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Asian Horror

I’ve always appreciated asian horror more than western horror, at least when it came to films. Asian horror is significantly subtler and attacks an individuals comfort and personal space instead of relying on jump scares and gross-out gore. In general, asian horror strikes me as a more psychological in it’s approach, which is something western media could learn from.

I both read some of Battle Royale and watched the film. I absolutely love it. The premise is really inventive and still resonates today. In fact, there are two games that came out in the past year that are completely based around the premise of the Battle Royale, even using the namesake. There are several other inspirations that made their way to the big screen, Hunger Games being the most popular example.
The horror aspect of Battle Royale is something anyone can understand; if you’re a kid, then it’s about your peers being slaughtered in a massive “game”…but if you’re an adult or parent, it’s about children being slaughtered by the state in massive death camps.

Aside from the obviously disturbing premise, the horror runs deeper than that. It’s expressed through the idea that these kinds are so quick to kill each other instead of working together against the ones responsible. A weakness as humans is shown to the reader, and that frightens us more than anything. Could you imagine killing your best friend because someone told you to? Would you do it? Would you fight it? Battle Royale brought all of those questions to the limelight and ended up being one of my favorite reads.

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