“You will die in one week.” The chilling warning became the source of endless spoofs, but no amount of Scary Movie sight gags can ever diminish the raw power of Hideo Nakata’s masterpiece of minimalist supernatural horror. Released in the U.S. five years after it debuted in its native Japan, alongside Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On it became the tip of the J-horror spearhead. Its combination of contemporary techno-terror and truly viral media with the symbolism of traditional Japanese ghost stories made it iconic. Sadako’s unnatural, coal black stare from between strands of hair remains as terrifying as the first time you saw her crawling out of that well. – Richard Whittaker
