Foreign Favourites

Not everyone can sit through a subtitled movie - but some films are definitely worth the mild distraction as not all treasures are in English.

1. Ring; Hideo Nakata Click here to see trailer

We all know the American version of this horror film, The Ring, but the original Japanese version is much better, and much scarier! Reporter Reiko (Nanako Matsushima) sets out to investigate her niece's mysterious death after watching a cursed video tape. After Reiko herself watches the tape she receives a phone call informing her that she will die in seven days. The Japanese are renowned for their horrifying urban legends, many of the Internet's most famous 'creepy pastas' originating from this country - so it is little wonder that this horror film series is so popular. 

2. Ernest and Celestine; Benjamin Renner, Stephane Aubier & Vincent Patar Click here to see trailer

This adorable little cartoon shows the unlikely friendship develop between an orphaned mouse (Pauline Brunner) and a musician bear (Lambert Wilson). The pair quickly begin causing trouble in their neighbourhoods and are threatened to be seperated. 

3. Pans Labyrinth; Guillermo del Torro Click here to see trailer

This film is both horrifying and pretty, magical and disgusting, warming and tragic. Set in 1944 a young girl Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her mother (Ariadna Gil) are forced to move in with her new husband, a nasty army officer at the centre of a geurrilla uprising. When Ofelia searches the strange ruins surrounding her new home, she begins to see that the world is not all it seems. With the help of a magical fawn, fairies, and the underworld, she is encouraged to claim the immortality bestowed upon her by her true family of royals. 

4. The Door; Anno Saul Click here to see trailer

Distraught after his daughter accidentally drowns in the pool while he was having an affair with a neighbour, David (Mads Mikkelson) finds a door which leads him five years into the past. He corrects his mistake and saves his daughter, yet kills his younger self and now lives in his place. This thriller is very cool and exciting, and as a Hannibal fan it was interesting to see Mads play something a little different. 

5. Let the Right One In; Tomas Alfredson Click here to see trailer

Mysterious and moody Eli (Lina Leandersson) strikes up a friendship with timid boy Oskar (Kare Hedebrant), and they form a very close bond. Eli protects her bullied friend, yet he begins to notice she isn't the normal girl he had thought. Late nights, an absent grandfather, and a spate of murders in the small Swedish town revels her dark secret.

6. Talk to Her; Pedro Almodóvar Click here to see trailer

Strange and childlike nurse Benigno (Javier Camara) becomes infatuated with a dancer who he watches through his apartment window. But when a car accident puts her into a coma, Benigno obsessively cares for her, arousing concerns from his colleagues - but not from his new friend Marco (Dario Grandinetti), who is keeping his girlfriend company in the same ward after she is injured in a bull fighting accident. This movie is creepy and strange, yet enthralling; also expect a gigantic plastic vagina and interpretive dance. 

7. The Orphanage; Juan Antonio Bayona Click here to see trailer

Produced by the same mind that brought you Pans Labyrinth, you can expect something equally as creepy. Laura (Belen Reuda) succumbs to grief after her son (Roger Princep) goes missing from their new home, and Laura's old orphanage. She now believes to hear voices of children spirits who are trying to guide her to find the boy, and adopts the help from infamous medium Aurora (Geraldine Chaplin). This horror is chilling, with the help of disturbing graphics and giggling ghost children. 

8. The Wave; Dennis Gansel Click here to see trailer

Based on the true story of a teacher (Jurgen Vogel) in Germany given the task of teaching his students about an autocratic state. When the kids don't respond to traditional teaching, he conducts an experiment - where the class make their own autocracy. But things get out of hand and their project becomes eerily similar to Nazi Germany.