Not as reliant on direct jump scares or breakneck musical scores as most Western horror flicks, most Asian horror films prefer building tension and suspense, accumulating audiences' apprehension of the unfathomable situation albeit owning ghosts and monsters that will scare the living daylight out of anyone.

The riveting offspring between horror and art films, arthouse horror has, over the years, gained a loyal following with its audacity to explore psychological dread and philosophical motifs that elevate audiences' imagination of their own deepest fears. Thus, when it comes to eerie atmosphere-building accompanied by haunting visuals, who does it better than many Asian horror films that excel at both unnerving and beguiling audiences?

RELATED: Best 2000s Horror Movies To Watch During the Halloween Season

'Hausu' (1977)

A cult classic horror flick from the seventies, Nobuhiko Obayashi is no stranger to cinephiles when it comes to his contribution to experimental filmmaking. Hausu (1977) remains the Japanese auteur's most popular work to date as both the paragon of surrealistic and anti-war cinema.

Thanks to the ideas of Obayashi's then pre-teen daughter Chigumi, Hausu is a fascinating concoction of horror and comedy as it deals with a group of schoolgirls encountering supernatural occurrences in an isolated country home owned by an eccentric woman. Exploring themes such as feminism and the complications of adulthood, the film demonstrates how the haunted house trope can still be as preposterous as it is thought-provoking.

'Three... Extremes' (2004)

Comprising three individual anecdotes from three East Asian countries —— Japan, China, and South Korea, Three... Extremes (2004) is a horror anthology film often overlooked but should be a must-watch for any body horror fans for its ample creative executions of the sub-genre.

Recruiting the talents of directors like Takashi Miike, Fruit Chan, and Park Chan-wook, each director does not pull back when it comes to delivering maximal trepidation and atrocity in their respective segments, accentuating the multifaceted sides of humanity ranging from compassion to barbarity displayed under extremely oppressive circumstances.

'A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night' (2014)

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) is the first vampire story to take place in a middle-eastern setting, not to mention incorporating classic spaghetti Western elements as well as paying homage to 1920s German Expressionism films with its black-and-white cinematography.

The film sees an unnamed girl who enjoys listening to music and fearlessly skateboarding alone at night as unbeknownst to the citizens of the Iranian ghost town Bad City, she is a vampire. After stumbling across a young man called Arash (Arash Marandi) who shows compassion and vulnerability unlike anyone she has met before, the girl eventually strikes a bond with the man despite her enduring bloodthirst.

'Wicked City' (1987)

Don't expect wholesome moral conclusions and likable characters popularized by Studio Ghibli in this 1987 Japanese adult animation. However, do expect unabashedly gratuitous body grotesque and sexual victimization in this supernatural cyberpunk sensation aimed at a mature audience.

Wicked City (1987) follows Renzaburo Taki, a field agent of a secret organization known as the Black Guards dedicated to sustaining peace between the human world and the demon world. Assigned to protect a perverted old diplomat who is also an attestor for a ratified treaty between humans and demons, Renzaburo teams up with a female demon agent as both endeavors to save Earth from destruction.

'A Chinese Ghost Story' (1987)

The film that pioneered the popularity of Chinese folklore horror films that sweep several Asian countries like Japan and South Korea, A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) acts as a fantastical escapism for audiences with its gripping tragic love story entangled with action sequences with nightmarish demons of the underworld.

The Hong Kong romance action film centers around a timid but good-natured tax collector Ning Tsai-shen (Leslie Cheung) who ends up in the haunted Lan Ro Temple for shelter. There, he meets a beautiful and mysterious young maiden named Nieh Hsiao-tsing (Joey Wong) but a formidable Taoist priest informs Ning that the temple is infested with ghosts yearning for human soul.

'Fatal Frame' (2014)

Having based on a popular Japanese video game series of the same title, Fatal Frame (2014) possesses an almost otherworldly ambiance that bemuses viewers. Having based on a popular Japanese video game series of the same title, the horror film is a soul-stirring, poignant portrait of female adolescence and queerness in Confucianist Japan which makes for an interesting watch.

When the most popular student in the all-girls Catholic high school Aya Tsukimori (Ayami Nakajo) is allegedly cursed and unable to leave her dorm room, rumors start to spread about a supposed curse making girls who kiss the photo of their admirers at midnight disappear. Another student Michi Kazato (Aoi Morikawa) begins investigating the disappearances of her friends whilst forming an unlikely bond with Aya.

'Helter Skelter' (2012)

Based on Kyoko Okazaki's psychological horror manga perfect for the spooky season, this equally provocative live-action manga adaptation sheds light on Japan's modeling industry where ageism reigns supreme and celebrated artist Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame" statement remains unerring.

Having undergone miscellaneous cosmetic surgeries to her entire body, Lilico (Erika Sawajiri) is a spoiled supermodel at the top of her game having attained the perfect face and body. As the side effects of her surgeries start to manifest, Lilico's psychological state begins to deteriorate as she makes the lives of everyone around her miserable, even resorting to emotional abuse and extortion to get rid of younger rivals.

'A Tale of Two Sisters' (2003)

The strong commercial and critical reception of South Korean director Kim Jee-woon's psychological horror drama A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) has led to an English-language remake released in 2009 titled The Uninvited. Nevertheless, the original remains not only a dire horror classic in Asian cinema but poses as an interesting dissection of grief-stricken characters dealing with broken family relationships.

Su-mi (Lim Soo-jung) is a teenage girl recently released from a mental institution, returning to her family residing in the countryside. Along with her younger sister Su-yeon (Moon Geun-young) who she shares a close relationship, the dark past of her family's history begins to unfold as disturbing paranormal events begin to haunt the residents of the secluded mansion

'Cure' (1997)

Among esteemed film directors, Martin Scorsese and Bong Joon-ho's all-time favorites, Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 1997 psychological thriller is significant in inspiring technological-based terrorization of films in the modern information era.

With a brooding and grinding atmosphere, dawdling throughout the entirety of the film, Cure (1997) begins with a torrent of gruesome murders inundating Tokyo City, where each victim has the letter "X" carved onto their neck. With the aid of psychologist Makoto Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki), police detective Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho) discovers that mesmerism and hypnosis might be the culprit's preferred manner of murdering his victims.

'Strange Circus' (2005)

Not for the faint of heart, Strange Circus (2005) is a transgressive film that most definitely divides audiences with its controversial content, not surprising since it came from one of Japan's most gung-ho filmmakers, Sion Sono.

The psychological horror drama revolves around a wheelchair-bound erotic novelist Taeko (Masumi Miyazaki) who is writing a grisly story of a dysfunctional family engaged in murder and abuse. Her new assistant Yuji (Issei Ishida) is drawn towards the real story behind Taeko's morbid idea, especially a red door in her studio that no one is allowed to open.

NEXT: 10 of the Best English-Language Art-House Horror Films to Put On Your Watchlist