Rec 2
Have you noticed how foreign horror movies have so much more impact than their Hollywood counterparts? In recent years a string of overseas horror pictures have been remade in America, and not a single one comes close to the original.
and it looks like foreign cinema have done it again with Rec 2, which comes three years after Rec in 2007. Directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, both of whom returned from the previous film, the Spanish movie picks up just after the end of it's predecessor.
Medical officers and a SWAT team outfitted with video cameras are sent into the sealed off apartment to control the situation.
So to celebrate the release of the movie we take a look at some of the best foreign horror movies that have graced the big screen in recent years.
The Orphanage is a hidden gem of foreign cinema which you should really catch when you get the chance, produced by Guillermo Del Toro.
The film plays on a parent's deepest fears: a child being hurt, lost, taken or, which packs a greater punch, leaving of their own accord. It also prays on our unrecognised fear of children and how their vulnerability makes us, as parents, vulnerable.
This is not horror for those who queued up to see the Saw rubbish and, for fans of Del Toro, you can his input all over the film as director Bayona shares the same arty and beautiful view of horror movies. This view is what makes the film work so well it doesn't have to be gory and in your face to truly chill you to the bone.
Director Bayona uses the constant sense of unease as his tool to frighten the audience, an old run down building complete with creaking staircases with a troubled past is the perfect setting to create that unsettling feeling.
Let The Right One In, which has been re-made in the U.S., was one of the best foreign movies to hit cinema screens in 2009 and was directed by Tomas Alfredson.
Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is a 12-year-old outcast who is frequently picked on by his classmates. He dreams of getting his revenge, but he never stands up to the boys.
With the arrival of his new next-door neighbour, 12-year-old Eli (Lina Leandersson), Oskar may finally have found a friend, ally, and first love.
But Eli is no ordinary girl: she must keep her pale skin out of the sunlight, she can perform inhuman physical feats, and she has thirst for blood.
If you are expecting a throat ripping vampire fest in the style of Blade then this really isn't the movie for you as Let The Right On In is an intelligent movie that looks into friendship, love and loneliness.
The central performance between the two main characters is out standing, both social outcasts, both feel like they don't fit in and when they find each other they cling onto their friendship.
It's a very cold and still film about two incredible lost and lonely children and that bond that exists between them is very touching; she gives Oskar courage and Oskar gives Eli friendship and understanding. It's understated, it's subtle and it's a totally beautiful movie.
Another movie that I enjoyed last year was Norwegian horror Dead Snow, which was a tongue in cheek gore fest.
Loaded with skis and beer, eight excited medical students eagerly set off to a remote cabin in the snow topped Norwegian Mountains for some snow sports and drunken fun during their Easter break.
Expecting drinking, sledding and flirtation, the mood suddenly changes as a local hiker wraps on their cabin door revealing that they have come to the wrong resort as deep in the hills lay an unthinkable evil.
Filmmaker Wirkola mixes, with great success, humour and horror and never loses sight of what this film is… it’s an all out splatter fest with the Nazi zombie’s as its stars.
So with gouged out eyes and sawn off limbs Dead Snow does everything you expect of a zombie movie, it’s fun, it’s jumpy as well as being totally gross so sit back and enjoy the ride.
Over the years Asia has developed quite a reputation for producing great horror movies including Ringu, Ju-On and Shutter.
And while the U.S. is fishing around for new horror movies, having re-made all the old classics, it seems that Asia is proving to be a great pond to fish in
Ringu is a great example of this when it was released back in 1998. Exactly one week after staying at a remote cabin, a group of Japanese teenagers all meet sudden inexplicable deaths.
A cousin of one of the victims, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), begins an investigation that leads to the discovery of a videotape containing hauntingly bizarre footage.
Upon viewing the tape, Reiko receives a phone call stating that she, too, will die in one week. As the clock ticks away, Reiko enlists the help of her estranged husband, Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada), who possesses limited psychic abilities.
Together they attempt to discover the meaning behind the cryptic film and break the supernatural curse,
Directed by Hideo Nakata Ringu was released in 1998 the film became a horror sensation in Japan spawning several sequels and a television series as well gaining an cult following around the world especially in America.
It was the highest grossing movie in Japan at 15.9 billion yen ($137.7 million) and is considered by many to be one of the most frightening movies in the country.
Ju-On is perhaps better known to you and me as The Grudge. A volunteer home care worker, Rika, enters the home of a bed-ridden patient and discovers a strange ghostly presence lurking behind a door sealed with duct tape.
Her discovery unleashes a horrible evil which baffles police investigators, who find that a whole series of people have gone missing from this particular house.
Further investigation leads to Toyama, a former detective who handled the case of a man who murdered his wife in the house, but whose son was never found.
But when the angry "Ju-On" spirit of vengeance that has infected the house reaches beyond its boundaries, Rika realises that the horror is spreading...
Ju-On was a series of movies by Japanese director Takashi Shimizu. Ju-On: The Grudge was released in 2003 and was the first to receive a theatrical release.
Rec 2 is released 28th May
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Have you noticed how foreign horror movies have so much more impact than their Hollywood counterparts? In recent years a string of overseas horror pictures have been remade in America, and not a single one comes close to the original.
and it looks like foreign cinema have done it again with Rec 2, which comes three years after Rec in 2007. Directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, both of whom returned from the previous film, the Spanish movie picks up just after the end of it's predecessor.
Medical officers and a SWAT team outfitted with video cameras are sent into the sealed off apartment to control the situation.
So to celebrate the release of the movie we take a look at some of the best foreign horror movies that have graced the big screen in recent years.
The Orphanage is a hidden gem of foreign cinema which you should really catch when you get the chance, produced by Guillermo Del Toro.
The film plays on a parent's deepest fears: a child being hurt, lost, taken or, which packs a greater punch, leaving of their own accord. It also prays on our unrecognised fear of children and how their vulnerability makes us, as parents, vulnerable.
This is not horror for those who queued up to see the Saw rubbish and, for fans of Del Toro, you can his input all over the film as director Bayona shares the same arty and beautiful view of horror movies. This view is what makes the film work so well it doesn't have to be gory and in your face to truly chill you to the bone.
Director Bayona uses the constant sense of unease as his tool to frighten the audience, an old run down building complete with creaking staircases with a troubled past is the perfect setting to create that unsettling feeling.
Let The Right One In, which has been re-made in the U.S., was one of the best foreign movies to hit cinema screens in 2009 and was directed by Tomas Alfredson.
Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is a 12-year-old outcast who is frequently picked on by his classmates. He dreams of getting his revenge, but he never stands up to the boys.
With the arrival of his new next-door neighbour, 12-year-old Eli (Lina Leandersson), Oskar may finally have found a friend, ally, and first love.
But Eli is no ordinary girl: she must keep her pale skin out of the sunlight, she can perform inhuman physical feats, and she has thirst for blood.
If you are expecting a throat ripping vampire fest in the style of Blade then this really isn't the movie for you as Let The Right On In is an intelligent movie that looks into friendship, love and loneliness.
The central performance between the two main characters is out standing, both social outcasts, both feel like they don't fit in and when they find each other they cling onto their friendship.
It's a very cold and still film about two incredible lost and lonely children and that bond that exists between them is very touching; she gives Oskar courage and Oskar gives Eli friendship and understanding. It's understated, it's subtle and it's a totally beautiful movie.
Another movie that I enjoyed last year was Norwegian horror Dead Snow, which was a tongue in cheek gore fest.
Loaded with skis and beer, eight excited medical students eagerly set off to a remote cabin in the snow topped Norwegian Mountains for some snow sports and drunken fun during their Easter break.
Expecting drinking, sledding and flirtation, the mood suddenly changes as a local hiker wraps on their cabin door revealing that they have come to the wrong resort as deep in the hills lay an unthinkable evil.
Filmmaker Wirkola mixes, with great success, humour and horror and never loses sight of what this film is… it’s an all out splatter fest with the Nazi zombie’s as its stars.
So with gouged out eyes and sawn off limbs Dead Snow does everything you expect of a zombie movie, it’s fun, it’s jumpy as well as being totally gross so sit back and enjoy the ride.
Over the years Asia has developed quite a reputation for producing great horror movies including Ringu, Ju-On and Shutter.
And while the U.S. is fishing around for new horror movies, having re-made all the old classics, it seems that Asia is proving to be a great pond to fish in