JAPANESE HORROR [1950-1990]
Out of all Asian countries, Japan undoubtedly had the strongest string of horror films in the time period we're covering here. There's really no lapse in offerings from year to year and, while there are a few titles listed below (namely ones from the 50s) that have seemingly vanished into thin air, a surprisingly large number have survived AND are commercially available. By Asian standards, Japan did an outstanding job preserving their film legacy over the years, so there's much to enjoy from every single era and we can clearly see trends come and go as the decades progress. Not only that, but Japan also had the largest number of films to make it to U.S. shores of any Asian country, first to theaters, then to television and on to home video during the early VHS / video store era. Of course a lot of these got butchered when they made it here (awful dubbing, re-edits, new footage added by American producers, etc.) but the country did at least have a notable international presence. The same cannot really be said for any other Asian country.
One of the first films ever produced in Japan was Tsunekichi Shibata's Momiji-gari (1899; "Maple Viewing") ▼, which was a three reel, three take, stationary camera document of a kabuki performance of the same name involving a demon disguising itself as a princess. This 4 minute short was not only one of Japan's first narrative features, but also one of Japan's first-ever horror films. It also happens to be the earliest surviving Japanese film period and in it you can see tropes that would make their way into countless later Asian ghost films. A few other titles made by some of the same people; Bake Jizo (1898; "Jizo the Ghost") and Shinin no sosei (1898; "Resurrection of a Corpse"), predate this one by less than a year but no longer exist. More short genre films (mostly involving ghosts) followed through the early 1900s and 1910s.
As for Japan's first feature length horror film, that's difficult to really determine since some key titles appear to be missing and a lot of films were released in quick succession, but they made a number of very interesting-sounding films during the 1920s. Most heralded of these is Teinosuke Kinugasa's avant garde effort A Page of Madness (1926) ▼, but there were other films involving mad scientists (including gothic style films influenced by Frankenstein and Jekyll & Hyde), black magic, killer robots, normal-sized killer apes, giant monsters (including a number of giant ape movies a la King Kong that are unfortunately now missing), Dr. Caligari-inspired expressionist films, experimental films and, of course, many, many, many ghost films based on famous stories, folklore and kabuki theater, which would remain the most popular horror subgenre for decades to come. These continued into the sound era, with an especially productive period in the 1930s but seriously slowed down in the 40s due to the events of WW2. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 would then alter the landscape of Japanese films for years to come.
Japan's film industry was able to eventually bounce back from the wartime devastation, cementing their place at the forefront of genre cinema with a pair of very important films in the first half of the 1950s. The first of these was the difficult-to-pigeonhole Ugetsu monogatari (1953) from director Kenji Mizoguchi (below, left). A big international hit, it was nominated for numerous important awards (even an Academy Award in 1956), now frequently turns up on lists of the greatest films of all time and is easily the most critically acclaimed of all of Japan's ghost films, though perhaps not their most famous. The second release, which became such a huge phenomena it almost requires no introduction, was Ishirô Honda's (below, center) fire-breathing-giant-atomic-lizard monster opus Gojira / Godzilla (1954). The biggest budgeted Japanese film up to that time, Godzilla not only worked as a surprisingly dark, somber monster movie but also as a fascinating reflection of Japanese feelings, attitudes and fears following the war, which were freshly stoked thanks to the The Lucky Dragon boat incident earlier that same year.
While one could write an entire encyclopedia set on Godzilla, its offspring (including a record-setting 39 series entries to date) and its influence in both film and pop culture, the franchise's endurance and generation-defying appeal pretty much says it all. The fact these films are still being made 70 years later and, when done well, still being made to great box office success and critical acclaim (just see last year's Godzilla Minus One, one of the most well-received films of 2023 and now an Oscar winner) is impressive. The success of the original led to a whole cottage industry of later kaiju (giant monster) films that would dominate over the following few decades. Honda, along with prolific fx artist Eiji Tsuburaya (above, right), would even return to make more themselves. Despite increasingly schlocky entries, many of these at least were well-meaning ventures including anti-war and pro-environmental themes. Enthusiasm for the property, and kaiju in general, tempered in the late 70s well into the 90s, but these films are back now and bigger than ever before.
Though excellent offerings like Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan (1964), a four part ghost anthology that won major awards at Cannes and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, and Kaneto Shindô's one-two punch of Onibaba (1964) and Kuroneko (1968), were able to freshen up old themes through sheer artistry, a major reinvention was simultaneously underway shepherded in by both Japanese New Wave filmmakers and exploitation directors. It was an inevitable change for a number of reasons. For starters, kaiju started shifting into a more kid-friendly realm, which found adult viewers feeling left out. Second, the classy costume ghost films that had dominated since the birth of cinema in Japan were so overdone by the mid 60s that viewers were seeing the same exact works being adapted over and over again. Third, censorship laws were starting to loosen, making room for more explicit films, which would become extremely popular in the 70s and 80s and push out the tamer fare. The same exact thing happened at around the same exact time in many other countries.
The seeds for Japan's later pinku eiga (soft-core) explosion, which were often bleak, boundary-pushing, surprisingly well-produced and very heavy on BDSM, were already being planted as far back as the early 60s, with Satoru Kobayashi's box office smash Flesh Market (1962) leading the way. Hundreds of later sex films would emerge from studios like Nikkatsu and Wakamatsu and many of them were extremely perverse to try to make up for Japan's aversion to showing full frontal nudity and outright pornography. Some directors, like Nagisa Ôshima with his art house hit In the Realm of the Senses (1976), fought back against censorship by filming graphic nudity and sex only to have their films banned or optically censored, and even ended up with criminal (obscenity) charges leveled against them. A decade earlier, Tetsuji Takechi had also been dragged into court for "indecency" for his films Daydream (1964) and Black Snow (1965). A number of the 1960s titles were actually exported for consumption in other countries, including the United States, something that would cease the following decade.
Interestingly, while production on genre films started to pick up in most other countries in the 70s, Japanese genre cinema saw a brief period of decline. There were still some interesting titles coming out though. Director Michio Yamamoto made three Hammer-style gothic vampire films, which were uneven but still stood out as unique entries in their home country, and there were a handful of atypical werewolf films, historical 'torture' movies, nunsploitation, rape fetish films, sexed-up versions of ghost and ghost-cat films and much more. No other film has managed to leave a greater impression than Nobuhiko Ôbayashi's one-of-a-kind Hausu / House (1977), a buoyantly colorful, insanely trippy, noisy and chaotic take on your standard haunted house film. Filled with crude, surrealistic imagery and wacky special effects, the film has withstood the test of time the best and won over a whole new generation of younger fans in the process. It is now, by far, the most popular pre-1990 Japanese genre film.
The 1980s began with the ambitious Virus, which featured a number of American and British stars with an eye for international distribution. It was the biggest budgeted Japanese film up to that point... and it flopped. Likewise, an attempt to revive Godzilla again, 1984's The Return of Godzilla, underwhelmed at the Japanese box office and didn't perform well in international markets either. For its U.S. release in 1985, under the title Godzilla 1985, the film was dubbed, re-edited and had newly-shot scenes tacked on starring Raymond Burr, who'd previously been featured in "Americanized" footage added to the original film for its U.S. release (under the title Godzilla, King of the Monsters). This American version received terrible reviews and Godzilla would once again be buried for a spell.
Sadly, it wasn't just disappointing big budget films that were mostly ignored during this time, but also some genuinely good films as well. Nobuhiko Ôbayashi's The Discarnates (1988) received excellent notices and a boatload of awards upon release, but was then ignored shortly thereafter and was unable to make much of an imprint globally. However, there's at least been some renewed interest in the film recently thanks to Andrew Haigh's highly acclaimed All of Us Strangers (2023), an American / British co-production that used the same source novel (Taichi Yamada's Strangers) as its inspiration. There was also Sweet Home (1989), a good haunted house film that had a tie-in video game release from Capcom / Famicom ▼; something that became innovative in its own right. Both are said to have heavily influenced the later Resident Evil games and subsequent film series.
Sex and gore films, and adult-oriented anime (also usually with plenty of sex and gore) are what really fueled the home video market in Japan in the 80s. In addition to endless sex-horror hybrids and OVA (original video animation) releases, the Guinea Pig extreme gore series became notorious when its second entry ("Flower of Flesh and Blood") was mistaken for a real-life snuff film. A few of the more memorable titles, including Toshiharu Ikeda's Evil Dead Trap (1988) and Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), became popular cult items, as did quite a few of their anime titles, and sold well in the U.S., Europe and in other markets. The 80s were also pockmarked by plenty of low grade, shot-on-video, previously unheard-of efforts that apparently never made their way out of the country until the internet. In addition, Japanese producers in the late 80s began co-financing films either partially or fully shot in America, like the first two Toxic Avenger sequels, Brian Yuzna's Society (1989) and Bride of Re-Animator (1990) and many others. Some people actually get mad at me for including such titles on lists like these, but what can I say? I'm a completist!
There are a lot of great films and other interesting directors (Nobuo Nakagawa [above, left], Kôji Wakamatsu, Teruo Ishii [above, middle], Hiroshi Teshigahara, Hisayasu Satô [above, right]...) to discover from the list below that I'd like to talk about in more detail, but I hope to include that information in the reviews themselves. Otherwise I could just keep going and going and this is long enough already. One thing's for sure: Japan has very distinctive subgenres that are unlike anything other countries were producing at this same time.
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1950s
- Claws of Steel (Tetsu no tsume) (1951; Nobuo Adachi)
- Village of Eight Gravestones (Yatsuhaka-mura) (1951; Sadatsugu Matsuda)
- Tragic Ghost Story of Fukagawa (Kaidan Fukagawa jowa) (1952; Minoru Inuzuka)
- Ghost Cat of Arima Palace (Kaibyô Arima goten) (1953; Ryohei Arai)
- Ghost of Saga Mansion (Kaidan Saga yashiki) (1953; Ryohei Arai)
- Ugetsu (Ugetsu monogatari) (1953; Kenji Mizoguchi)
- Ghost Cat of Ouma Crossing, The (Kaibyô ômagatsuji) (1954; Bin Kato)
- Ghost Man (Yurei otoko) (1954; Motoyoshi Oda)
- Godzilla (Gojira) (1954; Ishirô Honda)
- Inugami-ke no nazo: Akuma wa odoru (1954; Kunio Watanabe)
- Invisible Avenger, The (The Invisible Man; Tômei ningen) (1954; Motoyoshi Oda)
- Samurai's Love, A (Banchô sara yashiki: Okiku to Harima) (1954; Daisuke Itô)
- Terrible Ghost-Cat of Okazaki (Kaibyô Okazaki sôdô) (1954; Bin Kato)
- Weak-kneed from Fear of Ghost-Cat (Kaibyo koshinuke daisodo) (1954; Torajirô Saitô)
- Zenigata Heiji: Ghost Lord (Heiji torimono hikae: yurei daimyo) (1954; Mitsuo Hirotsu)
- Beast Man Snow Man (Jû jin yuki otoko) (1955; Ishirô Honda)
- Godzilla Raids Again (Gojira no gyakushû) (1955; Ishirô Honda, Motoyoshi Oda)
- Mysterious Dwarf (Issun bôshi) (1955; Seiichirô Uchikawa) ▼
- Peonies and Stone Lanterns (Kaidan botan-dôrô) (1955; Akira Nobuchi)
- Ceiling at Utsunomiya, The (Kaii Utsunomiya tsuritenjô) (1956; Nobuo Nakagawa)
- Evil Dead Trouble in Sakura (Onryo sakura dai-sodo) (1956; Kunio Watanabe)
- Ghost-Cat of Gojusan-Tsugi (Kaibyo Gojusan-tsugi) (1956; Bin Kato)
- Ghost Story of Yotsuya (Yotsuya kaidan) (1956; Masaki Môri)
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956; Ishirô Honda, Terry O. Morse) [co-USA]
- Madame White Snake (Byaku fujin no yoren) (1956; Shirô Toyoda)
- Man Who Disappeared in Black Cat Hall, The (Kuronekokan ni Kieta Otoko) (1956; Masaki Môri)
- Mysterious Clouds: Legend of Satomi's Heroic Deed (Yôun Satomi kaikyoden) (1956; Kunio Watanabe)
- Phantom Cat, The (Kaibyo ranbu) (1956; Masamitsu Igayama)
- Rodan (Sora no daikaijû Radon) (1956; Ishirô Honda)
- Swamp, The (Kaidan Chidori ga fuchi) (1956; Eiichi Koishi)
- Three Heads Tower (Mitsu-kubi-tou) (1956; Tsuneo Kobayashi, Shigehiro Ozawa)
- Vampire Moth (Kyûketsu-ga) (1956; Nobuo Nakagawa)
- White Fan, The (Hakusen midare kurokami) (1956; Toshikazu Kôno)
- Demon King of Yojaso, The (Yojaso no maou) (1957; Morihei Magatani)
- Ghost-Cat of Yonaki Swamp (Kaibyô Yonaki numa) (1957; Katsuhiko Tasaka)
- Ghost in the Well (Kaidan Banchô sara-yashiki) (1957; Toshikazu Kôno)
- Ghost of Kasane Swamp (Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi) (1957; Nobuo Nakagawa)
- Ghost Ship (Yûreisen: Kôhen) (1957; Sadatsugu Matsuda)
- Ghost Story of the Seven Wonders of Honsho (Kaidan Honsho nanafushigi) (1957; Gorô Kadono)
- Invisible Man vs. the Human Fly (Tômei ningen to hae otoko) (1957; Mitsuo Murayama)
- Living Koheiji, The (Kaiidan: Ikiteiru Koheiji) (1957; Nobuo Nakagawa)
- Military Policeman and the Dismembered Beauty, The (Kenpei to barabara shibijin) (1957; Kyôtarô Namiki)
- Mysterians, The (Chikyû Bôeigun) (1957; Ishirô Honda)
- Temptress and the Monk, The (Byakuya no yôjo) (1957; Eisuke Takizawa) ▼
- Ghost-Cat Cursed Wall, The (Kaibyô noroi no kabe) (1958; Kenji Misumi)
- Ghost-Cat of Karakuri Tenjo (Feline Spirit; Kaibyo Karakuri Tenjo) (1958; Kinnosuke Fukada)
- Half Human (1958; Kenneth G. Crane, Ishirô Honda) [co-USA]
- H-Man, The (Bijo to ekitai ningen) (1958; Ishirô Honda) ▼
- Lady Was a Ghost, The (Kaidan dochu) (1958; Tadashi Sawashima)
- Mansion of the Ghost Cat (Bôrei kaibyô yashiki) (1958; Nobuo Nakagawa)
- Mother Tree, The (Kaidan chibusa enoki) (1958; Gorô Kadono)
- M.P. and the Ghost (Ghost in the Regiment; Kenpei to yûrei) (1958; Nobuo Nakagawa)
- Spider Man (Satsujinki: Kumo-otoko) (1958; Hiroyuki Yamamoto)
- Varan the Unbelievable (Daikaijû Baran) (1958; Ishirô Honda, Motoyoshi Oda)
- Vindictive Snake (Obsessive Snake; Shunen no hebi) (1958; Kenji Misumi)
- White Snake Woman (Hakuja komachi) (1958; Mitsuo Hirotsu)
- Bloody Sword of the 99th Virgin (Kyûjûkyû-honme no kimusume) (1959; Morihei Magatani)
- Blue Snake Bath (Ao hebi buro) (1959; Mitsuo Hirotsu)
- Eight Brave Brothers (Satomi hakken-den) (1959; Kokichi Uchide)
- Ghost from the Pond (Kaidan hitotsu-me Jizo) (1959; Kinnosuke Fukada)
- Ghost of Yotsuya, The (Yotsuya kaidan) (1959; Kenji Misumi)
- Ghost Story: Depth of Kagami (Kaidan Kagami-ga-fuchi) (1959; Masaki Môri)
- Girl Diver of Spook Mansion (Ama no bakemono yashiki) (1959; Morihei Magatani)
- Lady Vampire (Onna kyûketsuki) (1959; Nobuo Nakagawa)
- Manster, The (1959; George P. Breakston, Kenneth G. Crane) [co-USA]
- Woman from the Sea (Kaitei kara kita onna) (1959; Koreyoshi Kurahara)
1960s
- Demon of Mount Oe, The (Ooe-yama Shuten-dôji) (1960; Tokuzô Tanaka)
- Ghost Cat of Otama Pond (Kaibyô Otama-ga-ike) (1960; Yoshihiro Ishikawa)
- Ghost of the Girl Diver (Kaidan ama yûrei) (1960; Gorô Kadono)
- Ghost Story: Depth of Kasane (Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi) (1960; Kimiyoshi Yasuda)
- Hell (Jigoku; The Sinners of Hell) (1960; Nobuo Nakagawa)
- Human Vapor, The (Gasu ningen dai 1 gô) (1960; Ishirô Honda)
- Jasei no in (1960; Morihei Magatani)
- Priest and the Beauty, The (Anchin to Kiyohime) (1960; Kôji Shima)
- Secret of the Telegian, The (Densô ningen) (1960; Jun Fukuda)
- Vampire Bride (Hanayome kyûketsuma) (1960; Kyôtarô Namiki)
- Weaker Sex, The (Kaidan gojusanji) (1960; Kokichi Uchide)
- Ghost of Oiwa (Kaidan Oiwa no borei) (1961; Tai Katô)
- Mothra (Mosura) (1961; Ishirô Honda)
- Old Temple Well, The (Kaidan Kakuidori) (1961; Kazuo Mori)
- Crying in the Night (Kaidan yonaki-doro) (1962; Katsuhiko Tasaka)
- Ghostly Tales: The Shamisen (Kaidan shamisen-bori) (1962; Kokichi Uchide)
- King Kong vs. Godzilla (Kingu Kongu tai Gojira) (1962; Ishirô Honda) ▲
- Okinawan Horror: Upside-Down Ghost - Chinese Horror: Breaking a Coffin (Okinawa kaidan: Sakazuri yûrei - Shina kaidan: Shikan yaburi) (1962; Satoru Kobayashi, Lo-Hui Shaw) [co-Taiwan]
- Pitfall (Otoshiana) (1962; Hiroshi Teshigahara)
- Atragon (Kaitei gunkan) (1963; Ishirô Honda)
- Attack of the Mushroom People (Matango) (1963; Ishirô Honda)
- Eater, An (Tabeta hito) (1963; Kazufumi Fujino) [short]
- Ghost from the Continent (Kaidan ijin yûrei) (1963; Satoru Kobayashi)
- Ghost Story of Devil's Fire Swamp (Kaidan onibi no numa) (1963; Bin Kato)
- Remembrance (Katami) (1963; Nobuhiko Ôbayashi) [short]
- Dagora, the Space Monster (Uchû daikaijû Dogora) (1964; Ishirô Honda)
- Day-Dream (Hakujitsumu) (1964; Tetsuji Takechi)
- Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (San daikaijû: Chikyû saidai no kessen) (1964; Ishirô Honda)
- Ghost Story: Cruel Phantom (Kaidan zankoku yûrei) (1964; Satoru Kobayashi)
- Godzilla vs. Mothra (Mosura tai Gojira) (1964; Ishirô Honda)
- Kwaidan (Kaidan) (1964; Masaki Kobayashi)
- Onibaba (1964; Kaneto Shindô)
- Woman of the Dunes (Suna no onna) (1964; Hiroshi Teshigahara)
- Frankenstein Conquers the World (Furankenshutain tai chitei kaijû Baragon) (1965; Ishirô Honda)
- Gamera: The Giant Monster (Daikaijû Gamera) (1965; Noriaki Yuasa)
- House of Terrors (Ghost of the Hunchback; Kaidan semushi otoko) (1965; Hajime Satô)
- Illusion of Blood (Yatsuya kaidan) (1965; Shirô Toyoda)
- Illustrated Yotsuya Ghost Story (Ensetsu Yotsuya kaidan) (1965; Jun'ichi Fujita)
- Monster Zero (Kaijû daisensô) (1965; Ishirô Honda)
- One-Eyed Ghost, The (Kaidan katame no otoko) (1965; Tsuneo Kobayashi)
- Abortion (Datai) (1966; Masao Adachi)
- Embryo Hunts in Secret, The (Taiji ga mitsuryô suru toki) (1966; Kôji Wakamatsu)
- Emotion (1966; Nobuhiko Ôbayashi) [short]
- Face of Another, The (Tanin no kao) (1966; Hiroshi Teshigahara)
- Gamera vs. Barugon (Daikaijû kettô: Gamera tai Barugon) (1966; Shigeo Tanaka)
- Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (Gojira, Ebirâ, Mosura: Nankai no daiketto) (1966; J. Fukuda)
- Majin, Monster of Terror (Daimajin) (1966; Kimiyoshi Yasuda)
- Return of Giant Majin, The (Daimajin ikaru) (1966; Kenji Misumi)
- Terror Beneath the Sea (Kaitei daisensô) (1966; Hajime Satô) [co-Italy, USA]
- War of the Gargantuas (Furankenshutain no kaijû: Sanda tai Gaira) (1966; Ishirô Honda)
- Wrath of Daimajin (Daimajin gyakushû) (1966; Kazuo Mori)
- Boneless (Honenuki) (1967; Seiichi Fukuda)
- Gamera vs. Gyaos (Daikaijû kûchûsen: Gamera tai Gyaosu) (1967; Noriaki Yuasa)
- Gappa the Triphibian Monsters (Daikyojû Gappa) (1967; Hiroshi Noguchi)
- King Kong Escapes (Kingu Kongu no gyakushû) (1967; Ishirô Honda)
- Love Foolery Case for a Severed Head (Namakubi jochi jiken) (1967; Kinya Ogawa)
- Revenge of Dr. X, The (Body of the Prey) (1967; Norman Earl Thomson) [co-USA]
- Snake Adultery (Jain) (1967; Kiyoshi Komori)
- Son of Godzilla (Kaijûtô no kessen: Gojira no musuko) (1967; Jun Fukuda)
- Tenamonya: Ghost Journey (Tenamonya yurei dochu) (1967; Shûe Matsubayashi)
- Violated Angels (Okasareta hakui) (1967; Kôji Wakamatsu)
- X from Outer Space, The (Uchû daikaijû Girara) (1967; Kazui Nihonmatsu)
- Yongary, Monster from the Deep (Taekoesu Yonggary) (1967; Ki-duk Kim) [co-South Korea]
- Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit (Kaibyô nori no numa) (1968; Yoshihiro Ishikawa)
- Cruel Ghost Legend (Curse of the Blood; Kaidan zankoku monogatari) (1968; Kazuo Hase)
- Destroy All Monsters (Kaijû sôshingeki) (1968; Ishirô Honda)
- Dismembered Ghost, The (Kaidan barabara yurei) (1968; Kinya Ogawa)
- Gamera vs. Viras (Gamera tai uchu kaijû Bairasu) (1968; Noriaki Yuasa)
- Ghost Story of the Snow Woman (Kaidan yukijorô) (1968; Tokuzô Tanaka)
- Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (Kyuketsuki Gokemidoro) (1968; Hajime Satô) ▲
- Green Slime, The (1968; Kinji Fukasaku) [co-Italy, USA]
- I, the Executioner (Minagoroshi no reika) (1968; Tai Katô)
- Joy of Torture, The (Tokugawa onna keibatsu-shi) (1968; Teruo Ishii)
- Kuroneko (Yabu no naka no kuroneko) (1968; Kaneto Shindô)
- Living Skeleton, The (Kyûketsu dokuro-sen) (1968; Hiroki Matsuno)
- Peony Lantern (Botan-dorô) (1968; Satsuo Yamamoto)
- Pit of Death, The (Kaidan otoshiana) (1968; Kôji Shima)
- Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, The (Hebi musume to hakuhatsuma) (1968; Noriaki Yuasa)
- Snake Woman's Curse, The (Kaidan hebi-onna) (1968; Nobuo Nakagawa)
- Spooky Kitaro (Gegege no Kitarô) (1968; Hiroshi Shidara) [anime]
- War of the Insects (Genocide; Konchû daisensô) (1968; Kazui Nihonmatsu)
- Yokai Monsters: 100 Ghosts (Yôkai hyaku monogatari) (1968; Kimiyoshi Yasuda) ▼
- Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare (Yôkai daisensô) (1968; Yoshiyuki Kuroda)
- Blind Beast (Môjû) (1969; Yasuzô Masumura)
- Gamera vs. Guiron (Gamera tai daiakuju Giron) (1969; Noriaki Yuasa)
- Godzilla's Revenge (Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaijû daishingeki) (1969; Ishirô Honda)
- Haunted Castle, The (Hiroku kaibyô-den) (1969; Tokuzô Tanaka)
- Horrors of Malformed Men (Kyôfu kikei ningen: Edogawa Rampo zenshû) (1969; T. Ishii)
- Inferno of Torture (Tokugawa irezumi-shi: Seme jigoku) (1969; Teruo Ishii)
- Latitude Zero (Ido zero daisakusen) (1969; Ishirô Honda) [co-USA]
- Love and Crime (Meiji · Taishô · Shôwa: Ryôki onna hanzai-shi) (1969; Teruo Ishii)
- Oiwa Phantom, The (Yotsuya kaidan - Oiwa no borei) (1969; Kazuo Mori)
- Orgies of Edo (Zankoku ijô gyakutai monogatari: Genroku onna keizu) (1969; Teruo Ishii)
- Thousand & One Nights, A (Sen'ya ichiya monogatari) (1969; Eiichi Yamamoto) [anime]
- Violent Virgin (Shôjo geba-geba) (1969; Kôji Wakamatsu)
- Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (Tôkaidô obake dôchû) (1969; Yoshiyuki Kuroda, Kimiyoshi Yasuda)
1970s
- Blind Woman's Curse (Kaidan nobori ryu) (1970; Teruo Ishii)
- Gamera vs. Jiger (Gamera tai Daimaju Jaiga) (1970; Noriaki Yuasa)
- Island of Horrors (Onna-ro hizu) (1970; Kunihara Toshiaki)
- Magic Sword of Watari, The (Fei long wang zi po qun yao) (1970; N. Yuasa) [co-Taiwan]
- Masseur's Curse (Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi) (1970; Kimiyoshi Yasuda)
- Terror in the Streets (Akuma ga yondeiru) (1970; Michio Yamamoto)
- Vampire Doll, The (Yûrei yashiki no kyôfu: Chi wo sû ningyô) (1970; Michio Yamamoto)
- Yog: Monster from Space (Gezora, Ganime, Kameba: Kessen! Nankai no daikaijû) (1970; Ishirô Honda)
- Demons (Shura) (1971; Toshio Matsumoto)
- Gamera vs. Zigra (Gamera tai Shinkai kaijû Jigura) (1971; Noriaki Yuasa)
- Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (Gojira tai Hedora) (1971; Yoshimitsu Banno)
- Lake of Dracula (Noroi no yakata: Chi o suu me) (1971; Michio Yamamoto)
- Women's Prison of Torture (Hiroku Nagasaki onna-ro) (1971; Akikazu Ota)
- Demon, The (Oni) (1972; Kihachiro Kawamoto) [short] [stop motion animation]
- Ghostly Trip, The (Kigeki kaidan ryokô) (1972; Masaharu Segawa)
- Godzilla vs. Gigan (Chikyû kogeki meirei: Gojira tai Gaigan) (1972; Jun Fukuda)
- Hellish Love (Seidan botan-dôrô) (1972; Chûsei Sone)
- Iron Crown, The (Kanawa) (1972; Kaneto Shindô)
- Shadow on the Wall, The (Yami ni ukabu shiroi hada) (1972; Shôgorô Nishimura)
- Belladonna of Sadness (Kanashimi no beradonna) (1973; Eiichi Yamamoto) [anime]
- Godzilla vs. Megalon (Gojira tai Megaro) (1973; Jun Fukuda)
- Horror of the Wolf (Ôkami no monshô) (1973; Masashi Matsumoto)
- Mummy's Love, A (Miira no koi) (1973; Seijun Suzuki) [TV]
- Demon Spies (Oniwaban) (1974; Takashi Tsuboshima)
- Evil of Dracula (Chi o suu bara) (1974; Michio Yamamoto)
- New Guinea: Island of Cannibals (Nuova Guinea, l'isola dei cannibali) (1974; Akira Ide)
- Atman (1975; Toshio Matsumoto) [short]
- Death at an Old Mansion (Honjin satsujin jiken) (1975; Yôichi Takabayashi)
- Haunted Turkish Bathhouse, A (Bakeneko Toruko furo) (1975; Kazuhiko Yamaguchi)
- Terror of Mechagodzilla (Mekagojira no gyakushu) (1975; Ishirô Honda)
- Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees (Sakura no mori no mankai no shita) (1975; Masahiro Shinoda)
- Wolf Guy (Urufu gai: Moero ôkami-otoko) (1975; Kazuhiko Yamaguchi)
- Assault! Jack the Ripper (Bôkô Kirisaki Jakku) (1976; Yasuharu Hasebe)
- Death at an Old Mansion (Honjin satsujin jiken) (1976; Yôichi Takabayashi)
- Doji ji Temple (Dôjôji) (1976; Kihachirô Kawamoto) [short] [stop motion animation]
- History of Women's Torture (Zangyaku jokei-shi) (1976; Shinya Yamamoto)
- Inugami Family, The (Inugami-ke no ichizoku) (1976; Kon Ichikawa)
- Joy of Torture 2: Oxen Split Torturing, The (Tokugawa onna keibatsu-emaki: Ushi-zaki no kei) (1976; Yûji Makiguchi)
- New Ghost Story Heretical Lust: Oiwa's Vengeful Ghost (Shin kaidan shikiyoku gedô: O-Iwa no onryô Yotsuya kaidan) (1976; Kinya Ogawa)
- Possessed, The (Yoba) (1976; Tadashi Imai)
- Rape! (Okasu!) (1976; Yasuharu Hasebe)
- Watcher in the Attic, The (Edogawa Ranpo ryôki-kan: Yaneura no sanposha) (1976; Noboru Tanaka)
- Curse of the Dog God (Inugami no tatari) (1977; Shun'ya Itô)
- Girl Hell (Yumeno Kyûsaku no shôjo jigoku) (1977; Masaru Konuma)
- Fairy in a Cage (Ori no naka no yôsei) (1977; Kôyû Ohara)
- House (Hausu) (1977; Nobuhiko Ôbayashi)
- Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (Kyôryû kaichô no densetsu) (1977; Junji Kurata)
- Nuns That Bite (Onna gokumon-chô: Hikisakareta nisô) (1977; Yûji Makiguchi)
- Sexual Assault at a Hotel (Hotel kyosei waisetsu jiken: Okashite!) (1977; K. Kurahara)
- Village of Eight Gravestones (Yatsuhaka-mura) (1977; Yoshitarô Nomura)
- Angel Guts: High School Coed (Jokôsei: Tenshi no harawata) (1978; Chûsei Sone)
- Empire of Passion (Ai no bôrei) (1978; Nagisa Ôshima)
- Lady Black Rose (Gensaku · Dan Oniroku: Kurobara fujin) (1978; Shôgorô Nishimura)
- Queen Bee (Joôbachi) (1978; Kon Ichikawa)
- Serial Rapist (Jûsan-nin renzoku bôkôma) (1978; Kôji Wakamatsu)
- Angel Guts: Nami (Tenshi no harawata: Nami) (1979; Noboru Tanaka)
- Beautiful Girl Hunter (Dabide no hoshi: Bishôjo-gari) (1979; Norifumi Suzuki)
- Demon Pond (Yashagaike) (1979; Masahiro Shinoda)
- Fang in the Hole (Ana no kiba) (1979; Seijun Suzuki)
- Hell (The Inferno; Jigoku) (1979; Tatsumi Kumashiro)
- High-School-Terror (1979; Macoto Tezuka) [short]
- Modern Sex Crime: All Murdered (Gendai sei hanzai: Bôkô kankin) (1979; Kôji Wakamatsu)
- Murders in the Doll House (Midare karakuri) (1979; Susumu Kodama)
- Vengeance Is Mine (Fukushû suru wa ware ni ari) (1979; Shohei Imamura)
- Zoom Up: Rape Site (Zûmu appu: Bôkô genba) (1979; Kôyû Ohara)
1980s
- All Women Are Whores (Dan Oniroku hakui nawa jigoku) (1980; Shôgorô Nishimura)
- Diva in the Netherworld (Utahime makai o yuku) (1980; Takafumi Nagamine)
- Gamera: Super Monster (Uchu kaijû Gamera) (1980; Noriaki Yuasa)
- Gypsy Melodies (Tsigoineruwaizen; Zigeunerweisen) (1980; Seijun Suzuki)
- Human Beasts (El carnaval de las bestias) (1980; Paul Naschy) [co-Spain]
- Ocean to Cross (Tempyo no iraka) (1980; Kei Kumai)
- Sand Boat, The (Tanba Tetsurô no chijô (koko) yori dai-reikai) (1980; Tetsurô Tanba)
- Tomb of Dracula (Yami no teiô kyuketsuki dorakyura) (1980; Akinori Nagaoka, Minoru Okazaki) [anime] ▼
- Virus (Day of Resurrection; Fukkatsu no hi) (1980; Kinji Fukasaku)
- Writhing Tongue (Furueru shita) (1980; Yoshitarô Nomura)
- Zoom In: Rape Apartments (Zûmu in: Bôkô danchi) (1980; Naosuke Kurosawa)
- Aimed School, The (Nerawareta gakuen) (1981; Nobuhiko Ôbayashi)
- Day Dream (Hakujitsumu) (1981; Tetsuji Takechi)
- Island of the Evil Spirits (Akuryo-To) (1981; Masahiro Shinoda)
- Monster of Frankenstein (Kyofu densetsu: Kaiki! Furankenshutain) (1981; Yûgo Serikawa) [anime]
- Pig-Chicken Suicide (Tonkei shinjû) (1981; Yoshihiko Matsui)
- Queen of Black Magic, The (Ratu Ilmu Hitam) (1981; Liliek Sudjio) [co-Indonesia]
- Samurai Reincarnation (Makai tenshô) (1981; Kinji Fukasaku) ▼
- Summer of Evil (Masho no natsu - 'Yotsuya kaidan' yori) (1981; Yukio Ninagawa)
- Cute Devil (Kawaii Akuma) (1982; Nobuhiko Ôbayashi) [TV]
- For My Daughter's 7th Birthday (Kono ko no nanatsu no oiwai ni) (1982; Y. Masumura)
- House Where Evil Dwells, The (1982; Kevin Connor) [co-USA]
- Legend of Sayo, The (Tôno monogatari) (1982; Tetsutaro Murano)
- Nurse Diary: Beast Afternoon (Kangofu nikki: Kemonojimita gogo) (1982; N. Kurosawa)
- Vampire Inspector, The (Dokuro kengyô) (1982; Yûichi Harada) [TV]
- Beast and the Magic Sword (La bestia y la espada mágica) (1983; Paul Naschy) [co-Spain]
- Harmagedon (Harmagedon: Genma taisen) (1983; Rintaro) [anime]
- Legend of the Cat Monster (Reibyo densetsu) (1983; Nobuhiko Ôbayashi) [TV]
- Legend of the Eight Samurai (Satomi hakken-den) (1983; Kinji Fukasaku)
- Village of Doom (Ushimitsu no mura) (1983; Noboru Tanaka)
- Agi, the Fury of Evil (Agi kijin no ikari) (1984; Hikari Hayakawa)
- Cursed Village in Yudono Mountains (Yudono-sanroku noroi mura) (1984; Toshiharu Ikeda)
- Deaths in Tokimeki (Tokimeki ni shisu) (1984; Yoshimitsu Morita)
- Ghost (1984; Takashi Ito) [short]
- High Noon Ripper (Mahiru no kirisakima) (1984; Yôjirô Takita)
- Mermaid Legend (Ningyo densetsu) (1984; Toshiharu Ikeda)
- Return of Godzilla, The (Godzilla 1985; Gojira) (1984; Koji Hashimoto)
- Scourge of Blood (Chi no sangeki) (1984; Shozin Fukui) [short]
- Angel's Egg (Tenshi no tamago) (1985; Mamoru Oshii) [anime]
- Beautiful Teacher in Torture Hell (Dan Oniroku: Bikyoshi jigokuzeme) (1985; M. Segawa)
- Death Lullaby, The (Nidoto mezamenu komoriuta) (1985; Hiroshi Harada) [anime]
- Dream Hunter Rem (Dorimu Hanta Remu) (1985; Seiji Okuda) [anime]
- Evil Heart (Uba wareta shinzo) (1985; Hikari Hayakawa)
- Fight! Iczer-1 (Tatakae! Iczer-1) (1985; Toshiki Hirano) [anime]
- Gakidama (The Demon Within) (1985; Masayoshi Sukita) ▲
- Grim (1985; Takashi Ito) [short]
- Guinea Pig: Devil's Experiment (Ginî piggu - Akuma no jikken) (1985; Satoru Ogura)
- Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood (Ginî piggu 2: Chiniku no hana) (1985; H. Hino)
- Haze of Love (Ai no kagerô) (1985; Haruhiko Mimura)
- Orgasm: Mariko (Ogazumu Mariko) (1985; Fumihiko Katô)
- Sexual Abuse (The Sekkan) (1985; Ryuichi Hiroki, Hitoshi Ishikawa, Genji Nakamura)
- Vampire Hunter D (Kyûketsuki hantâ D) (1985; Toyoo Ashida) [anime]
- Woman in a Box: Virgin Sacrifice (Hako no naka no onna: Shojo ikenie) (1985; Masaru Konuma)
- Beautiful Sisters: Flesh Slaves (Bishimai nikudorei) (1986; Katsuhiko Fujii)
- Biotherapy (1986; Akihiro Kashima) [short]
- Blue Lake Girl (Aoi numa no onna) (1986; Akio Jissôji)
- Call Me Tonight (Koru mi tunaito) (1986; Tatsuya Okamoto) [anime] [short]
- Captured for Sex (Za ikenie) (1986; Ryuichi Hiroki, Hitoshi Ishikawa, Genji Nakamura)
- Captured for Sex 2 (Kankin sei no dorei: Ikenie 2) (1986; Ryuichi Hiroki, Hitoshi Ishikawa, Genji Nakamura)
- Daikanyama Wonderland Horror (Daikan'yama wandarando HORROR) (1986; Teruyoshi Ishii)
- Death Powder (Desu pawuda) (1986; Shigeru Izumiya)
- Dream Hunter Rem II: Dream Demon at Seibishinjo High School (Dorimu hanta Remu II: Seibishinjo Gakuen no Yomu) (1986; Seiji Okuda) [anime]
- Entrails of a Beautiful Woman (Bijo no harawata) (1986; Kazuo 'Gaira' Komizu)
- Entrails of a Virgin (Shojo no harawata) (1986; Kazuo 'Gaira' Komizu)
- Female Market: Imprisonment (Ryôjoku mesu ichiba - Kankin) (1986; Yasuaki Uegaki)
- Gimme Shelter (Yôsei Mamiko: mashô no yobigoe) (1986; Hisayasu Satô)
- Guinea Pig: He Never Dies (Ginî piggu 3: Senritsu! Shinanai otoko) (1986; M. Kusumi)
- Guinea Pig: Devil Woman Doctor (Ginî piggu 4: Pîtâ no akuma no joi-san) (1986; H. Tabe)
- Guzoo (Guzoo: Kami ni misuterareshi mono - Part I) (1986; Kazuo 'Gaira' Komizu)
- Madame de Sade (Madamu Sado: Mesu jigoku) (1986; Yoshihiro Kawasaki)
- Momoco Wonderland: Strange House (Momoko wandârando sutorenji hausu) (1986; Hikari Hayakawa)
- Monster Heaven (Yokai tengoku) (1986; Macoto Tezuka)
- Nighty Night (Nighty night: Mayonaka no akumu) (1986; Hirohisa Kokushô)
- Phantom of Regular Size, The (Futsû saizu no kaijin) (1986; Shin'ya Tsukamoto) [short]
- Portrait in Prussian Blue (Purushian burû no shôzô) (1986; Hidenori Taga)
- Roots Search (Roots Search: Shokushin buttai X) (1986; Hisashi Sugai) [anime]
- Saya: Perspective in Love (Saya no iru tousizu) (1986; Akiyoshi Kimata)
- Uniform Virgin: The Prey (Seifuku shojo: Za ejiki) (1988; Hisayasu Satô)
- Violence Jack: Slumking (Baiorensu jakku: haremu bonba) (1986; Osamu Kamijô) [anime]
- Battle Royale High School (Shin majin den batoru royaru haisukûru) (1987; Ichirô Itano) [anime]
- Beast Man (Wolf) (Za ryôjoku) (1987; Shûji Kataoka)
- Con Ton (Jûshin densetsu) (1987; Takuro Fukuda) [SOV]
- Cyclops (Kikuropusu) (1987; Jôji Iida)
- Day Dream 2 (Hakujitsumu 2) (1987; Tetsuji Takechi) [X]
- Demon of Steel: Battle of the Great Demon Beasts (Daimajuu Gekitou: Hagane no Oni) (1987; Toshiko Hirano) [anime]
- Devil Man 1: The Birth (Debiruman: Tanjou hen) (1987; Umanosuke Iida) [anime]
- Devil Man 2: Demon Bird (Debiruman: Kaichô shireinyu hen) (1987; U. Iida) [anime]
- Digital Devil Story (Dejitaru Debiru Monogatari Megami Tensei) (1987; M. Nishikubo) [a]
- Dream Dimension Gentleman (Mugen shinshi: Bôken katsugeki-hen) (1987; H. Tsuji) [a]
- Dream Hunter Rem III: Hidden Dream - Legend of the Headless Warrior (Dorimu hanta Remu III: Yumegakushi, Kubinashi Musha Densetsu) (1987; Seiji Okuda) [anime]
- Drifting Classroom, The (Hyôryu kyôshitsu) (1987; Nobuhiko Ôbayashi)
- Erotic Seduction: Flesh Bondage (Yôen: Niku shibari) (1987; Junichi Suzuki)
- Female Inquisitor (Gômon kifujin) (1987; Kazuo 'Gaira' Komizu)
- Great Analog World, The (Denchû kozô no bôken) (1987; Shinya Tsukamoto)
- Hell Target (Heru tagetto) (1987; Keito Nakamura) [anime]
- Hengen Taima Yakou Karura Mau! Nara Onryou Emaki (1989; Takaaki Ishiyama) [anime]
- Laughing Target, The (Rumik World: Warau hyôteki) (1987; M. Takahashi) [anime]
- Lily C.A.T. (1987; Hisayuki Toriumi) [anime]
- Lolita Vibrator Torture (Lolita vib-zeme) (1987; Hisayasu Satô)
- Midsummer Girl (Manatsu shojo) (1987; Akio Yoshida)
- Neo Tokyo (Meikyû monogatari) (1987; Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Rintaro, Katsuhiro Ôtomo) [anime]
- Pleasure Kill (Bôkô honban; Lustmord) (1987; Hisayasu Satô)
- Rape Climax! (Boko climax!) (1987; Hisayasu Satô)
- Red Rope (Akai nawa: Hateru made) (1987; Junichi Suzuki)
- Temptation of the Mask (Kamen no yûwaku) (1987; Hisayasu Satô)
- Twilight of the Cockroaches (Gokiburi-tachi no tasogare) (1987; Hiroaki Yoshida) [anime]
- Wicked City (Yôjû toshi) (1987; Yoshiaki Kawajiri) [anime]
- Youjo Melon (1987; Masayuki Kusumi)
- April Ghost Story (Shigatsu kaidan) (1988; Kazuya Konaka)
- Bride of Deimos (Deimos no Hanayome: Ran no Kumikyoku) (1988; Rintaro) [anime]
- Demon City Shinjuku (Makaitoshi Shinjuku) (1988; Yoshiaki Kawajiri) [anime]
- Discarnates, The (Ijin-tachi to no natsu) (1988; Nobuhiko Ôbayashi)
- Dogura Magura (1988; Toshio Matsumoto)
- Door (Doa) (1988; Banmei Takahashi)
- Dream's Labyrinth (Hoshikawa Migu: Honban aibu) (1988; Eiichi Tsutsumi)
- Evil Dead Trap (Shiryô no wana) (1988; Toshiharu Ikeda) ▲
- Fantastic Collection (Fukashigi monogatari) (1988; Akiyoshi Imazeki, Kaoru Ito, Shinichiro Nakata)
- Guinea Pig 5: Mermaid in the Manhole (Ginî piggu: Manhôru no naka no ningyo) (1988; Hideshi Hino)
- Love Letter in the Sand (Hentai byôtô: Hakui seme) (1988; Hisayasu Satô)
- Monster Bus, The (Korogashi Ryota: Gekitotsu! Monster bus) (1988; Naosuke Kurosawa)
- Monster Woman '88 (Youjo densetsu '88) (1988; Noboru Tanaka)
- Peacock King (Hung cheuk wong ji) (1988; Ngai Choi Lam, Biao Yuen) [co-Hong Kong]
- Noisy Requiem, The (Tsuitô no zawameki) (1988; Yoshihiko Matsui)
- Pretty Body: Frankenstein Love (Puriti bodi furankenshutain no koi) (1988; Takafumi Nagamine)
- Psychic Vision: Jaganrei (1988; Teruyoshi Ishii)
- Radical Hysteria Tour (Lolita chijoku) (1988; Hisayasu Satô)
- Red Account: My Bloody Angel (Akai hokokusho: Senketsu no tenshi) (1988; Toshiki Satô)
- Re-Wind (Abunômaru: Ingyaku; Celluloid Nightmares) (1988; Hisayasu Satô)
- Shaolin vs. Vampire (Gekitotsu! Kyonshi kozo shijo saikyo no kanfu akuma gundan) (1988; Gordon Liu) [co-Hong Kong]
- Survey Map of a Paradise Lost (Hard focus: Nusumi-giki) (1988; Hisayasu Satô)
- Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis (Teito monogatari) (1988; Akio Jissôji)
- Toxic Avenger Part II, The (1988; Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman) [co-USA]
- Violence Jack: Evil Town (Baiorensu jakku: jigoku-gai-hen) (1988; Ichirô Itano) [anime]
- Woman in a Box 2 (Hako no naka no onna II) (1988; Masaru Konuma)
- Baoh: The Visitor (1989; Hiroyuki Yokoyama) [anime]
- Battle Heater (Batoru hîtâ) (1989; Jôji Iida)
- Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma (Yôma) (1989; Takashi Annô) [anime]
- Bondage Ecstasy (Tôsui yûgi) (1989; Hisayasu Satô)
- Curse II: The Bite (1989; Frederico Prosperi) [co-Italy, USA]
- Dangerous Bedtime Stories (Abunai hanashi mugen monogatari) (1989; Kazuyuki Izutsu, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Banmei Takahashi)
- Demon Hunter (Makaryûdo Demon-Hunter) (1989; Yukio Okamoto) [anime]
- Drifting Into Chaos (Kageki honban: Midaredu) (1989; Sachi Hamano)
- Go Nagai's Scary Zone: Mysterious Demon (Nagai Go no Kowai zon kai oni) (1989; Go Nagai, Hikari Hayakawa)
- Guinea Pig: Android of Notre Dame (Ginî piggu 6: Nôtoru Damu no andoroido) (1989; Kazuhito Kuramoto)
- Hengen Taima Yakou Karura Mau! Nara Onryou Emaki (1989; Takaaki Ishiyama) [anime]
- Jitters, The (1989; John Fasano) [co-Canada]
- Kiss to Moonlight (Mangetsu no kuchizuke) (1989; Ryu Kaneda)
- Legend of the Overfiend (Chôjin densetsu Urotsukidôji) (1989; Hideki Takayama) [anime]
- Muscle (Kurutta Butokai; Lunatic Theatre) (1989; Hisayasu Satô)
- Nightwish (1989; Bruce R. Cook) [co-USA]
- Pervert Ward: S&M Clinic (Hentai byôtô: SM shinryo-shitsu) (1989; Hisayasu Satô)
- Society (1989; Brian Yuzna) [co-USA]
- Sweet Home (Sûîto hômu) (1989; Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
- Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989; Shin'ya Tsukamoto)
- Tokyo: The Last War (Teito taisen) (1989; Takashige Ichise)
- Bride of Re-Animator (Re-Animator 2) (1990; Brian Yuzna) [co-USA]
- Curse of Kazuo Umezu, The (Umezu Kazuo no Noroi) (1990; Naoko Omi) [anime]
- Dark Myth (Ankoku Shinwa) (1990; Takashi Annô, Takashi Annô, Tomomi Mochizuki) [anime]
- Demon Beast Invasion (Yôjû kyôshitsu gakuen) (1990; Kanenari Tokiwa) [anime]
- Gerorisuto (1990 [filmed in 1986]; Shozin Fukui) [short]
- Horse, Woman and Dog (Uma to onna to inu) (1990; Hisayasu Satô)
- Lucky Sky Diamond (Rakkî sukai daiamondo) (1990; Izô Hashimoto)
- Monster Heaven: Ghost Hero (Yôkai tengoku gôsuto hîrô) (1990; Macoto Tezuka)
- Ninja Dragon, The (Kûsô-kagaku ninkyô-den: Gokudô ninja Dosuryû) (1990; Gô Nagai)
- Oazuke (1990; Takuma Uchida)
- Serial Rape: Perverted Experiment (Renzoku rape: Hentai jikken) (1990; Hisayasu Satô)
- Sword for Truth (Shuranosuke Zanmaken: Shikamamon no Otoko) (1990; O. Dezaki) [a]
- Terror Vision in Elvira (Terabijon in Erovu-aira) (1990; Hirotaka Tashiro) [SOV]
- Vampire Wars (Vampire Senzo) (1990; Kazuhisa Takenouchi) [anime]
- Violence Jack: Hell's Wind (Baiorensu jakku: herusuuindo hen) (1990; Takuya Wada) [a]
- Yellow Fangs (Rimeinzu: Utsukushiki yuusha-tachi) (1990; Sonny Chiba)
- My Soul Is Slashed (Kamitsukitai/Dorakiyura yori ai-0) (1991 [f/1990]; Shûsuke Kaneko)
__________________________________________________
TOTAL:
398 (so far, likely many more to come!)
NOTES:
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956) is a heavily-edited version of Gojira (1954) with new scenes featuring Raymond Burr and others added.
- Half Human (1958) is a heavily-edited version of Beast Man Snow Man (1955) with new American scenes added.
- There are so many pink films (hundreds) that look at least partially horror (hard not to when the primary theme is usually torture!) that I have not even begun scratching the surface trying to sort these films out. Best case scenario here is that I can get a good number of representative reviews up for this subgenre. Many movies are not listed yet but when I jump back into these I will likely start with the two touchstone films in this genre; Flower & Snake and Wife to Be Sacrificed, and then pluck out some of the more interesting sounding films made after that.
- Demon Pond (1979) is supposedly a ghost story but is usually listed as a fantasy-drama. I threw it on the list for the meantime but it could be removed if I watch it.
- There are definitely quite a few made-for-TV films missing from the list. Just like in the U.S. and the UK, some anthology "shows" on television were essentially just a banner to release stand-alone feature-length films under. Again, I've not yet delved into these much.
- There are quite a few 80s genre films like Cheerleader Camp (1987) and Graveyard Shift (1990), all filmed in the U.S. by American cast and crews, that are listed as Japanese co-productions on IMDb, though I have yet to verify all of these so they've been left off for the time being.
- There are at least a half-dozen female harakiri (ritual suicide) movies, which are kind of odd fetish gore movies, made in 1989-90.
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As always, if you notice anything missing, have comments or any additions, feel free to leave a message here or contact me.