I'd really like to start exploring some Japanese Horror flicks. I understand that there are some very good ones out there. Can anyone recommend some to me? I'm region-free so feel free to recommend stuff not available in R1.

I've heard good things about

Dark Water and I know about Ringu although I haven't seen it but that is about it.

I enjoyed "Audition" , "Ichi the killer" (more action than horror), and "Versus" for its campy style.

the Eye
Audition
Ichi the Killer
Visitor Q
Kairo
Battle Royale
Uzumaki
Ju-on: The Grudge (people seem to like it, although i think they ran out of ideas for the 2nd half of the movie and ruined it)
Bio Zombie

i haven't seen Uzumaki, but I would definitely recommend reading the manga (3 books). It is really really freeaky. No way the movie could do it justice.

I'll second The Eye.

Evil Dead Trap

ANOTHER HEAVEN from the producers of the original Ring - it's a horror/scifi film about a serial killer that is really something a bit more. The R3 is pretty cheap from the usual Asian suppliers. The R1 release is dubbed and not OAR.

Inugami - was ok.
Cure - I liked this one.
Onibaba - brilliant!
Tetsuo - disturbing!
Mystery of Rampo - Excellent!

Other Asian films:
Memento Mori - Very good!


The Eye is from Hong Kong

Is 'The Eye' technically not a Japanese film since IMDB denotes the film as being a (Country): Hong Kong / UK / Thailand / Singapore production?

Dark Water.

Nice build up, great freak'n ending.

I just watched it a week ago, and it was definately not Japanese language. It was in some version of Chinese.

tasha

Yeah, I would consider THE EYE more of a HK/Thai film, but it is a good horror film.

EVIL DEAD TRAP is a nice gory film. Practically a Japanese equivalent to a Dario Argento film.

AUDITION - great film. Don't want to talk too much about it, because that could just ruin things for you

JUNK
&
STACY - these two films have had mixed reviews, but are fun zombie films with lots of horror references

TETSUO THE IRON MAN
&
PINOCCHIO 964 - these two aren't strictly horror films, but can be considered disturbing in a mindf**k sort of way. The latter film is supposed to be released on DVD soon by Unearthed.

These are just off the top of my head. There's a lot more that I'm forgetting right now.

The Untold Story (HK). Great family viewing.

Not true horror but just an awesome film:

A Tale of Two Sisters

Japanese:
Ju-on: The Cure (superior to the original)
Audition - LOVE this movie, fun fun flick.
Battle Royale - not really Horror, but its always listed as one.
Chaos (more a thriller)
Onibaba (Classic)
Ringu Series (solid enough)
Kairo (Circuit) - I love the way this movie progresses.
Serial Experiments Lain (anime series) - not really horror, but it has the atmosphere of one.
Dark Water - enjoyable, though goofy, finale
Uzumaki - Trippy. Crazy. and just cool. (little slow at times though)

Hong Kong -
The Eye (also Thailand and some others), I don't like this relatively generic flick, but a lot of people seem to love it.

South Korea -
Into the Mirror
A Tale of Two Sisters

GOZU

This is more of a David Lynch film than horror, but it is incredible.

Evil Dead Trap is a must. Just when you think you have it figured out, it takes you where you never expected it to go. And the gore is fantastic.

Ring (aka Ringu) is one of five films that actually scared me deeply. It is the benchmark for Japanese horror, and it must be seen. Ring 2 and Ring 0 should be avoided at all costs. They actually lessen the impact of Ring.

Ju-On: The Grudge is a repetitive and ultimately boring piece that left me cold. Worth a rental, maybe.

Dark Water has good atmosphere and some decent scares, but doesn't deliver in the end.

Kairo is scary and manages to turn into some kind of existential journey by the end. Highly recommended.

Uzumaki is very cool. Lots of interesting visuals, and a unique premise. Not scary, but it doesn't need to be in order to work.

Audition screws with your head. You might not think it's horror at the beginning. In fact, you might find it slow. But stick with it, because it will kick your butt.

Ichi The Killer is not horror at all. It is, however, an amazing film. In fact, it would be worth your while to see any of the major Miike films. Those include Dead or Alive, Visitor Q, and The Happiness of the Katakuris, among many, many others.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man is good, but has a disappointing conclusion. Instead, I would recommend Tetsuo II: Body Hammer.

One that no one has mentioned is Cure, by the director of Kairo. Amazing atmosphere, great suspense. Very well done all around.

Also, while not really a horror film, I would highly recommend the film Blind Beast. It will mess with your head.

The Eye is great. I really enjoyed. Also I thought the sequel was OK. Not as good as the first one but still good.
Versus was a fun film to watch.
Stacy is fun film also.
If you enjoyed Ichi also watch Entrails of a Beautiful Girl. I haven't seen Entrails of a Virgin so I can't comment on it.

Also I thought Tomie was very good. There is also a manga to read, I found both volumes at a Borders outlet store.

Oh yeah, I found The Eye to be a vapid remake of The Sixth Sense, so be wary.

I watched Ju-On: The Grudge at the local art house theater last night and was ultimately dissapointed. It started off scary but was too repetitive for my taste. The story was also very convoluted making it hard to follow.

I'll definitely look into

Dark Water
Gozu
Ringu

from the recommendations above. Thanks.

Haven't seen Ju-On yet, and will probably wait until the American DVD release in November.

I think I may be one of the few that liked it, incomprehensible demonic, bowling-fan pop-star and all, but I really dug Suicide Club.

Cure and Audition are also worth checking out, and Battle Royale is really fun.

Based on recommendations here, I'm going to seek out Dark Water as well.

Cheers.

-the Jesus

The thing about ju-on is that time scale of it. It's all over the place that you need to figure out when certain scenes happen on a time scale. It's still one hell of a good flick.

Redroom

Versus

I understood the whole time frame thing. My problem was the film showed too much too soon, and every story was so repetitive. I felt like I was seeing the same thing over and over.