10 anime horror films that will fuel your nightmares forever

Warning: This article contains discussions of gore, violence, sexual assault, and other mature and graphic themes. Please proceed with caution.

Anime studios have always performed an incredible balancing act of trying to get around Japanese censorship laws while exploring edgier topics no American animation studio would consider touching. So when those artists unleash that creative energy into creating horror films… Trust me, your silly ’80s slashers and found footage fiascos just can’t compare.

Some horrors can only be perfectly brought to life because the power of animation allows us to create things no live action movie could ever conceive of. If you needed proof that animation isn’t just for kids, buckle up, buddy, because these movies are going to haunt your every waking moment for months to come.

Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue isn’t just one of the best horror anime of all time, it’s one of the best psychological horror films ever made. Mima Kirigoe decides to leave her career as an pop idol singer to try and become a serious actress, but ends up becoming the target of a stalker. The psychological impact of her fame while embroiled in publicly televised drama causes her psyche to break, blurring the lines between what is real and what is just fantasy. This movie does have scenes depicting graphic sexual violence, so just make sure you’re in a good place, mentally, if you decide to give it a view.

Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend

There is an extremely limited number of movies to ever receive an NC-17 rating, but only one of them can be credited to the man who made that whole trope of “tentacles and anime girls” into a thing. No, seriously, the novelization of Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend is widely credited as what inspired more modern artists to, uh, have people intimately acquaint themselves with tentacles.

Tragically, this juicy anime trivia fact is what most focus on when mentioning this film, while forgetting to talk about just how absolutely gag-inducing its moments of body horror are. Toshio Maeda just has a way of showing bodies doing things that will rattle around your skull long after you’ve seen them. Truly a disgusting and horrifying film that, like a train wreck, is hard to look away from.

Belladonna of Sadness

It would be a lie to say that it was made to be a horror film, but Belladona of Sadness has all the trappings to be an emotionally haunting viewing experience. Jeanne’s journey — from being assaulted by the local nobility on her wedding night, to her betrayal by her husband to be, and literally making a deal with the devil — is as deeply moving as it is troubling. Serious themes, including misogyny and moral depravity, are captured masterfully within the violent and psychedelic imagery of the film.

My Little Goat

Most of the time, stop motion horror films like Corpse Bride or Coraline are creepy, but still solid movies to show children for Halloween. Put on My Little Goat for a kid, and you’d better be ready to pay for their therapy bill. This short film — which has won more awards than the teeth on any big bad wolf — is about a mother goat rescuing her children from a wolf’s belly. But wait, where is her oldest son, Toruku? I won’t say more because seriously, you don’t want to be spoiled.

Ninja Scroll

Ninja Scroll played a massive role in popularizing anime for adult audiences in the West during an era when most anime were simply dubbed over and edited to work well for child audiences. This violent, action-packed spectacular takes place in feudal Japan, as wandering ninja Jubei Kibagami is recruited to investigate a string of gruesome murders. Jubei must fight to stop the Eight Devils, a group of evil ninja with supernatural powers, from enacting untold horrors on the world.

Angel’s Egg

While it was created as a more of an avant-garde science fiction film, one could make a strong argument that Angel’s Egg is reminiscent of Lovecraftian horror. The movie follows a young girl who carries a large and mysterious egg with her as she tries to survive in a strange and broken landscape. She eventually meets a man, and the two decide to properly explore the confusing world they live in.

Sorry for being a bit vague, but it’s difficult to describe exactly what happens in the film. It is influentially vague in places, and leaves so much up to interpretation of the viewer. One of the most terrifying things is the unknown, which is part of why Angel’s Egg is such a haunting film.

Wicked City

Sci-fi settings are amazing places for tales of gore and violence to take place, and Wicked City is perfect proof of that. Considered to be one of the best films to come out of Japan’s bubble economy, the film explores a world where the Black Guard attempt to protect the world from demons as they try to make their way through the secret boundary between their two worlds.

In the interest of full disclosure, though, be warned that the violence towards women in this film is over-the-top even by some horror film standards, so take that into account before giving this a watch.

Paprika

Anime legend Satoshi Kon was only able to direct five films before his death. Perfect Blue is already on this list, but it wouldn’t be complete without the last movie he made before he died — Paprika.

Imagine a world where the technology exists so that therapists can explore the dreams of their patients to help them resolve psychological issues. Now imagine that technology in the wrong hands, being used to corrupt someone’s mind and twist their thoughts so thoroughly that it is impossible to know what is truly reality anymore. The mind-bending storytelling and surreal visuals are as unforgettable as the man who brought them to life. Satoshi Kon died after making a horror masterpiece everyone should see at least once.

Cat Soup

Cat Soup is an experimental film that will cling to the side of your brain like gunk that can never be scrubbed away. The story follows a cat named Nyatta who is trying to save his sister’s soul from the land of the dead, while overcoming the strange and disturbing obstacles along the way.

This movie is extremely polarizing; some say it’s horribly boring and makes no sense, while others find its trippy vibes and story as unsettling as it is thought-provoking.

Lily C.A.T.

Lily C.A.T is like anime’s sci-fi version of The Thing with some Alien mixed in. Imagine waking up from stasis so far out in space that no one can come to help you. Add in a dash of two imposters on board and a heaping helping of an alien bacterial life form that imitates humans, and you have this film!

While the psychological elements of the movie are strong all on their own, it’s the extreme moments of body horror that really leave an impact.