World horror
The 20 best foreign-language horror movies
The best foreign-language horror movie is The Wailing (South Korea, 2016), at 99% with critics (Rotten Tomatoes). Ringu (Japan), Train to Busan (Korea) and Let the Right One In (Sweden) are the other essentials.
By the Horror Planet editors · Updated November 9, 2026
The Wailing (2016)
The best Korean horror film. A village, a stranger and a shaman.
Ringu (1998)
The film that launched J-horror worldwide.
Train to Busan (2016)
Zombies on a bullet train.
Let the Right One In (2008)
A child vampire and a bullied boy.
Eyes Without a Face (1960)
A surgeon's terrible devotion.
Cure (1997)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's hypnotic killer.
Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)
Ghosts and cartel violence through children's eyes.
The Host (2006)
Bong Joon-ho's river monster.
[REC] (2007)
Found footage at its most frantic.
Raw (2016)
Julia Ducournau's cannibal coming-of-age.
Audition (1999)
Takashi Miike's slow burn to hell.
The Orphanage (2007)
A ghost story about a mother's grief.
When Evil Lurks (2023)
Possession spreading through a rural town.
A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Grief, a stepmother and a house that lies. On Shudder.
Kwaidan (1964)
Four ghost stories, painted in color.
Onibaba (1964)
Two women, a reed field and a demon mask.
Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022)
Body horror about motherhood.
Under the Shadow (2016)
A djinn in wartime Tehran, in Persian.
Exit 8 (2026)
A looping subway corridor from the hit game.
Colony (2026)
Yeon Sang-ho back in outbreak mode.
Where to start, by country
| Country | Start with | Then |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | Train to Busan | The Wailing, A Tale of Two Sisters |
| Japan | Ringu | Cure, Kwaidan |
| Spain and Latin America | [REC] | The Orphanage, When Evil Lurks |
| France | Raw | Eyes Without a Face, Martyrs |
How we picked
Scores from Rotten Tomatoes' guides to Korean, Japanese, Spanish-language and French horror. We capped each country so the list travels.
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