Asian Horror Anthologies On Netflix To Watch And Scream To This Halloween
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Every time October comes around, there’s always a slew of horror movies and TV shows released to celebrate Halloween, the spookiest time of the year.
It’s especially scary when the movies and shows are in a Southeast Asian setting, as it hits close to home where our version of ghosts and monsters are quite similar.
We’ve come across a few noteworthy horror anthologies set in Indonesia and Thailand that are not only jumpscare-inducing, but also come off as downright bizarre.
Joko Anwar’s Nightmare’s and Daydreams
From the mind of Indonesian horror director Joko Anwar, Nightmare’s and Daydreams features seven intricate stories with an unexpected surprise in the last episode (we won’t spoil it for you).
The series has been likened by fans and critics to western horror anthologies American Horror Story and Black Mirror, as it mixes horror elements with psychological twists.
Joko is better known for directing the 2017 horror movie Satan’s Slaves (Pengabdi Setan), a loose prequel to the 1980 movie of the same name directed by Sisworo Gautama Putra. He also directed the sequel Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion which was released in 2022.
Tanduk Setan
Tanduk Setan (Devil’s Horns) is a 2024 Indonesian horror anthology movie depicting the nuances of life and death.
It features two stories over 1 hour and 20 minutes that explore the supernatural and consquences of sin.
Terror Tuesday: Extreme
This horror anthology from Thailand is made up of eight episodes by different directors.
The atmosphere in every episode keeps you at the edge of your seat, with moments of suspense that will keep your eyes closed and your hands over your ears.
Each story is well told with minimal yet convincing special effects that gets under your skin and stays in your mind for a couple of days.
School Tales The Series
Many Asian horror stories revolve around hauntings in schools and this anthology from Thailand focuses mainly on that theme over eight episodes.
From curses, to ghosts, to searching for a missing head, this series features students going through frightening experiences of their haunted schools, other than homework and detention of course.
Haunted Universities 3
In this three-episode horror anthology movie, Thai students tangle with the supernatural in their universities.
The movie features mystical elements of Thai horror, along with a healthy splash of blood and gore (those who get queasy easily, be warned).
Other Asian horror movies worth watching this Halloween
Taiwanese horror movie Incantation (2022) was a sleeper hit of a movie. It’s a well-made found-footage (similar to Blair Witch Project) movie showcasing gore and body horror, as well as disturbing religious motifs.
The director of the movie himself had to assure audiences that the chants and the curses in the movie were made up and that the movie does not actually put a curse on you.
Harum Malam (2023), also titled Blood Flower, is a horror movie by Malaysian director Dain Said who also directed the 2018 horror movie ‘Dukun’ which was about the infamous Malaysian pop singer turned murderer Mona Fandey.
In the movie, a young apprentice mystical healer tries to suppress his supernatural abilities to fit in with the other kids, but when a malicious spirit breaks out in his apartment he decides to use his abilities while dark family secrets are revealed.
Harum Malam is the only show in this list that’s not available to watch on Netflix. It is however, available on Disney+ Hotstar.
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