South Korean horror has a knack for making you feel something long after the jump scares fade, grief, guilt, dread that stays. These films go beyond cheap thrills, wrapping their terror in stories about family, fate, and survival.

Here are five you need to watch, preferably with the lights on.

1. Exhuma (2024)

Few horror films manage to turn ancestral grave-digging into a nail-biting supernatural thriller, but Exhuma pulls it off effortlessly. Two shamans, Hwa Rim and Bonggil, are summoned by a client in Los Angeles whose newborn is under threat from a curse tied to his family's lineage. The investigation traces the horror back to a badly-placed ancestral grave, pulling in a feng shui expert and a grave specialist to unravel the mystery.

2. Tarot (2024)

Tarot takes a genuinely inventive approach to the anthology horror format, three separate stories bound by an unlucky cursed tarot card. Single mother juggling work and parenting watches her daughter fall prey to unexplained disturbances at home. Elsewhere, a man's discovery of the same card invites disaster into his life, while a third character stumbles upon it during a hurried taxi ride.

3. The Ghost Station (2022)

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Set against the eerie backdrop of Oksu Station, this film follows journalist Na Young as she chases what she believes is a routine news story, only to uncover a disturbing pattern of deaths tied to the location. Alongside her colleague Woo-Won, she digs deeper into the station's dark history, unearthing secrets that put both their safety and sanity at risk.

4. The 8th Night (2021)

Leaning into exorcism-horror territory, The 8th Night follows a monk on a centuries-spanning mission to stop an ancient evil from wreaking havoc on the human world. The story roots itself in mythology dating back 2,500 years, when malevolent spirits first crossed into the human realm to sow chaos and suffering. 

5. Alive (2020)

Alive strips horror down to its rawest form, staying alive when everything outside your door wants to kill you. Trapped inside an apartment complex overrun by the infected, two strangers must rely on each other to endure the chaos around them, rationing resources and outsmarting a relentless zombie horde.

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Whether it's ancestral curses or the undead banging on your door, Korean horror never lets you look away. Pick your poison this weekend, just don't watch it alone!