Ghost Month idea: Terrify yourself with Netflix's lineup of new Asian horror shows
The Philippines is currently in the middle of celebrating Ghost Month, a Chinese festival that is held in the month of August.
It takes place during the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, where it's said that the gates of hell are open and ghosts are free to roam and haunt our world.
Ghost Month, which began on July 29, is coming to a close on Aug. 26. However, it 's not too late for you to celebrate it, and what better way to do just that than by grabbing some popcorn, dimming the lights, and marathoning a bunch of Asian horror films to fill you with fear and frights.
Netflix has a bunch of horror films lined up this month that center on Asian folklore, myths, and urban legends unique to each country. To help viewers, the streaming site has also prepared a special visual to help you pick the best scary flick for you.
School Setting
School Tales The Series
If you're in the mood for a horror series that takes place in a school and has blood and gore to keep your heart pumping, then it looks like School Tales The Series is the one for you. The show is a Thai horror anthology series that brings to life eight horrifying comics that revolve around the theme of school-bound horros, passed around from class to class.
It features stories about a girl jumping to her death; a haunted library; canteen food made from human flesh; a headless ghost in the school warehouse; a devil-infested room; a vengeful demon in an abandoned building; and a classroom where only dead students attend class.
Eerie
If you want a school-themed horror story minus the blood and gore, you may opt to watch Eerie instead. This 2018 Philippine horror film starts off with a shocking and gruesome death of a student in an old Catholic school for girls.
The school guidance councelor who is also a clairvoyant, Pat Consolacion, is determined to solve the mystery of the tragic incident along with several other students. Their suspicions are directed to the strict and abusive Mother Alice, who had threatened Pat's position in the school for intruding on the case.
A film weaves a thought-provoking story on how modern beliefs and faith can clash while blending it with the element of horror and suspense. It stars the talented Bea Alonzo and Charo Santos-Concio in the lead roles.
Isolated countryside
May the Devil Take You
For those who love an isolated countryside setting for scares and thrills as well as satanic rituals, then May the Devil Take You is a good choice to watch.
Hailing from Indonesia, the film's premise centers on a young woman who goes into an old villa to find answers about her estranged father's mysterious illness. However, what she uncovers instead is a horrifying truth from her past.
May the Devil Take You offers lots of shocking visuals of blood, gore, and brutal horror as the film seeks to warn viewers about the dangers of performing satanic rituals and selling one’s soul to the devil in exchange for riches.
Incantation
This recent horror film from Taiwan is also set in an isolated countryside with satanic rituals. Incantation adopts the found footage technique to tell its frightening story about mysterious esoteric religions and unsettling rituals of Taiwanese folklore.
The film explores the complexities of taboos and curses through the eyes of Ronan, a woman who visited a remote village along with her friends to document a clan who worships a mysterious deity they call Buddha-Mother. However, she leaves the incident behind scared and traumatized after breaking a religious taboo.
Several years later, Ronan has recovered from the events and is now living with her daughter. However, after she discovers that a supernatural entity is threatening the life of her daughter, Ronan must now solve the mystery of the curse she has brought on her family before it is too late.
Haunted House
Revenge of the Pontianak
If a story about a long-haired woman with sharp nails haunting an unassuming house is your feel-good movie, then Revenge of the Pontianak is sure to give you one scary, enjoyable ride.
This Malaysian film tells the tale of Malay culture’s most popular malevolent supernatural entity, the pontianak. According to legend, the pontianak is a vengeful, vampiric spirit of a woman who died during childbirth.
Revenge of the Pontianak follows a small village that is preparing for the wedding of a young couple. However, the entire community soon falls prey to fear and paranoia after a vicious being has suddenly created a string of horrific deaths.
The film boasts of a modern retelling of the pontianak mythology by incorporating forbidden love, betrayal, witchcraft, and murder.
The Guardian
If you suffer from pediophobia, or the fear of dolls, then you should probably stay far away from this Vietnamese horror film. But if you're a sucker for haunted dolls, then this might just be your next favorite.
The Guardian is a revenge horror thriller that explores the darkness of the entertainment industry. The film revolves around singer who is obsessed with becoming popular. To achieve this, she involves herself in occult forces, black magic and a Kumanthong doll, which is a divine child spirit encased in a doll and is said to bring luck and fortune.
But instead of bringing her closer to her dream, what she gets are supernatural occurences that begin to plague her life.
