East vs. West: Horror Movies
Horror has always been a popular film genre because of its ability to add thrill into our mundane lives, no matter where the film is from. Both Hollywood and Asian studios boast critically acclaimed horror films that frighten audiences around the world. Many Hollywood horror movies are remakes of Chinese, Japanese, South Korean, Hong Kong, and Thai horror movies. Hollywood and Asian horror films use different tactics to scare their audiences, invoking various effects and reactions from them. Although mainstream media has stated that remakes are done in order to pay homage to Asian horror, others have critiqued that Hollywood aims to reproduce the movies with a much bigger budget, thus making their version of the film more impressive than the original.
Many of Hollywood’s classic tropes in horror are based on literature, such as works by H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. The former created a universe in which humans went insane after interacting with cosmic entities, while the latter uses familiar backdrops and scenes to touch on supernatural elements combined with the mundane. Compared to Eastern horror, Western films prefer to directly scare their audience using jump scares and fast-paced orchestra scores. These add suspense and thrill to the viewing experience as well as an element of mystery, as audiences don’t know what to expect. Hollywood horror movies also utilize shock horror which relies on polarizing imagery or scenes to disgust and surprise audiences – hence its name. ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Halloween’ and ‘Friday the 13th’ are some notable examples of shock horror. This sub-genre terrifies the audience, who may find the setting or contexts of the films familiar, or similar to their own lives. Besides gruesome deaths, Hollywood horror movies use supernatural elements, psychological tension and extraterrestrial beings as tactics as well.
Compared to the West, Asian horror takes a subtler approach when it comes to fear – it is not as direct as Hollywood films. There tend to be fewer jump scares as filmmakers focus on creating a creepy, foreboding atmosphere as the plotline thickens. For example, in ‘The Ring,’ one of the most famous Asian horror movies, the presence of Shizuko is more frightening because the tense atmosphere adds to the overall feeling of dread in the audience. Shizuko’s appearance is more terrifying as fear is built up over the course of the film. Even though there may be gore and monsters, Asian studios emphasize atmosphere and tension above anything else. Themes in Asian horror films are also vastly different from Hollywood. While many Hollywood horror movies have the prime objective of scaring the audience and invoking fear, Asian filmmakers use horror movies to discuss social commentary in an open-ended manner, allowing audiences to absorb the messages and themes and interpret them in their own way. For example, ‘I Saw the Devil’ from South Korea is about morals and righteousness, while ‘Tomie: Unlimited’ from Japan is about jealousy and the struggle of fitting in.
In the early 21st century, there was an Asian horror remake frenzy taking place in Hollywood. By 2003, there had already been 18 Hollywood remakes of horror films from Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, including ‘The Ring,’ ‘The Grudge,’ ‘Dark Water,’ and ‘The Eye.’ According to mainstream media and news outlets, Hollywood remade these films with the intention of paying tribute and homage to the films’ exceptionalism. However, scholars and critics have argued otherwise. They have stated that remakes try to replicate Asian studios’ success and attempt to penetrate increasingly profitable Asian film markets. Remakes eliminate the need for subtitling and dubbing and essentially engage in cultural appropriation to “Westernize” many of the Asian elements and motifs. As a result, the film becomes more digestible to wider audiences even though it strips away many parts, or even all, of the original cultural context and unique cultural identity of the film, as well as its authenticity. Having a bigger budget also allows the horror movies to be visually enhanced and appear more impressive to global audiences. Nevertheless, some remakes are done very well and can definitely appeal to Eastern and Western audiences alike.
The difference between Asian and Hollywood horror movies mainly lies in the ways they scare the audience and the areas of focus and emphasis throughout the film. Horror movies should not be generalized; there are many exceptions to the status quo and many Asian and Western horror films share similar traits. However, all horror movies have the same intention – to scare and unnerve their audiences. Despite the different methods of execution, both Western and Eastern film studios definitely achieve this main objective.