It'd be fascinating to see more cross-cultural discussion of the horror created by differing cultures, unless they primarily fall into derivation from W&J. I think I see what you mean by K Horror being arguably derivative, and its possible other Eastern expressions of horror are similarly pollinated by Western/J influences (Damn is The Wailing a great J Horror made by Koreans though). I recall however finding an intriguing tip toeing into Thai horror as distinct from its contemporaries discussed by a Chinese film analyst some years back. https://youtu.be/C4grGUdenhg?si=f7a_u6cqRd70HB74 May be ultimately derivative, but may also pique your interest.
Haven't seen much modern j horror and not read all of this yet, but I think we should mention the widespread presence of Yokai (ghost/sprit/monster/demons) in Japanese culture, which are working on potentially every aspect of (importantly) your daily life, it's clear this plays a big part in the readiness of horror stories working on the ethereal unknown fears of people, more so than some other places. Dark spirits are always the cornerstone of horror, isn't basically every Stephen King novel in the end just ends of being 'the devil in disguise'?
Very interesting. Reading your paper I thought that The Ring is the perfect bridge between W and J horror. The whole plot is a western character trying to understand Samara as a W demon, i.e. if she understand Samara she will save herself. Instead, Samara is a J demon, a protocol: fulfill the workflow and you will be free.
It'd be fascinating to see more cross-cultural discussion of the horror created by differing cultures, unless they primarily fall into derivation from W&J. I think I see what you mean by K Horror being arguably derivative, and its possible other Eastern expressions of horror are similarly pollinated by Western/J influences (Damn is The Wailing a great J Horror made by Koreans though). I recall however finding an intriguing tip toeing into Thai horror as distinct from its contemporaries discussed by a Chinese film analyst some years back. https://youtu.be/C4grGUdenhg?si=f7a_u6cqRd70HB74 May be ultimately derivative, but may also pique your interest.
Never even heard of Thai horror, thank you! Love a good rabbit hole
Haven't seen much modern j horror and not read all of this yet, but I think we should mention the widespread presence of Yokai (ghost/sprit/monster/demons) in Japanese culture, which are working on potentially every aspect of (importantly) your daily life, it's clear this plays a big part in the readiness of horror stories working on the ethereal unknown fears of people, more so than some other places. Dark spirits are always the cornerstone of horror, isn't basically every Stephen King novel in the end just ends of being 'the devil in disguise'?
Very interesting. Reading your paper I thought that The Ring is the perfect bridge between W and J horror. The whole plot is a western character trying to understand Samara as a W demon, i.e. if she understand Samara she will save herself. Instead, Samara is a J demon, a protocol: fulfill the workflow and you will be free.
I’ve never watched any of it.