Japanese horror is often more psychological than its Western counterpart

German expressionism produced some of horror’s earliest classics

After World War I, German filmmakers turned from reality to the surreal, fusing experimental art with the nascent world of film. Some of the movement’s most notable films, like FW Murnau’s “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” and Robert Wiene’s “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” were intent on frightening their audiences.

Hitchcock films thrive on the terror of the ordinary

Hitchcock's films rely on seemingly ordinary elements—like birds or hotels—but slowly turn them into menaces, thanks to the director's pioneering camera techniques. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The best jump scares in horror history

Ever since the first jump scare in 1942’s “Cat People,” directors have been using the technique to terrify (and delight) audiences. This list of 25 classic instances of the move includes scenes from “Get Out,” “Psycho,” “Candyman,” and more.

Alfred Hitchcock influenced thriller filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan

There may be no more obvious heir to Alfred Hitchcock’s throne than M. Night Shyamalan, the director known for suspenseful films like “The Sixth Sense,” “Signs,” and “The Village.” It should come as no surprise that Shyamalan says he’s a big fan of “the Master of Suspense,” going so far as to cite Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” as a major influence, one he called “epic and haunting.”

Stephen King is drawn to horror's childish power

This 1986 appearance promoting King's directorial debut finds him reflecting on what makes horror, which he says is its ability to strip away pretense, reducing supposedly sophisticated people to terrified children. He also seems to have already soured on the movie business, calling filmmaking "a primitive way to create," a not-so-subtle dig at Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of "The Shining," which notoriously disappointed King.

Steven Spielberg’s movies have a unique style

Despite their distinct genres, Spielberg films often have much in common with one another. For example, supernatural phenomena, middle-class values, and camera techniques—including long, uninterrupted shots and a dolly-zoom method called the "Spielberg Face.”

Body horror is a subgenre that uses anxieties about appearance

Made popular in the 1980s through films like “The Fly,” the body horror subgenre focuses on physical transformation and violence. It gained significant attention in 2024, thanks to the critical attention “The Substance” received, including an Academy Award nomination for best picture.

Shirley Jackson is one of horror’s most important writers

The author of 20th-century classics like “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Hangsaman” was a master of domestic horror, though she was often minimized during her life for writing horror. Since her death in 1965, Jackson’s work has proven to be influential to horror and literary writers alike.

The Hays Code limited the ways horror films could scare audiences

Beginning in 1930, the Hays Code laid out a strict set of guidelines for Hollywood filmmakers to prevent films that might corrupt those with a “susceptible mind.” That meant no graphic violence, no sexual relations outside of marriage (or of a homosexual nature), and no interracial relationships, among other dictums.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Folk horror involves remote settings and ancient traditions

Folk horror often features outsiders venturing to isolated areas and finding the locals engaged in disturbing (often occult) traditions. Rather than using supernatural elements, the horror often comes from the locals themselves. Examples include the 1973 film “The Wicker Man” and Shirley Jackson’s 1948 short story “The Lottery”.

Japanese artwork often incorporates bold colors, clean lines, and natural subjects

While Japanese art is diverse and continues to adopt new styles and techniques, the Japanese approach to painting nature inspired Georgia O’Keeffe, who was known for depicting the environment in a detailed yet realistic manner. Below is "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," from 1931, by Hokusai.

The fabulous prison escapes of Japan's Yoshie Shiratori

Between 1936 and 1947, Japan's Harry Houdini escaped from prison four times, each more daring than the next. Even as the walls grew taller and the windows smaller, Siratori found ways to free himself from captivity.

The story of serial killer Ed Gein who inspired pop culture

The creators of antagonists from "Silence of the Lambs" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" took notes from this horrifying Wisconsinite's story, known for body-snatching and creating keepsakes from corpses.

Japan's mysterious disappearance industry

Tens of thousands of Japanese people reportedly choose to leave their lives behind and vanish, according to a 2016 book by Lena Mauger. This long read dives into some of the book's claims via interviews with some of the individuals opting to vanish,...

A comparative analysis of the romance and horror genres' overlap

Both genres aim to make their readers' hearts pound, albeit in different ways. Romance novelist Trilina Pucci argues that the gap between the two aims is much slimmer than it may seem, with some horror tropes (like a man enraged by the abuse of his wife) and romance tropes (like the subgenre of dark romance) blurring the line.

Only 9 directors have won Cannes’ top prize more than once

Cannes’ Palmes d’Or award is one of the highest distinctions in film. The select few who have earned the award more than once include the most iconic names in filmmaking, including Francis Ford Coppola, Billie August, and Emir Kusturica.

Watch a Japanese chef demonstrate how he prepares sushi

Tokyo's Naomichi Yasuda shows how he cuts tuna, wraps a maki roll, and assembles nigiri. In the process, he explains the proper way to enjoy the creations, offering advice for getting the most flavor.

Japan has one of the largest debt-to-GDP ratios among developed countries

On the face of it, this appears to be a bad sign. But a closer look at Japan’s investment strategies reveals that its relatively high debt might be more sustainable than meets the eye.

Osamu Dazai's 'No Longer Human' found a new generation of readers, thanks to TikTok

The novel was published in 1948, a month after the writer's suicide, and went on to become a classic of Japanese literature. Decades later, an English translation gained popularity on TikTok, where younger readers praised the book for its handling of alienation. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Japan's wrestling style is called puroresu

Puroresu has a long history in Japan, much of it traced back to Mitsuhiro Momota, better known as Rikidozan, who was the form’s first superstar and a hero to the country in the wake of World War II.

Visualizing shifts in emotional performance in film

Computational scientists were curious: has the intensity of emotional expression in films changed over the decades? Using their sophisticated analytical models, the researchers discovered actors' emotional performance has declined in intensity over time. They believe the close-up shots common in contemporary film-making allows actors to be more subtle in their performance. Check out the main takeaways and charts with this unusual study.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

What is psychoanalysis?

This nine-minute video, the first of a four-part series, seeks to answer the questions: what is psychoanalysis, and is it weird? The answer to the latter question is overwhelmingly yes. The answer to the first question is a bit...

Netflix's 'KPop Demon Hunters' is the streamer's most-watched original movie

The 2025 film, which combines K-pop music and Korean mythology, became a big hit on the streaming platform. It was equally successful in its limited theatrical release, shooting to the top of the box office rankings.

The female samurai of feudal Japan

This article examines the role of Japan's female samurai throughout history, specifically the Battle of Aizu, a deadly civil conflict between traditionalists and reformers in 1868 in which one side had halberds and swords and the other had guns....

Gonzo Journalism places the author at the center of the events

Some may describe Gonzo as a more daring style of subjective reporting than New Journalism, as it prioritizes the personal experience and opinions of the writer. Gonzo pieces also tend to feature hyperbole, comedy and taboo subjects.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.