Starving Horror Fans Should Look Towards Netflix’s International Shows

Netflix’s early attempt to become a prestige TV powerhouse was slightly derailed when only its second original was labeled one of the The Haunting of Hill House five years later.

Since then it’s built up an impressive catalog of shows designed to get you hiding behind the sofa, although chances are the majority have flown entirely under your radar. For other than the homegrown Locke & Key, Netflix’s array of chillers, frighteners and scarefests have all hailed from international waters.

Hoping to restore some credibility to JU-ON: Origins may well attract more interest than most. But Asian TV horror is already thriving elsewhere on the platform. And interestingly, its two must-sees draw parallels with the never-ending shitshow that is the world in 2020.

The Hindi-language Ghoul has all the hallmarks of its co-producer Jason Blum: slow-burning scares, hot button issues and an innate understanding of what makes horror fans tick. Set in an imminent fascist dystopia but drawn from Arabic folklore, the Indian three-part series focuses on an interrogation camp where an infamous terrorist quickly turns the tables on his captors in terrifying, otherworldly ways.

It boasts a magnetic leading performance from Bollywood darling Radhika Apte as a military officer so dedicated to the cause she even rats her own anti-government father out. Unfortunately by the time she discovers that her beloved regime is far more wicked than any shape-shifting ancient spirit, she’s rendered utterly powerless.

Whereas Ghoul revels in near-future claustrophobia, South Korea’s The Walking Dead and its unnecessary spin-offs, this smart and subversive comic book adaptation may well restore your thirst for tales of the undead.

If you don’t particularly want to be reminded of real world problems, then there’s always more escapist scares to be found. The Goa-set The Ghost Bride is a curious mix of the supernatural, romance and costume drama complete with anachronistic synth-pop soundtrack.

For sheer terror, however, you have to look towards France’s Marianne. The reality-blurring story of a novelist haunted by her very own witch creation was hailed by many as Netflix’s most disturbing original when it debuted last summer. Little surprise considering its opening episode alone features a shocking suicide, vomiting naked parents and a deranged old woman, Madame Daugeron, using a kitchen knife to cut out her own teeth.

With her demented smile and bulging eyes, the latter is a brilliantly nightmarish figure worthy of joining the likes of The Exorcist-esque hype, its mix of jump scares, trippy dream sequences and demonic possession weren’t enough to warrant a second season.

Let’s hope the same fate doesn’t await two other Western European shows which also brought the chills last year. Norwegian anthology Bloodride lived up to its name with six half-hour tales – all linked by a hellbound bus journey – which delved into everything from Viking rituals to corporate greed in a thrilling and refreshingly taut manner.

Netflix’s first Dutch original, Ares, contains even more blood and gore while charting a first-year med student’s rise through the echelons of a macabre secret society. It’s not an easy watch, that’s for sure, addressing mental illness, suicide, sexual assault and even colonial atrocities amidst all the throat slitting and near-suffocations. But you have to admire a show that instead of wrapping things up in a nice neat bow only doubles down on all the dread.

Thankfully, Stranger Things, the supernatural teen drama soon distanced itself from the adventures of the Hawkins lot with its moody color palette and a narrative so labyrinthian that Netflix felt the need to produce an official explainer. Although not classed specifically as a horror, its David Lynchian vibes means you’ll be just as creeped out as you are confused.

A shout-out also to the best of Netflix’s Latin American horrors, Mexico’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We also very much enjoyed Reality Z, a Brazilian adaptation of Charlie Brooker’s zombie-infested media satire Dead Set.

And with South Korea’s Sweet Home (bereaving loner moves into building populated by monsters), Germany’s 1899 (European migrants face terrifying steamship journey to New York) and Iceland’s Katla (prehistoric creatures emerge from melting glacier) all in the works, Netflix seems determined to prove that subtitles aren’t a barrier to scares.

Jon O’Brien (@jonobrien81) is a freelance entertainment and sports writer from the North West of England. His work has appeared in the likes of Esquire, Billboard, Paste, i-D, The Guardian, Vinyl Me Please and Allmusic.