International horror films

Lately we've ( in the Western Hemisphere)  been seeing more horror releases from "overseas" mostly Europe and Japan. In what used to be an American dominated film genre there are some mentions that should be put out there from what had been previously unexpected sources. The U.S. is still the power house of horror films and the waning golden standard, however Japan is a damned close second if not the up and coming champion. Europe has been putting out some quality horror films lately as well and a worthy contender but not on the same scale... yet.

Some might argue though about Italian films (in the 1980's) such as " Demons " from Lamberto Bava (1988) or Cannibal Holocaust (1980) by Ruggero Deodato that did have an impact this article is more in the vein of the last decade. As many know horror films in popular genre seem to be cyclic in mass release. So onward and outward. Were going to mention a few that have had some good popularity lately in the U.S. market which is surprising as anything not from Hollyweird usually faces an insurmountable hill trying to reach American audiences.

Norway- deserves 2 good mentions - Dead Snow (from IMBD)
"A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies." I didn't care about the subtitles as this movie had everything that makes zombie horror great stuff and has a really great fight scene finale!

Another called "Troll Hunter" though not really a proper "horror" film was another excellent film.

France- had a really popular release lately entitled "Le Horde" is another great zombie film










Luxembourg - Feardotcom , not my fav but not a bad rental was from this land of tax free smokes, cars and gas.
Spain- REC and REC2 (American remake being called Quarantine) - Spain of late has been grinding some of the good stuff out lately. Also Pan's Labyrinth- which in my opinion should be in the horror and not fantasy catagory. Watch it and you'll probably agree.

Im sure there are alot of other films out there many of the buffs would say, "but what about this and that" well write your own damned blog then, lol. Japan was not mentioned either as that country has already been putting out some really scary stuff for quite awhile now but in case your unfamiliar with films from the Land of the Rising Son may I recommend the following:
Ju-on (re-filmed by the same guy for American audiences and known as The Grudge), jeez did that movie give me the willies. And Ringu that was freakin creepy as well. Tokyo Gore Police, Ichi the Killer and many, many more. The Japanese can give anyone a run for their money and do it well.

If your one of our many international readers and feel we've left anything out that needs to be reviewed feel free to let us know and we'll get on it.
Thanks for tuning in and stay scared. -Evil von Scarry