10 Asian Monster Horror Movies You Probably Missed – Ranked

Welcome to Ranking Horror. Yesterday we covered 10 Underrated South Korean horror movies. That got me to thinking, why don’t we take a look at 10 Asian Monster Horror Movies?

After all, the movie that inspired this list is one of the greatest monster horror movies of all time. The problem was, I started putting together this list and realised that I was drawing a blank. There really aren’t that many Asian monster horror movies that aren’t Japanese Godzilla films. With that being said, you may find some surprises here.

Anyways, with the help of my fiancée, we managed to finish the list and come up with 10 solid examples. When I say solid, though, I don’t mean good. Some of these movies are awful. Still, they feature a whole range of monsters from giant snakes to hideous, lake dwelling beasts. Without further ado, let’s take a look at 10 Asian Monster horror movies you probably missed. Well, 9 you probably missed and 1 you likely know already.

10. Boa… Nguu yak! (2006) – The Snake That Bored the World

Why it Ranked: I’m really sorry! I think your life would have been better off not learning about Chaninton Muangsuwan’s Boa… Nguu yak! It really is one of the dullest monster movies I have ever watched. In fact, it gives Asylum’s trash, such as 2008’s Monster, a run for their money. Bad acting, terrible CGI, an awful script, a very slow start, and not a lot of action are just some of this movie’s problems. It does feature a nice location, though, which is something.

Synopsis: The story follows a group of students finding themselves in a fight for their lives when they encounter a giant Boa constrictor in the jungle.

Where to Watch: YouTube (Unofficial)

9. Rising Boas In A Girl’s School (2022) – Snakes on a Campus

Why it Ranked: It may surprise you to learn but China absolutely loves producing monster horror movies. Not in the traditional sense of big, Kaiju, like creatures but more in the sense of ginormous versions of existing creatures. That’s where Rising Boas in a Girl’s School (Ju she chuang nu xiao) comes in. Despite the crazy title, it is run of the mill stuff. A shame really as the plot sounds wild. It’s free on YouTube, though, so give it a search.

Synopsis: A group of students and teachers, at a flight attendant school, team up to try and survive an attack from venomous snakes and a giant boa constrictor that have escaped from a nearby breeding station.

Where to Watch: YouTube, iQIYI

8. Monty Python 2 (2020) – Not The Comedy Troupe

Why it Ranked: Despite sounding like the second series of the British comedy show, Monty Python 2 (Bianyi Kuang Mang 2) is the sequel to similar snake bitten horror movie Monty Python 1 but shares very little in common, character wise, with its predecessor. Wait! What do you mean you didn’t know there was a first movie? Shame on you! The first movie was bad, earning a 4.0/10 IMDB user score with only 59 ratings. The second movie didn’t even get an IMDB page. An ominous sign if there ever was one. Still, it’s worth a watch for just how zany and ridiculous it is. Honestly, I have seen worse western monster movies than this.

Synopsis: The story is simple. A couple of business people are attacked by the serpent king himself and 100s of his slithering cronies.

Where to Watch: iQIYI

7. The Lake (2022) – A Kaiju Down Under

Why it Ranked: The Lake is a collaboration between Thailand and Australia. Directed by Lee Thongkham, it feels rather strange to be talking about a Kaiju movie that is partly made by Aussies. I enjoyed the monster design, here. It’s a nice twist on the fairly typical, Godzilla, style creatures that you find in Kaiju movies. Everything else was slightly less appealing. The script is pretty dismal, the camera work is, at times, nauseating, and the director has borrowed most of the better scenes from other, more well known, films.

Synopsis: A young girl finds a large egg and brings it back to her village. It isn’t long before a giant monster emerges and wreaks havoc on the village to recover what was taken from it.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy)

6. Sector 7 (2011) – Alien on an Oil Rig

Why it Ranked: Can aliens be monsters? Well, in Kim Ji-hoon’s Sector 7 they sure look like monsters. Believe it, or not, this movie was made during the 3D movie wave back in the 2010s. Meaning you are going to see a lot of things flying at the screen and a lot of scenes that look a bit out of place. Sector 7 is fairly generic, as far as Asian monster horror movies go. You can’t go too far wrong with the genre. It’s easy to imagine that anyone expecting another South Korean gem like a movie later in this list will be disappointed, however. This is just straight up action, limited plot, and no character development.

Synopsis: The story follows a group of offshore workers drilling for oil and finding much more than they bargained for as the crew are forced into a fight for their lives against a deadly creature.

Where to Watch: Tubi, Amazon Prime Video

5. Chaw (2009) – Jaws with a Boar

Why it Ranked: Chaw (Chawu), or Chawz as it was known in the US, is a South Korean Asian monster horror movie directed by Jeong-won Shin. Naturally, the story follows a man eating boar, so you can probably guess that Chaw is a bit of a dark comedy. The story plays out in a very familiar manner, following the outline set by Jaws all those years ago. Hence the US title of Chawz. There are some decent laughs but it is a bit too slow to maintain the excitement levels and some of the action is lacking. I did enjoy some of the visual effects though.

Synopsis: The story follows a group of people who are forced to fight back when a man eating boar goes on the hunt, causing havoc in their local town.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy)

4. Okja (2017) – A Monstrous Industry

Why it Ranked: Hmm, I am really not sure whether to include this one. In fact, I am placing it at number 4 on this list purely because I really don’t think it counts but I do think it deserves a mention and it is a great film. Directed by the brilliant Bong Joon Ho. Okja does feature a monster in the form of a giant, pig like, creature that can do a pretty good job of messing humans up. But the story really isn’t horror and Okja is kind of a cool, friendly, monster. Well, as long as you are on the right side of him, that is. Some of the scenes are pretty harrowing, given the context, and stand in stark contrast to the more cartoon like moments.

Synopsis: Okja presents itself as a rather wholesome tale of friendship between a girl and her magical, enormous, pig like, thing. In reality, however, it is a pretty shocking movie that aims to point the finger of blame at companies that profit from the exploitation of animals.

Where to Watch: Netflix

3. Project Silence (2023) – Dogs of War

Why it Ranked: Okay, so the monsters here aren’t of the enormous variety but this K-Horror movie is actually pretty good so deserves a mention. Directed by Kim Tae-gon, we have a melding of a few different genres here including horror elements, disaster movie elements, science fiction, and plenty of action to keep things at a decent pace. It is standard catastrophe movie fare so expect characters making stupid decisions and a lot of over the top silliness. Project Silence is still a lot of fun, though, and scratches that specific disaster movie itch that feels increasingly difficult to find in recent years. The CGI is pretty damn bad, though, so keep that in mind.

Synopsis: An accident on a foggy bridge unleashes unknown beasts onto the unsuspecting travellers.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy)

2. Monstrum (2018) – Joseon Dynasty Beast

Why it Ranked: South Korea absolutely loves its period horror movies. Be it zombie flicks like Rampant, ghost stories like The Wrath, or monster movies like Jong-ho Huh’s Monstrum. They just love to take us back in time in a way that lets them go really crazy with combining history and fantasy. This is a great movie that does the whole monster horror thing right. Plenty of action, no overuse of dodgy special effects, and just enough plot to keep things interesting. A lot of fun.

Synopsis: Monstrum (Mulgoe) is a monster movie coming by way of South Korea. Set in the 1500s, it follows the story of a man tasked with protecting the king, in a plague ridden world, from people aiming to unseat him. Little does he realise that something even more terrifying is about to threaten the town and his family. An enormous monster known as Monstrum.

Where to Watch: Shudder, AMC+

1. The Host (2006) – A Modern Masterpiece

Why it Ranked: Obviously, The Host (Goemool) is, not only, the most well known movie on this list, by a long way; it is also the best, by far. Directed by Bong Joon Ho, who has already appeared on this, The Host was the inspiration for this list of Asian monster horror movies. I expected it to have created a bit of a copycat industry and was shocked when I could only remember less than 10 movies off the top of my head without dipping into the Godzilla back catalogue, of course. The Host is a brilliant movie that does a fantastic job of combining all the typical monster horror stuff with a legitimately touching story that you are genuinely interested in. Essential viewing for monster horror and creature feature fans.

Synopsis: The story follows a family’s attempts to survive after a terrifying monster emerges from the Seoul river.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy), Magnolia Selects

Monsters of the East

While the genre might be a little thin on the ground outside of Japan, these 10 films prove that Asian cinema can still deliver the goods when it comes to creature features. From the comedic chaos of Chaw to the emotional weight of The Host, there’s a monster here for everyone. Hopefully, this list helps you find a new beast to fear.

We are always hunting for new horrors, so keep checking back for more lists. If you enjoyed this creature comforts, why not check out some more of our Asian horror rankings? I’ll be back soon with more rankings. Stay spooky.

🐉 Quick Picks: Asian Monster Madness

• 🏆 The Masterpiece: The Host (2006)
• 🐗 The Comedy Choice: Chaw (2009)
• 🏰 The Period Piece: Monstrum (2018)
• 🌉 The Disaster Flick: Project Silence (2023)
• 🐍 The B-Movie Fun: Rising Boas In A Girl’s School (2022)