Great Asian Movies (alphabetical order)
A list of the best and/or most entertaining Asian movies I've seen in the past few years. Most are thrillers, crime and horrors, with some exceptions.
I've put them in alphabetical order of their original names.
Though I think these are all great movies, I have added a 'Personal favorite' note to my special favorites. :)
I've put them in alphabetical order of their original names.
Though I think these are all great movies, I have added a 'Personal favorite' note to my special favorites. :)
List activity
6.4K views
• 1 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
62 titles
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.Personal favorite
- DirectorToshiaki ToyodaStarsRyûhei MatsudaHirofumi AraiSôsuke TakaokaA group of a run-down Tokyo high school students face the struggles of growing up, growing apart from their friends and worrying about their future, while living in a highly violent environment.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTaisaku AkinoMickey CurtisYoshiyuki DaichiA fearless Yakuza captain's loyalty is tested as two ambitious underbosses attempt a takeover of both his clan and a rival Yakuza gang.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoKim Ok-binChoi Hee-jinThrough a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
- DirectorDanny PangOxide Chun PangStarsPawarith MonkolpisitPremsinee RatanasophaPatharawarin TimkulThe story is of a deaf-mute hitman and his partner who are based in Bangkok. He is friends with his partner's girlfriend who is a stripper at a local club. They go about their assassination business as usual as the boss climbs the underworld ladder and forms new alliances. Flashbacks explain how he got to this point in his life. He forms a relationship with a young woman from the pharmacy who is caring and innocent. The hunts continue as treachery begins. A big name hit makes him realize that good people are hurt by his actions. The first rule of assassination closes in on him as he strikes revenge.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTatsuya FujiwaraAki MaedaTarô YamamotoIn the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKen'ichi EndôShungiku UchidaKazushi WatanabeA troubled and perverted family find their lives intruded by a mysterious stranger who seems to help find a balance in their disturbing natures.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsHiroyuki IkeuchiSeiichi TanabeSaori SekinoAmbitious yakuza Kenji befriends harmonica-playing bartender Chuji, who moonlights as a part-time drug-dealer for the opposing gang. Their friendship is threatened by Kenji's plans for advancement, as well as by his bodyguard's growing jealousy of Chuji.Personal favorite
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoShin Ha-kyunBae DoonaA recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKô ShibasakiShin'ichi TsutsumiKazue FukiishiPeople mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, foretelling their deaths.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsPark In-hwanNa Moon-heeSong Kang-hoA family opens a mountain inn where their first guest commits suicide. Suddenly all their guests befall horrible fates.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsMasahiro MotokiRenji IshibashiMakoA salaryman and yakuza are each sent by their bosses to a remote Chinese village but discover more than they expected.Personal favorite
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsKim Yoon-seokHa Jung-wooSeo Yeong-hieA disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.Personal favorite
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsMasato HagiwaraKoji YakushoTsuyoshi UjikiA frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
- DirectorJung Doo HongKim Jee-woonStarsLee Byung-hunShin Min-aKim Yeong-cheolThings go wrong for a high ranking mobster when he doesn't follow his boss's orders.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaRiki TakeuchiRenji IshibashiA yakuza of Chinese descent and a Japanese cop each wage their own war against the Japanese mafia. But they are destined to meet. Their encounter will change the world.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaRiki TakeuchiNoriko AotaTwo contract killers cross paths in the middle of the same job and realize they are childhood friends.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaMaria ChenRichard ChenThe ace cop of a totalitarian police force and a drifting android play their parts in a post-apocalyptic society. They are destined to fight. Their encounter will change them forever.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiStarsYoshiki ArizonoTadanobu AsanoMasakatsu FunakiA violent, guitar-playing, electrically charged boxer faces off against an electronic wizard half-merged with a metallic Buddha.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTsuyoshi UjikiTomorô TaguchiTakeshi CaesarAn inexperienced gangster is killed alongside his strong, respected boss and awakens to find a mad scientist has given him a new body made partly of his boss and partly of indestructible bionics.
- DirectorChookiat SakveerakulStarsKrissada SukosolAchita SikamanaSarunyu WongkrachangAfter losing his job, his car and his money, Phuchit, Krissada Sukosol, races against time to complete 13 tasks ordered by an anonymous caller who promised 100,000,000 Thai Baht upon completion.Personal favorite
- DirectorDanny PangOxide Chun PangStarsAngelica LeeChutcha RujinanonLawrence ChouA blind girl gets a cornea transplant so that she will be able to see again. She gets more than she bargained for upon realizing she can also see ghosts.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaLi-Wei ChangShih ChangA Japanese assassin stranded in Taiwan must take work from a local crime boss to make ends meet when suddenly a woman from his past delivers a son to him.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsYûta SoneKimika YoshinoShohei HinoA yakuza enforcer is ordered to secretly drive his beloved colleague to be assassinated. But when the colleague unceremoniously disappears en route, the trip that follows is a twisted, surreal and horrifying experience.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShôsuke TaniharaMiho NomotoTamaki KenmochiIn order to settle a business dispute, a mob leader murders one of his own teenage sons. The surviving son vows to avenge his brother's death, and organizes his own gang of teenage killers to destroy his father's organization.
- DirectorKang Woo-sukStarsSol Kyung-guLee Sung-jaeKang Shin-ilA detective plays cat-and-mouse with a banker who brutally murdered his own parents.Personal favorite
- DirectorKang Woo-sukStarsSol Kyung-guJeong Jun-hoKang Shin-ilA public prosecutor looks to bring down a corrupt public official.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoByun Hee-BongPark Hae-ilA monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsShin'ya TsukamotoTakahiro MuraseTakahiro KandakaA man wakes up to find himself locked in a cramped concrete maze of corridors, in which he can barely move. He doesn't remember why he is there or how he got there. He has a terrible stomach injury and is slowly bleeding to death.
- DirectorHideo NakataStarsHitomi KurokiRio KannoMirei OguchiA mother and her 6-year-old daughter move into a creepy apartment whose every surface is permeated by water.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKazuya NakayamaKaori MomoiRyûhei MatsudaAn executed samurai takes an existential journey throughout time, space and eternity in search of bloody vengeance.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.Personal favorite
- DirectorSion SonoStarsRyo IshibashiMasatoshi NagaseMai HoshoA detective is trying to find the cause of a string of suicides.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRiki TakeuchiRyôsuke MikiKen'ichi EndôWhen his beloved boss is killed, a dangerous young gangster cuts a path of vengeance through the Japanese mafia.
- DirectorTakashi ShimizuStarsYûrei YanagiYueRyôta KoyamaA teacher visits the house of one of his students after the boy goes missing, only to have a horrifying excuse for his absence from school.
- DirectorTakashi ShimizuStarsYûrei YanagiTakako FujiTakashi MatsuyamaOn his request, the sensitive sister of a real estate agent visits a house he intends to sell, only to cross paths with its resident curse.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsHaruhiko KatôKumiko AsôKoyukiTwo groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKenji SawadaKeiko MatsuzakaShinji TakedaA family moves to the country to run a rustic mountain inn when, to their horror, the customers begin befalling sudden and unlikely fates.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRiki TakeuchiYûta SoneMickey CurtisTwo brothers in a very small branch of the Japanese crime syndicate must make a hard choice when their loyalties are stretched in too many directions.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTadanobu AsanoNao ÔmoriShin'ya TsukamotoAs sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShun OguriKyôsuke YabeMeisa KurokiA transfer student attempts to take over the most violent high school in the country, whose students form factions and battle each other for power.
- DirectorTakashi ShimizuStarsShin'ya TsukamotoTomomi MiyashitaKazuhiro NakaharaA fear-obsessed freelance cameraman (Shinya Tsukamoto) investigates an urban legend involving mysterious spirits that haunt the subways of Tokyo.Personal favorite
- DirectorHiguchinskyStarsKen AraiKaei AsanoShima AshizawaStrange things lurk in dreams. For Mukoda Tetsurou and the doctors tending to him, things have begun to get stranger as Mukoda begins having longer and longer dreams every night. Can one dream infinity in the span of a night?
- DirectorKôji ShiraishiStarsJin MurakiRio KannoTomono KugaA documentary filmmaker explores seemingly unrelated paranormal incidents connected by the legend of an ancient demon called the "kagutaba."
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.Personal favorite
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.Personal favorite
- DirectorByeong-ki AhnStarsHa Ji-WonKim Yu-miWoo-jae ChoiInvestigative reporter Ji-won begins to receive a series of menacing calls. To escape the terrifying and relentless clanging of the telephone, she changes her number and moves out. But the threatening campaign of terror continues unabated.
- DirectorYasuo InoueStarsShidô NakamuraShun OguriHirofumi AraiJûzô Murasaki is a boy miscast in his classroom, being frequently abused, tortured, beaten and humiliated by the bully Tôru Akai and his gang of juvenile punks. After years of repression, rejection and fear without facing Akai, he develops a psychopathic dual personality with a violent alter-ego. While living in the apartment 13 of a tenement building, he becomes unable to control his violent dark personality, who plots an evil revenge against his upper floor neighbor Akai and his family.
- DirectorHideo NakataStarsNanako MatsushimaMiki NakataniYûko TakeuchiA reporter and her ex-husband investigate a cursed video tape that is rumored to kill the viewer seven days after watching it.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsLim Soo-jungRainPark Byeong-eunA girl who thinks she is a combat cyborg checks into a mental hospital, where she encounters other psychotics. Eventually, she falls for a man who thinks he can steal people's souls.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsGorô KishitaniRyôsuke MikiNarimi ArimoriA barkeeper saves a Yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However his fear of nothing soon causes problems.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKippei ShînaTomorô TaguchiTakeshi CaesarAmidst a Chinese and Japanese mafia war, a lawyer for the Chinese mob finds a rift forming between him and his corrupt police office brother.
- DirectorBanjong PisanthanakunParkpoom WongpoomStarsAnanda EveringhamNatthaweeranuch ThongmeeAchita SikamanaA young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoAya KokumaiTetsu WatanabeSeveral yakuza from Tokyo are sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war. The war then escalates and the Tokyo drifters decide to lay low at the beach.
- DirectorJong-chan YunStarsJin-young JangKim Myung-minJo AnA 30 year old mystery resurfaces and takes over the lives of the people living in an eerie apartment complex.
- DirectorJûzô ItamiStarsKen WatanabeTsutomu YamazakiNobuko MiyamotoA truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.Personal favorite
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKai AtôTomoharu HasegawaPâko HayashiyaA detective and a businessman search for a serial killer who removes people's organs.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsTomorô TaguchiKei FujiwaraNobu KanaokaA businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.Personal favorite
- DirectorHiguchinskyStarsEriko HatsuneFhi FanHinako SaekiThe inhabitants of a small Japanese town become increasingly obsessed with and tormented by spirals.Personal favorite
- DirectorKi-hyeong ParkStarsKim Gyu-riYun Ji-hyePark Jin-heeIn a Korean school, students are regularly beaten and mistreated by their teachers. However, the spirit of one pupil, who died ten years ago, periodically returns in the guise of a new girl, thus able to gain a revenge on the culprits.
- DirectorKim Hyeong-joonStarsSol Kyung-guRyu Seung-beomHan Hye-jinDespite being nearly proven the murderer, a serial killer threatens to kill the daughter of a forensic pathologist if he doesn't get him bailed out.