This week in Asian horror brings a mix of Indonesian folklore horror, a creepy Korean horror film getting a Japanese release, a re-release of a Malaysian horror film, and a very strange piece of Japanese horror.
So here are the Asian horror movies to look out for this week – if I have missed any or I have made a mistake, please comment, and if I come across any more I have missed, I will add it across the week.
Update July 29th:
Added Kong Tao and Hell Trotter.
How I source my Asian horror movie information.
Indonesia – Sajen Satu Suro
Release date: July 30, 2026
Country: Indonesia
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Indonesian horror continues its impressive run of horror releases with Sajen Satu Suro, a supernatural story that dives into Javanese traditions, cursed objects and the kind of old secrets that usually end badly when someone decides to uncover them – the film follows Tania, who travels to the village of Maduabang while trying to help her mother, whose health has been getting worse, and believing the answer may be connected to her family’s past, Tania returns a mysterious keris, a traditional dagger that carries a dark history.
Cambodia – Hell Trotter
Release date: July 30, 2026
Original country: Vietnam
Genre: Folk Horror / Supernatural Horror
Vietnamese horror arrives in Cambodian cinemas this week with Hell Trotter (original title: Heo Năm Móng), bringing a supernatural mystery built around karma, past mistakes and the idea that some wrongs cannot simply disappear with time, which follows a viral vlogger who becomes drawn into a strange mystery after encountering an ethereal girl caught between worlds., which turns into something much darker, as the pair become connected to supernatural events that reveal the consequences of actions from the past, building its horror around folklore, spiritual beliefs and the idea of karma coming back to haunt those who have tried to escape their past.
Vietnam – Kong Tao (Cổ Thuật Hắc Ngải)
Release date: July 31, 2026
Original countries: Co production between Thailand / Malaysia / Singapore
Genre: Supernatural Horror / Black Magic Horror
Thai horror movie Kong Tao releases in Vietnam this week under the title Cổ Thuật Hắc Ngải, bringing a story built around black magic, which follows Fon, a Thai journalist investigating a series of mysterious deaths that authorities have dismissed as unrelated accidents, but as she digs deeper, she begins uncovering a disturbing connection between the cases and Song Longchen, a property developer who is secretly using black magic, known as Kong Tao, to force people away from valuable land.
Japan – Ghost Train
Release date: July 31, 2026
Original country: South Korea
Genre: Supernatural Mystery Horror
South Korean horror Ghost Train arrives in Japanese cinemas this week, bringing a creepy subway mystery built around urban legends, online horror culture and a location where something very wrong appears to be happening – Da Kyung, a horror YouTuber who is always looking for the next scary story that will attract viewers, and when she starts investigating rumours surrounding Gwangrim Station, a subway station connected to mysterious disappearances, she thinks she has found the perfect subject for her channel.
But the deeper Da Kyung digs into the station’s history, the more she discovers that the rumours may not simply be internet stories made up for attention – the strange events surrounding the station appear to be real, and her search for content quickly becomes something much more dangerous.
Japan – The Invisible Half
Release date: July 31, 2026
Country: Japan
Genre: Supernatural Horror
The Invisible Half takes a very modern idea and turns it into a pretty unsettling horror concept, and the film follows Elena, a mixed-race high school student who is hunted by a transparent monster that nobody else can see – the only way Elena can detect the creature is through her smartphone screen and the sounds coming through her earphones, making the technology she uses every day the only thing warning her that the monster is nearby.
Japan – Tiger Stripes
Release date: August 1, 2026
Original Country: Malaysia
Genre: Body Horror / Coming-of-Age Horror
Tiger Stripes kicks off its primary run in Japan on August 1st at the Theater Image Forum, although it is getting a wider release in other cities and areas in the following weeks. bringing Amanda Nell Eu’s strange and unsettling Malaysian horror film to a new audience, but I will include it here – Zaffan, a 12-year-old girl who begins experiencing terrifying changes to her body after entering puberty, and what should be a normal part of growing up turns into something much more frightening as Zaffan starts transforming in ways that nobody around her understands – and instead of receiving support, she finds herself treated like something dangerous and unnatural.
There is a really interesting idea at the centre of Tiger Stripes because the horror is not just about the physical transformation itself, but about how people react when someone no longer fits the version of “normal” they expect – the film takes teenage anxiety, bullying, friendship and the fear of being different, then pushes all of those feelings into body horror territory.
Malaysian horror does not always get the international attention it deserves, but Tiger Stripes is a great example of how Asian horror can take familiar genre ideas and make them feel completely different.
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