The 10 best Chinese-language horror movies of the 21st century

Incantation (咒 zhòu) is a found-footage blockbuster that became the highest grossing Taiwanese horror film of all time, and then went on to achieve global popularity on Netflix. But if this is your first exposure to contemporary Chinese-language horror movies, then you’ve been missing out.

While Western horror is notorious for gore, jump-scares, and rapid cuts, Sinophone horror movies — like their Japanese and Korean equivalents — often delve into the depths of the human psyche, where sinister ideas sprout like poisonous mushrooms. By borrowing elements from local folklores and culture, these films seek to concoct a creepy atmosphere that will stick with the viewer long after the credits roll.

Below are 10 hair-raising Chinese-language films from the last 20 years, as judged by their ratings on Douban, the most popular film and book review site in mainland China.

Warning: This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Rigor Mortis (2013)

僵尸 jiāngshī

Paying homage to the 1980s Hong Kong horror-comedy series Mr. Vampire (僵尸先生 jiāngshī xiānshēng), Rigor Mortis revolves around a suicidal, washed-up actor who gets dragged into a maelstrom of supernatural shocks after he moves into a dilapidated tenement block populated by ghosts and the undead.

It isn’t boundary-pushing, but it’s a well-executed film that contains all the essential components of a fright flick, from murders and black magic to exorcists and long-haired girls in white robes. Rigor Mortis puts an innovative spin on a wave of jiangshi — zombie — films from Hong Kong in the ’80s and ’90s, featuring hopping zombies, which are instrumental to the genre, and some of the original cast of Mr. Vampire, whose outstanding performance is a highlight.

Dream Home (2010)

维多利亚一号 wéi duō lì yà yī hào

Dream Home asks the question: In Hong Kong, where real estate prices are among the most exorbitant in the world, how far would one go to land a property deal? Its unnerving answer: As far as you can imagine. Part poignant social commentary, part blood-soaked satire, this unique slasher flick subverts viewers’ expectations right off the bat by making its main character the villain.

Cheng Lai-sheung (邓丽嫦 Dèng Lìcháng), played by singer-actor Josie Ho (何超仪 Hé Chāoyí), is a tenacious young woman who juggles a thankless job while saving up to buy a unit in Victoria Bay No. 1, a luxury condo with a sea view. However, after her offer gets rejected due to a spike in the market, Cheng goes on a killing spree out of anger and frustration.

Inner Senses (2002)

异度空间 yì dù kōngjiān

Inner Senses is a disturbing film littered with moments of sheer psychological terror. It follows Zhāng Xīn 章昕, a young woman who believes that she sees the deceased. After a brutal break-up with her boyfriend, Zhang is persuaded by people around her to see a psychiatrist named Jim, a skeptic of the supernatural, who is convinced that Zhang suffers from hallucinations. As Jim treats Zhang, the pair starts to develop romantic feelings for each other, but the ghost of Jim’s high school girlfriend comes back to haunt him.

Inner Senses holds a special place not only in Asian horror, but in the history of Hong Kong cinema, because it was the last film Leslie Cheung (张国荣 Zhāng Guóróng) acted in before he took his own life on April 1, 2003.

The Eye (2002)

见鬼 jiàn guǐ

The Eye stars veteran Hong Kong actress Lǐ Xīnjié 李心洁 as a blind 20-year-old violinist who regains her eyesight after a cornea transplant operation. However, she soon starts seeing apparitions and experiencing ghostly encounters. With help from her therapist, she dives deep into the identity of the donor of her new cornea, believing that her visions are caused by something in the person’s past.

The Eye is full of moments that will send chills down your spine, but the scene that tops them all is when the main character meets the ghost of an old man in an elevator. The slow-motion editing showing the spirit inching toward her while she anxiously waits to get out of the claustrophobic space. The short elevator ride feels like a lifetime.

Dumplings (2004)

饺子 jiǎozǐ

If you can stomach it, Dumplings is worth your time. Expanded from its original short in the lesser-known but equally terrifying horror anthology film Three… Extremes, Dumplings tells a tale about a retired middle-aged actress, played by Miriam Yeung (杨千嬅 Yáng Qiānhuà), who is desperate to retain her youth to keep her husband interested in her. In search of extreme beauty-enhancing methods, she comes across Aunt Mei, a former gynecologist whose special dumplings made with aborted fetuses are said to restore vitality.

Silk (2006)

诡丝 guǐ sī

Reportedly the most expensive film ever shot in Taiwan when it was released in 2006, Silk incorporates themes of science fiction and raises questions about morality in its story about a paranormal team of researchers funded by the Taiwanese government. As they hunt down souls all over the world, they discover and capture the ghost of a 13-year-old boy, who is first noted by a spook-chasing photographer who eventually meets a sticky end after the spirit shows up in one of his exposures. As the investigation progresses, a series of mysterious deaths occur, and that’s when the researchers realize that in their possession is an otherworldly entity with powers to detect deeper, more refined vibrations and energies.

Double Vision (2002)

双瞳 shuāng tóng

A box-office smash upon its release, Double Vision is a murder mystery infused with supernatural terror. The film’s grim atmosphere is determined by its opening moments, which involve a C-section and a grisly stillbirth. Years later, when a slew of bizarre deaths overtake Taipei, a local detective troubled by his personal life teams up with an American policeman to put an end to the killings.

Incantation (2022)

咒 zhòu

Incantation is not a film for the faint of heart. Need proof? Apparently it’s so scary that it has become a viral hit on TikTok, with people challenging each other to watch the film without hitting pause or looking away.

Largely told through the found-footage medium, the story behind Incantation concerns a single mother determined to protect her daughter from a mysterious curse that she herself inadvertently triggered when ghost-hunting in forbidden parts in Yunnan Province. Incantation is exceptionally disturbing to watch due to its use of religious elements like sacraments and ceremonies throughout the film, which makes the horror feel much more believable.

Incantation’s commitment to relentless terror has paid off very well at the box office and earned it positive reviews around the world. Since its premiere in March, the movie has become the highest grossing Taiwanese horror film of all time, and Taiwan’s highest grossing film of 2022. It was internationally distributed by Netflix in July.

Haunted Office (2002)

Office有鬼 Office yǒu guǐ

Mundane office life can be emotionally draining for some people. But what does it look like when an office literally turns into a haunted space with ghosts wandering around and strange phenomena happening all the time? Made up of three stories, Haunted Office is a classic workplace horror film that sees ​​spirits wreaking havoc in a corporate building and office essentials like copy machines turning into cursed objects.

The Possessed (2016)

中邪 zhōng xié

Due to government censorship in mainland China, ghosts and devils are classified as “promoting cults or superstition” and forbidden to be shown on the big screen. But despite the restrictions, some Chinese filmmakers are still trying to break the ceiling for Chinese horror.

Mǎ Kǎi 马凯’s directorial debut, The Possessed, has been dubbed the Chinese equivalent of The Blair Witch Project and heralded as the best Chinese horror film in recent history.

Ma had to work with a budget of only 70,000 yuan ($9,700) and a cast of ordinary people with no prior acting experience. Still, he pulled off this story about two college students investigating fortune-telling and exorcism in the countryside.

What it lacks in star power and glossy special effects, The Possessed makes up for with creative storytelling and unexpected plot twists. Visually, Ma’s low-budget filmmaking actually worked in the movie’s favor, as it forced him to shoot with a handheld camera, which is perfect for the film’s found-footage feel.