Anime is full of horror films that’ll scare the daylights out of you, whether they’re psychological thrillers or good old-fashioned monster movies.
Halloween is just around the corner, which means it’s time to watch some horror anime films. Japanese animated features are so diverse that horror has become a staple genre, and truth be told, they’ve produced some of the best of the best.
Satoshi Kon’s iconic thrillers like Perfect Blue and Paprika can’t be beat, while an indie like Belladonna of Sadness will haunt you long after your first watch. So, settle in, grab some popcorn, and try your best to watch any or all nine of these incredible horror anime films.
1. Perfect Blue
If there’s anyone who can seriously compete with Hayao Miyazaki as anime’s master filmmaker, it’s the late Satoshi Kon. Almost all of his works are must-sees, not just for anime fans, but for bona fide cinephiles, too. He’s made some of the most thrilling films of all time, especially his 1997 horrific classic, Perfect Blue.
Encouraged by her manager to quit singing and pursue acting, Japanese idol singer Mimi Kirigoe begins this career pivot with a role in a murder-mystery TV series. But this transition comes with many troubles, including a disturbing stalker, bloody murders, and the blurred lines between fiction and reality.
2. Paprika
Satoshi Kon’s 2006 sci-fi thriller, Paprika, isn’t horror, per se, but it has its scary moments. The movie follows Dr. Atsuko Chiba, a co-creator of a device called DC Mini that lets users view people’s dreams. She initially used it to help psychiatric patients via her alter ego, a dream detective named Paprika.
But when the DC Mini is stolen, all hell breaks loose. The barriers between dreams and reality practically disappear, resulting in an iconic parade scene that’s as freaky as it is funny. You might not scream your head off watching this, but some moments will creep you out!
3. Mononoke Movies
It’s a good thing the Mononoke TV series is an anthology. You can watch the movies, even if you haven’t seen the show yet. The Mononoke franchise, itself a spin-off of another horror anime classic, Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, is worth seeing.
Mononoke follows an unnamed medicine seller who travels Japan selling medicine but encounters mononoke, or vengeful spirits, along the way. As he gets wrapped up in all sorts of hauntings, he has to figure out the spirit’s shape (Katachi), truth (Makoto), and reasoning (Kotowari) to defeat it fully.
4. Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Vampires? 90s gothic romance? Bloodlust? Sounds like the perfect Halloween movie, doesn’t it? Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust has everything you’d ever want in a classic horror anime movie. The art alone will give you the creeps; what more when you watch all 102 minutes?
The gothic romance really seals the deal here. From the characters’ angular faces and ornate Victorian garb to the story’s emotional intensity, the film feels like Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) or Interview with the Vampire (1994). Not to mention a sprinkle of Van Helsing (2004), too.
5. Angel’s Egg
Sometimes, silence is scarier than dialogue. Why do you think the 1922 Nosferatu silent film became the blueprint for early 20th-century horror movies? The absence of dialogue makes for an unsettling film where you don’t know which way it will go. That’s exactly what makes Angel’s Egg so eerie, too.
This 1985 experimental post-apocalyptic science-fantasy OVA by Mamoru Oshii is one of the revered filmmaker’s seminal works. It tells the story of a mysterious girl who protects an egg, and a boy who dreams of a bird. It’s not scary in the traditional sense, but it will give you the heebie-jeebies multiple times.
6. Demon City Shinjuku
Demon City Shinjuku is just as exciting as it is scary. This 1988 horror-action film sees Tokyo’s famous Shinjuku area taken over by a legion of demons led by the evil Rebi Ra, who allowed himself to be possessed by evil to defeat the hero, Genichirou. Little did he know, however, that Genichirou left a son, and ten years later, it’s his turn to save the world.
The movie is standard adventure hero fare, but with the horrific spice of 1980s OVA. It features truly horrendous-looking demons and other monsters that will have you feeling queasy if you don’t have a strong stomach.
7. Wicked City
If you think that Demon City Shinjuku and Wicked City have similar vibes, it’s because Hideyuki Kikuchi wrote the novels these Novas are based on. They also share the same theme: demons taking over the modern world, with ordinary Japanese people taking on the task of defeating them.
This time, an alternate dimension causes demons to spill over into the real world. As more monsters infiltrate Tokyo, salaryman Renzaburō Taki, model Makie, and others must keep these heinous creatures in check.
8. Belladonna of Sadness
Trigger warning: this movie shows depictions of sexual assault.
Made in 1973 by Mushi Production, Belladonna of Sadness is a psychedelic, acid-trip anime movie that will haunt you for the rest of your life. The film itself, with its funky art style and cool 1970s vibes, may not seem scary at first, but its story and symbolism are far more horrific than the more fantastical options on this list.
The movie follows Jeanne, a peasant woman in feudal France, who is abducted and raped by local authorities on her wedding day. She then seeks vengeance by forming a Faustian pact with a demonic entity, and she turns into a seductive witch who creates all sorts of tragedies. Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned.
9. Midori: The Camellia Girl
Freaky, creepy, and disturbing don’t even begin to describe Hiroshi Harada’s 1992 indie anime film, Midori: The Camellia Girl. Based on the 1984 underground cult manga, Shōjo Tsubaki by Suehiro Maruo, the movie follows the titular Midori as she is taken in by a traveling circus troupe.
After having lost both of her parents, the young, orphaned girl seeks solace in this band of oddities, who then severely abuse her physically, emotionally, and sexually for their own gain. It’s only when she befriends the new dwarf magician named Masamitsu that things turn around for her, but not in the ways you’d expect.
If you think watching a horror anime film would be less scary than a live-action movie, think again! All nine of these exceptional films could scar the daylights out of you just as much as a traditional horror flick.
Source: IMDb, Shudder YouTube Channel, Sony Pictures Entertainment Official YouTube Channel, Netflix Anime Official YouTube Channel, All the Anime YouTube Channel, Umbrella Entertainment Official YouTube Channel, Filmviewed YouTube Channel, Rotten Tomatoes Indie Official YouTube Channel, Cult Film YouTube Channel.
