10 Korean Thriller Movies That Will Leave You Unsettled

Carter (2022) is an action-thriller that focuses on a virus that causes the infected to become violent and zombie-like. A man with a cross-shaped scar on the back of his head wakes in a motel, where CIA agents demand that he reveal the location of Dr. Jung Byung-Ho. Carter is able to escape and Han Jung-Hee reveals that he was to rescue the cured Ha-Na, Jung Byung-Ho's missing daughter.

With incredible stunts, violence and a fast-paced plot, Carter is a futuristic-style movie that reflects the pandemic-type world experienced over the past few years, and cannot help but leave a feeling of unease.

Min-Ho's lover is found dead in a hotel, with Min-Ho as the prime suspect due to the room being locked from the inside. With no evidence of an intruder, Min-Ho flees to an isolated cabin to meet with Shin-Ae, who has never lost a case. Throughout the night Shin-Ae prompts Min-Ho to recount the events leading to the victim's death.

Confession is able to skillfully examine the ways in which perspective can shift when presented with the true intentions, lies, and twists from Min-Ho's tale. Events play out in multiple different ways as his story has holes poked in it time and again, prompting a complex account of events, and leaving its audience to question where the truth actually lies.

The Cursed: Dead Man's Prey (2021) is an occult thriller film developed from the 2020 drama The Cursed. In this universe, shamans are able to reanimate the dead to seek revenge. The movie begins when someone is murdered by a reanimated corpse.

An investigative journalist receives a call whilst on a radio show, and requests to be interviewed on camera, claiming to be the killer. He reveals there will be three more murders, and an army of reanimated corpses appear and attack. The film, written by Yeon Sang-Ho, is a creepy, action-packed ride containing layers of mystery, horror, and crime.

One of Do-Shik's kills is unintentionally interrupted by a woman and her mother. When they go to the police, they are unaware that Do-Shik is the killer, who begins to stalk and play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, determined to eliminate them.

Do-Shik carefully manipulates and takes advantage of Kyung-Mi's deafness, smirking and enjoying toying with his victims while staying one step ahead. The character of Kyung-Mi highlights the realities that people face in society when struggling to be understood, while Squid Game's Wi Ha-Joon gives off an exceptionally chilling performance as killer Do-Shik.

The Call (2020) is a deeply disturbing film that touches on the dangers of knowing the future, and how it can be manipulated by knowing too much. Seo-Yeon loses her phone when traveling to visit her mother, and inadvertently discovers an old cordless phone. Young-Sook, a scared little girl, tells Seo-Yeon that her mother wants to kill her. Seo-Yeon and Young-Sook begin to help one another but soon, Seo-Yeon learns that not all calls should be answered.

The Call doesn't shy away from the darker things a human is capable of committing, and the continuously building suspense will leave its audience hooked until the very end.

Taking the world by storm, Parasite (2019) had its audiences laughing at its underlying humor, while gasping at its surprising twists. Parasite was adapted from Bong Joon-Ho's play, written in 2013, and follows a family struggling to make ends meet. Their luck soon changes when Ki-Woo's friend suggests he take over as a tutor for a wealthy family whilst he is away.

The family all gradually gain employment, even removing the housekeeper, who leaves behind a secret in the house that leads to deadly consequences. Parasite skillfully dissects the characters' mental states, showcasing how a person can be led down a dark path.

Lucid Dream (2017) follows a father desperate to find his son who went missing three years prior. Dae-Ho is convinced that it was one of the corrupt enemies he made while exposing them. With no developments in the case, Dae-Ho learns of a new therapy that allows patients to relive their memories through lucid dreams. He meets his old friend, So-Hyeon, who delivers the therapy. When he finds the prime suspect, not all is as it seems.

Lucid Dream is not unlike Inception, the movie that writer Kim Joon-Sung was inspired by. Lucid Dream showcases the lengths a person will go to in order to find a missing loved one, even when a technique is risky.

Jin-Seok moves to a new house with his family, though he can't help but feel that something isn't quite right. One night, he sees his older brother kidnaped. Nineteen days later, Jin-Seok's brother returns, and he begins to notice abnormalities in his family's behavior. Believing them not to be his actual family, Jin-Seok goes to the police for help. He soon learns a disturbing truth.

With its many twists and turns, Forgotten (2017) is a compelling psychological film that will keep viewers guessing throughout, with tension and mystery that serve as a masterclass for executing dark and twisted storylines.

Hwa-Yi: A Monster Boy (2013) follows a group of five men who kidnaped an infant. The group, consisting of a charismatic leader, a driving expert, a planner, a guns expert, and martial artist, raise the boy, now named Hwa-Yi. After Hwa-Yi's first kill, he discovers his five fathers' secret, and vows revenge.

Hwa-Yi: A Monster Boy is intensely dark, but still manages to capture a gentler side to the relationship Hwa-Yi has with his fathers. The film prompts questions about relationships with others; both the ones built, and the ones a person is born into.

In The Wailing (2016), a mysterious Japanese stranger arrives in a small village in the South Korean mountains, and soon after, an unusual infection breaks out, causing the villagers to become violent. Jong-Goo, a police officer, is drawn in, in order to save his daughter from the spreading sickness. Meanwhile, Jong-Goo's mother-in-law seeks help from a local shaman, who reveals that an evil spirit has possessed his daughter.

The Wailing is a movie encompassing many genres; it is a psychological thriller, mystery, horror, black magic, and demonic film that has been written spectacularly, with many well-cast actors, who played their roles expertly.