Editorials
New to Korean Cinema? Here Are Some of the Best Horror and Thriller Films to Get You Started
It was awesome to see Parasite take home the Best Picture award at the Oscars this past Sunday. Director Bong Joon-ho, his crew, and his actors all lent their talents into crafting a superb film; I hope its multiple Oscar wins encourage those who have yet to see it to check it out.
But what’s this? You’re someone who saw Parasite, loved it, and now you have an itch for more Korean cinema? Well guess what? I got you covered.
For those of you looking to dive deeper into what Korean cinema has to offer, I’ve gone ahead and compiled a guide to some of the country’s most iconic films in the thriller and horror genre. From compelling political and societal themes, to bloodthirsty revenge, each of these films embodies a unique identity. Not only do they each convey a visceral demonstration of brutality, but they also display remarkable storytelling.
The Host – 2006
What better way to start this guide then with another film by Bong Joon-ho? It’s worth mentioning that the protagonist of The Host is played by none other than Song Kang-ho (the Kim family patriarch from Parasite).
Though Joon-ho has made an intriguing array of dramatic and suspenseful works, The Host is probably the film of his that leans mostly into horror elements – given the rather large monster that is terrorizing folks. During the monster’s rampage, it ends up kidnapping our protagonist’s daughter; mustering up all his courage, the father must set forth to confront the aquatic monstrosity.
The Host also serves as a political film – part of the story was inspired by an act of pollution ordered by U.S. officials in Korea. With its portrayal of American military and Korean government, The Host offers various perspectives on how countries would handle such an intense crisis. But rather than come across as dry melodrama, the film explores its commentary through satirical humor, providing an intriguing mix of laughs among all the chaos.
If you have seen Parasite, then you’ll notice quite a few qualities that this film shares with it. Joon-ho’s incredible ability to balance serious drama and comedy is felt throughout The Host; those serious moments providing pulse-pounding adrenaline. This film is an excellent gem for those in need of a monster flick (and those also looking for a film with more depth).
Train to Busan – 2016
Do you ever fear that you’ll be trapped on a train when some kind of horrible incident takes place? Well that’s what Train To Busan is about – and that horrible incident happens to involve a lot of zombies.
Seok-woo and his daughter board a train one day for what should be a simple trip; except just as the train is about to leave, an infected person is able to get on without being detected. One bite leads to another, and all of a sudden, a majority of the train’s occupants are infected. Train To Busan makes for a unique take on the zombie genre; given that the film spends a good deal of time on a train, there is limited mobility provided to those striving to survive. Also toss in the difficulty of trying to keep your loved ones safe (who happen to be a few train cars away from you), and you got yourself an unnerving situation. The congested locale brings an elevated tension to the action, the passengers having little room between them and the chomping jaws of zombies.
For those seeking an exciting take on zombie chaos, look no further than Train To Busan.
I Saw the Devil – 2010
After serial killer Jang Kyung-chul kills the fiancée of Kim Soo-hyun, Soo-hyun takes it upon himself to hunt Kyung-chul and extract his revenge. It goes without saying that the aforementioned description clearly sets up I Saw The Devil as a revenge tale – but it isn’t your typical revenge story.
Rather than the film leading up to a single instance of Soo-hyun getting his revenge on Kyung-chul, the former decides to follow the latter, committing acts of brutal violence against him. From vicious beatings to gross mutilations, Soo-hyun whittles away at Kyung-chul. In-between those moments, however, Kyung-chul is left to his own devices, lashing out at innocent individuals in horrific ways.
I Saw The Devil is not a film for those who easily get queasy. Its portrayal of gut churning violence is relentless, establishing an ominous atmosphere. At the core of the film is that of pure violence – our two main characters are driven by violence, one regarding revenge, and one in the pursuit of pleasure. But that said, if you are interested in checking out a compelling revenge tale brimming with adrenaline and suspense, I Saw The Devil will deliver.
A Tale of Two Sisters – 2003
So far I’ve shared films revolving around monsters, zombies, and serial killers, so now is about time for something more ethereal and psychological. The film starts with our young protagonist, Su-mi, being treated in a mental asylum (her issues revolving around psychosis). When she is finally released, she returns home to her younger sister, father, and stepmother. Overtime, Su-mi experiences supernatural happenings, at one point seeing her dead mother crawling at her. When Su-mi begins to suspect that the stepmother is harming her little sister, tensions begin to escalate.
Saying any more would be entering some dangerous spoiler territory.
A Tale of Two Sisters is a fascinating work of supernatural and psychological horror. The haunting atmosphere and spiraling drama present a permeating chill throughout the film, creating an unsettling air of mystery and darkness. The film also stands as a powerful work of domestic horror; the tension among the family is palpable, unraveling overtime to reveal startling revelations. If you prefer your horror to lean towards the cerebral with a side helping of ghosts, then A Tale of Two Sisters should be enough to keep you awake at night.
The Vengeance Trilogy – Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Old Boy (2003), Lady Vengeance (2005)
There’s no way I could talk about iconic Korean movies without bringing up Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy. These films are comprised of devastating emotion; the oppressive atmospheres and grueling violence come together to present narratives of extreme ruthlessness. I don’t want to give too much away regarding the story details of these films, for their twists and turns are enough to drop jaws.
Starting with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, our protagonist Ryu kidnaps the daughter of a wealthy family in hopes to use the ransom money to help his ill sister. In Old Boy, our protagonist Oh Dae-su is trapped in a single room for 15 years, but is eventually released and begins seeking the person who entrapped him. And finally, Lady Vengeance follows Lee Geum-ja, a woman falsely imprisoned for a murder she did not commit; when she is finally released, she starts a journey of revenge against the person who actually committed the murder.
The Vengeance Trilogy is not for the light of heart. Not only do the three films contain startling violence, they also involve moments of tremendous heartache. The characters are very much in the vein of individuals found in Greek tragedies; a hero sets forth towards a goal, only to come across various horrors that lead to their downfall. But though these tales may be bleak, they are also some of the most phenomenal thrillers among contemporary cinema.
Bonus: Kingdom – 2019
Though it is not a movie, this Netflix show is a must-see. Taking place in the Joseon period, Kingdom follows a young prince who strives to unite his country against the threat of a zombie invasion. Though this was released after the major zombie boom in pop culture, Kingdom makes for a remarkable contribution to the sub-genre.
For one, the period it’s set in brings a whole new dynamic to zombie confrontation. The lack of technology, as well as required innovation with the tools at hand, allow for our main cast to square off against zombies in unique manners. And these zombies are the running kind, so our protagonist and friends have to be on their toes. With its excellent acting, stunning set pieces, and great bits of political drama, Kingdom brings a welcoming breath of fresh air to the zombie genre.
You can read more of my detailed thoughts on “Kingdom” via the review I wrote for season one (and also keep an eye out for my review of season two down the road).
Though these works represent some of the best Korean cinema has to offer, there are many more worth exploring. If your taste leans towards gritty dramas with unnerving bloodshed, then the oppressing devastation of Bedevilled will satisfy your needs. Or maybe you want something a little more fantastical? In that case, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum and Thirst are excellent films; the former involves a group of friends who explore an abandoned mental institution (coming across more than what they expected), while the latter makes for an intriguing vampire story.
Like all cinema found around the globe, Korea has its own unique voice when it comes to captivating storytelling. When it comes to thrillers and horror, the country has a knack for delivering brutal depictions of violence, while also presenting worlds and characters haunted by external and internal forces.
I hope that among these titles at least one caught your interest and you’ll check it out. For those of you who have heard of these films, which is your favorite? And what are some other excellent horror/thrillers from Korea that others should know about? We’d love for the comments section of this article to be loaded with additional titles, so please do chime in!
I first heard about The Mandela Catalogue through a couple of nephews who were obsessed with the ARG’s sinister mythology. It was only after watching Wendigoon’s in-depth analysis of the series that I realized just how deep this rabbit hole goes.
In fact, I’d already been exposed to the nightmarish visuals of Alex Kister’s YouTube creation for years at that point without even realizing that it was the origin of several viral “cursed images” and spooky memes that had leaked into the wider internet – with this viral element actually being a part of the Catalogue’s overarching narrative.
Flash-forward to 2026 and the unprecedented success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms has led to Hollywood betting on horrific internet properties with existing fanbases, which means that Kister’s unique hybrid of both religious and analog horror is finally headed to the big screen with a script written by Kister himself alongside Tyler Clifton.
While this news shouldn’t be too surprising if you’ve been keeping up with the ongoing success of The Mandela Catalogue (both myself and Wendigoon having previously predicted that the series would inevitably make the jump to theaters one day), plenty of horror fans are likely confused as to why so many folks are excited for what appears to be a Hollywood adaptation of a series of creepy .jpeg images under a VHS filter.
With that in mind, today I’d like to invite fellow readers to accompany me as I explore the origins of Alex Kister’s viral hit and attempt to explain exactly why we should all be excited about the Mandela Catalogue adaptation!
From High School Writing Project to Internet Horror Phenomenon
The first seeds of The Mandela Catalogue were sown when Kister was still in high school and developed a writing project subverting religious tropes in a world where biblical history had been altered by demonic forces. A little while later, Kister came across an analog horror contest on Reddit and decided to adapt his ideas into a standalone video where he would edit a religious kids’ cartoon –The Beginner’s Bible: The Nativity, to be specific- into something far creepier. This is how the iconic Overthrone video was born, with this viral short film taking on a life of its own as fans demanded more eerie content from Kister.
Though the video was originally meant to be a one-and-done sort of affair, with Kister actually regretting some of its primitive visuals and considering the editing amateurish and “YouTube-Poop-like” when compared to his current standards, fan reaction and free time during the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged the (then) seventeen-year-old filmmaker to continue producing content set in this same world. The Mandela Catalogue name was inspired by the Mandela Effect conspiracy theory, as the series would slowly begin to explore the subtle horror of alternate histories.
Inspired by existential dread brought on by extended periods of quarantine as well as a personal crisis of faith, Kister continued to expand his alternate timeline where the rise of Christianity had been prevented by what was presumably the Devil disguised as the Archangel Gabriel. This alternate course of fictional events led to the existence of certain paranormal anomalies that had come to be accepted as “normal” by the 1990s, which is why most of the series’ supernatural horror is presented in such a matter-of-fact manner.
Most of this background information and religious lore is delivered by increasingly cryptic broadcasts and in-universe PSAs, as well as the occasional found footage video, that often have to be decoded by clever viewers. Of course, it’s the consistently disturbing imagery that made the series so popular – much of which was originally created by Kister on a smartphone!
The Alternates: Horror’s Most Unsettling Modern Monsters
The show’s early episodes mostly take place within the fictional Mandela County in Wisconsin and depict life in a world where demonic entities are capable of using media to enter our reality. This process usually involves scaring victims into killing themselves and then repurposing their bodies as horrific doppelgangers referred to as “Alternates”. This terrifying phenomenon has become so common that local police already have specialized procedures in place to deal with the issue, though this usually consists of simply ignoring calls for help so as to avoid spreading so-called “Metaphysical Awareness Disorder” any further.
Over time, Kister would expand this mythology and incorporate different kinds of Alternates into the mix, though the story never stopped deconstructing religious concepts. The series’ second volume exponentially increased both video quality and the overall narrative scope as we began to follow the lives of characters who had already grown up in this dystopian hellscape where the government is forced to prohibit religion, television, and even mirrors in the hopes of mitigating the damage done by the ongoing invasion of otherworldly entities.
The really interesting part comes into play when you realize exactly how the Alternates make use of scary media in order to spread their demonic influence, with the analog horror of it all being a diegetic part of the story and something of a memetic trap orchestrated by the false Gabriel.
I particularly appreciate how some characters begin to suspect that there’s something wrong with their version of reality and that things weren’t meant to play out this way, especially when Mark utters the haunting line “who have I been praying to all this time?” That’s why I think The Mandela Catalogue is an effective piece of religious horror even if you don’t subscribe to the Christian worldview, as the mere idea of a world where evil has already won is a universally terrifying concept in and of itself. Not only that, but the series’ uncanny analog imagery alone is already worth the price of admission, as you’ve likely already noticed by looking at the pictures accompanying this article.
Why The Feature Adaptation Could Be Horror’s Next Big Success
It’s actually been a whole year since Kister first announced that he had been working on a feature-length screenplay for a Mandela Catalogue movie since 2022, with his proposed story following an ensemble of high-school graduates who uncover a supernatural conspiracy after the mysterious disappearance of a fellow student. This premise sounds similar to narrative elements present in the series’ second volume, but I’m pretty sure that Kister is going to go the Kane Parsons route and make the movie more of a spin-off than a re-imagining of its source material.
While notable Hollywood producers like Aaron B. Koontz, Scott Stuber, and Steven Spielberg himself are backing the upcoming project, I feel like there’s no one better to adapt this deeply personal exploration of faith and the dark side of communication than the person who first came up with it. That’s why I can’t wait to see Kister’s work on the big screen, as I have a feeling that this young filmmaker is the next one on the list about to make cinematic history – especially since this is clearly a passion project that has been in the works for years at this point!
That being said, there’s always a chance that the film could end up unleashing a fresh wave of Alternate incursions, but I guess that’s just a risk we’ll have to take.
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