Film Series

Y2K J-Horror Film Series

From: Friday, May 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM • To: Thursday, May 22, 2025 at 11:55 PM

Around the turn of the 21st century, a new wave of Japanese terror dubbed J-horror took international audiences by storm. While Hollywood horror films tend to rely on jump scares and explicit gore to generate fear, their Japanese counterparts often emphasize creeping mood and tension in ways that highlight the unknown and unseen and create a sense of lingering dread. Bring a buddy and sink into stories that are not for the faint of heart, but have had a profound impact on the horror genre.

Friday 5/9 - Friday 5/15

• BATTLE ROYALE (2000): Before there was the Hunger Games and Squid Game there was Battle Royale. The brutal film is set in the future, where the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary Battle Royale act.
• AUDITION (1999) One of the most infamous, impactful, and gut-wrenching Japanese horror films ever made, AUDITION was the turn-of-the-millenium flash point that signaled the talent of Takashi Miike (ICHI THE KILLER). Shocking audiences worldwide with its white-knuckle finale and ingenious slow-burn build-up, AUDITION was responsible for creating a fresh new wave of Asian horror. And we’re eternally grateful.

Friday 5/16 - Friday 5/22

• Ju-On: The Grudge (2003): Another influential film, focusing on a curse that spreads through a haunted house and the people who enter it. A series of seemingly unconnected vignettes, all with a suitably satisfying jolt (including a shower scene Hitchcock would have admired) are slowly pulled together by police investigating the strange events.
• RINGU (1998): A true classic of psychological horror, Ringu is a masterclass of mystery, twists, and turns as the characters explore great set pieces with (mostly) great acting. When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko Asakawa sets out to investigate. Along with her ex-husband, Reiko finds the tape, watches it -- and promptly receives a phone call informing her that she'll die in a week. 
  **Don't drag your friends to these spooky movies without consent. Viewer discretion is advised.