Important: There are many asian horrors on Netflix but not so many Japanese horrors through the US netflix. For the best Japanese horrors such as the Entire Universe of The Ring and The Grudge and even the crossover film you will want to make sure you can access your Japanese Netflix wherever you are with a VPN service
9 Japanese Horror Movies on Netflix 2020 update
- As the Gods Will
- Sadako vs. Kayako
- Lessons of The Evil
- I Am a Hero
- The Ring
- The Grudge
- Pulse
- One Cut of The Dead
- One Missed Call
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1. AS The Gods Will

IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | How To Watch |
6.5 | 50 | Access Japanese Netflix with NORD VPN 30 Day Trial |
As The Gods Will is a crazy and fun Japanese Horror, it is not scary but terribly gory and has all that over the top Japanese entertainment. The plot is simply a higher force of power (supposedly Gods) take over a high school and force the students to plat games of death. The games played are mostly well known games famous at kids parties with the exception being as soon as you are out you die a gruesome death. The movie has lots of sound effects, lots of colours and lots of laughs. If you like other popular Japanese movies such as Battle Royal then you will enjoy this.
2. Sadako vs. Kayako

IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | How To Watch |
5.1 | 51 | Access Japanese Netflix with NORD VPN 30 Day Trial |
Sadako Vs Kayako is the film that brings the 2 most infamous horror stories from Japan into a single film. The vengeful spirits from both The Ring and The Grudge are brought together in this ultimate showdown. On its own it is not as good as either of the original movies however there are a lot of fans for both these movie franchises. If you are a fan then this is difficult to miss. Ultimately it is a ridiculous movie and should be moved into the comedy horror genre more than anything. Don’t watch this movie expecting The Ring or The Grudge just a playful sideshow similar to perhaps a couple of famous YouTube stars having a boxing match.
3. Lessons of The Evil

IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | How To Watch |
6.6 | 52 | Access Japanese Netflix with NORD VPN 30 Day Trial |
Lessons of The Evil is another crazy, fun, ridiculous bit of gory entertainment to good to miss, not a supernatural horror and not made to be scary but very a very good horror. a Popular high school teacher goes nuts as he creates a plan to deal with bullies and bad behaviour, the plan is to basically kill and brutally torching the students. Another movie clearly inspired by the popular Battle Royal, there are likely to be a few of these in this list
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4. I Am A Hero

IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | How To Watch |
6.8 | 56 | Access Japanese Netflix with NORD VPN 30 Day Trial |
I Am A Hero is a popular Japanese Zombie Apocalypse movies, and much better than many of the western Zombie movies over the last 2 decades. The movie was based on a Manga comic so straight away expect some interesting concepts and plots. The main character is a cowardly individual amongst the zombie apocalypse and follows him with various other characters as they try to survive. The movie has a lot of excitement and does a lot of things right such as the gore, the zombies, the humour and the characters making it a very good zombie movie.
5. Ring (Ringu 1998)

IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | How To Watch |
7.2 | 80 | Access Japanese Netflix with NORD VPN 30 Day Trial |
Ringu (Not the US remake The Ring) is the original and classic movie of Sadako the vengeful spirit who calls, visits and kills anyone who watches the cursed video tape 7 days after watching it. Even the US remake is good as the concept is so good they just couldn’t ruin it. For me this is where I discovered just how terrifying Japanese cinema is and how they do it I am still unsure. If you are just looking for one of the most terrifying movies ever then this is it.
6. Ju-on: The Grudge (2002) 1, 2 & 3

IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | How To Watch |
6.7 | 72 | Access Japanese Netflix with NORD VPN 30 Day Trial |
Ju-on is the original Grudge movie and a thousand times better than the American re-make, so don’t bother with the American re-make and just get over the fact it is subtitled!. This for me was one of the creepiest movies I have watched, at least top 10 in terms of lasting physiological effect. Never again can I look under my own bedsheets again, it is as creepy as hell. The plot follows a social worker who is chased by 2 vengeful spirits brutally murdered in the house. This movie has gone on to be a franchise with a number of sequels, remakes and now a Netflix series. Parts 1 and 2 are much the same and also available on the Japanese Netflix if you wish for more.
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7. Pulse (2001)

IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | How To Watch |
6.5 | 70 | Access Japanese Netflix with NORD VPN 30 Day Trial or |
If you are a fan of Ringu and The Grudge and looking for more or that creepy, mind scarring Japanese horror then Pulse is what you are likely after, from many of the same creators and just as creepy and certainly more deadly. Two groups of people stumble across evidence that sad spirits are trying to access the living world through the Internet. The movie is creepy, depressing sad and all round eerie, the movie plot all makes sense yet dose not even matter as it does such a good job of creeping you out, and that may be all you are after. It is a unique movie in every way.
8. One Cut of The Dead

IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | How To Watch |
7.7 | 79 | Access Japanese Netflix with NORD VPN 30 Day Trial or 7 Day Free Trial on Shudder |
One Cut of The Dead is the first decent response to Shaun of The Dead in the Zombie Comedy niche. The plot is unique, as they are shooting a zombie film they are suddenly attacked by real zombies leaving opportunity for loads of great comedy moments. The movie was also shot as a One Cut, so kind of like 1917 recently. The whole thing is fun, original, funny and entertaining so make sure you watch it all the way through.
9. One Missed Call

IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | How To Watch |
6.2 | 61 | Access Japanese Netflix with NORD VPN 30 Day Trial |
People start to receive calls supposedly from their future selves reacting to their own violent deaths along with the exact date and time of their future death, listed on the message log. The plot thickens as the surviving characters pursue the answers to this mystery which could save their lives. The scares are very similar to The Grudge and if you are a fan of these creep ghost Japanese horrors then this is another one to add to the list. Obviously it is similar to Ringu as they get a call indicating their own death in some way, no surprise as many of these Japanese horrors are from the same creators and studios.
Looking for Horror? Forget Netflix...

Shudder 7 Day Free Trial - The No.1 streaming platform dedicated to horror movies. With a massive library and loads of sub-genre horrors.