising gems throughout the next decade.
What are the horror anime titles that you enjoyed during the 2010s? Other than the titles mentioned here, what are other anime you feel also deserve recognition?
Thank you again to the readers who look forward to and read Anime Horrors – I’m really excited to bring this project into the new year and beyond!
From child-eating witches to village-burning dragons, fairy tales have always had a foot in the horror genre. That’s why it makes sense that, for every The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, there are also darker and more adult-oriented stories about magical worlds inhabited by ravenous monsters and cruel villains.
Funnily enough, these sinister tales were precisely the ones that I gravitated towards back when I was a kid, and I was reminded of this while watching Netflix’s recently released I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first ever feature-length stop-motion animation and one hell of an entertaining parable about the intersection between fiction and reality.
In honor of this special kind of horror-adjacent fairy tale, today I’d like to share this list recommending six Dark Fantasy films that horror fans might enjoy.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Dark Fantasy as fantastical stories that don’t shy away from the more macabre elements that fuel classic fairy tales. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own grim favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I’m fascinated by bizarre attempts at blockbuster filmmaking – especially when the resulting movies are somehow still fun despite their corporate-mandated origins. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is precisely one of these strangely compelling studio projects, as this surprisingly successful action-thriller boasts a lot of heart (and tongue-in-cheek humor) for a CGI-heavy creature feature.
Directed by Dead Snow’s Tommy Wirkola, Witch Hunters re-frames the classic fairy tale as an origin story for a duo of badass monster-slayers. Of course, it’s the flick’s anachronistic aesthetic and overall visual flair that make it stand out from other action-horror endeavors from around the same time.
5. The Wolf House (2018)
Made in the tradition of faux cursed films in the same vein as Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, the eerie backstory to 2018’s Chilean animated flick The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo in the original Spanish) already makes it a nightmarish experience before the flick even really begins.
After all, the movie is presented to us as a faux propaganda film produced by the leader of a death cult (heavily inspired by the real life Colonia Dignidad), with this hybrid animated feature using complex movie magic to simulate a single uninterrupted shot as it tells the story of a lazy young girl who runs away from an isolated colony and encounters a creepy old house in the woods.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Out of all the Monty Python alumni, Terry Gilliam has had the most interesting career outside of the original comedy group. From fascinating canceled projects (such as his scrapped adaptation of Watchmen) to dystopian parodies that feel more relevant by the minute (1985’s Brazil), even his “lesser” films are still intriguing in their own way.
2005’s The Brothers Grimm is one such project, with this peculiar movie attempting to combine the comedian-turned-filmmaker’s unique visual style with a more blockbuster-oriented plot reimagining the titular brothers as con-artists rather than mere writers. The end result isn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it’s still a legitimately fun ride with plenty of memorable monsters and wonderful performances by both the late, great Heath Ledger and Matt Damon.
3. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010)
2010’s Dante’s Inferno game may have a reputation as something of an unapologetic God of War clone, but I’d argue that the now-obscure game was aesthetically unique enough to deserve a bigger fanbase. However, while the title remains trapped on the seventh console generation, its highly underrated anime adaptation is a lot easier to get a hold of!
Animated by 6 different studios in order to make the 9 circles of hell feel unique from each other, this may not be a completely faithful adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s poem, but it’s still one heck of a great (not to mention gory) time that I’d highly recommend to fans of Netflix’s take on Castlevania.
2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
My personal favorite entry in the Underworld franchise, Rise of the Lycans, is a highly ambitious prequel that actually works better if you haven’t had the story spoiled to you by the previous Underworld films.
While the rest of the series features plenty of urban fantasy elements as the movies combine machine guns and modern environments with gothic storytelling, Patrick Tatopoulos’ prequel fully embraces its fantastical origins and tells a classic tale about a doomed romance between a werewolf and a vampire amid a medieval uprising.
And the best part is that we get a lot more Michael Sheen as the fan-favorite Lucian.
1. Solomon Kane (2011)
One of my personal favorite movies on this list, MJ Basset’s criminally underseen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other iconic warrior is thoroughly steeped in horror ambience and features plenty of memorable monsters. However, it’s also a classic origin story for a swashbuckling hero that wouldn’t feel out of place in a tabletop RPG.
While I’ve already written about how the film deftly combines both horror and fantasy elements without breaking the bank, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to recommend the bizarre movie where James Purefoy expertly plays a puritan John Wick.
It’s just too bad that we never got the other films in this intended trilogy.
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