Top 10 Chinese Horror Movies

The Chinese horror movies are not as popular as Kung fu films in the world. Maybe you even never heard one before. However, I think you should try something different. Here is a list of Chinese horror movies that bring something new to you.

1. The Phantom Lover  夜半歌声 (1995 )

The Phantom Lover is a horror film starring Leslie Cheung and Jacqueline Wu. It is a remake of the classic Chinese horror film Song at Midnight (1937). The Phantom Lover is widely considered as a milestone of Hong Kong filmmaking industry, and features its unforgettable images and moments of heartbreaking beauty.

2. A Chinese Ghost Story 倩女幽魂 (1987 )

A Chinese Ghost Story is a 1987 Hong Kong romantic horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong and Wu Ma. The plot was adapted from a short story of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, a short ghost story collections written by Qing Dynasty writer Pu Songling. The film was popular east Asia and aroused a mass productions of folklore ghost films in Hong Kong.

3. Painted Skin 画皮 (2008)

Painted Skin is a 2008 horror movie starring Donnie Yen, Chen Kun, Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei and Betty Sun. The film is based on one of Pu Songling’s classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. The film, strictly speaking, is not a horrific film, however its Kung fu fighting scenes are really fantastic.

4.  The Lonely Spirit In An Old Building 黑楼孤魂 (1989)

This horror film was released in 1989 and produced by several young teachers at the Beijing Film Academy in the 1980s. Although at a low cost, this film is praised a classic Chinese horror movie, the film was banned later as one old lady was frightened to death in a cinema in Beijing.

5.  The Foggy House 雾宅 (1994)

The Foggy House is a 1994 horror movie starring Chen Hong, Niu Xingli, Zhu Shimao and Song Chunli. The “White Ghost” wandered around the old mansion in the mist, and the horror atmosphere really shocked most of the audience at that time. the producer and the leading role Zhu Shimao aimed to create a classic Chinese horror movie, but the box office was not good at that time.

6. The Mirror (古镜怪谈之魔镜)

The Mirror is a 1999 Hong Kong horror film. It starts in a Ming Dynasty brothel where a girl was killed by a customer. Her blood stained the mirror, beginning the curse, then various horror things happened until 1988’s Singapore.

7. The Door 门 (2007 )

The Door is a 2007 psychological thriller. It is adapted from a internet novel named “Divergence.” The movie shows that young people in big cities in China are facing increasing societal pressures from work, peers, and etc.

8. Painted Skin 阴阳法王 (1993)

Painted Skin is a Hong Kong horror film starring Adam Cheng, Joey Wong, Sammo Hung, Lam Ching Ying, and Wu Ma. It was the last film by famous Hong Kong director King Hu.

9. A Wicked Ghost 山村老尸 (1999)

A Wicked Ghost is a 1999 Hong Kong horror film starring Francis Ng and Gigi Lai. A group of young people played a “Call-up Ghost” game and attracted a ghost, the young people started to die one by one, only one named Ming survived. Ming attempts to figure out what’s going on with it.

10. The Game Of Killing  天黑请闭眼 (2004)

The Game Of Killing is a 2004 film horror film starring Roy Cheung, Li Xiaoran and Wang Zhiwen. Four professional killers were playing poker game on Friday. and something lurked in the shadows, then the horror things began.