What Are The Best Horror 2013 Foreign Language Entries?

I don’t usually make a list like this without a warning: 2013 wasn’t a blockbuster year for non-English mainstream horror, but for people who hunt festivals and midnight screenings, it had strong, memorable entries. Top of my list is 'Rigor Mortis' — it wears its influences on its sleeve and somehow turns homage into an emotional, grotesque spectacle. I appreciated the way it mixes practical effects, stage-fighting choreography, and a melancholy tone about actors and aging; I left the cinema grinning and a little haunted.

For viewers who prefer art-house dread, 'The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears' is indispensable. I’d call it a giallo for the postmodern crowd: stylized framing, jarring edits, and an obsession with texture and color. It’s divisive at parties, but it made me think about sound design in horror the way 'Pontypool' approached language. Also, don’t skip smaller festival finds from that era — short films and anthology segments were where a lot of international filmmakers experimented, and some of those pieces (even from multi-director compilations around 2012–2013) felt fresher than several big studio releases.

If you want practical advice: watch 'Rigor Mortis' when you want visceral fun with heart, and try 'The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears' when you’re in the mood for something that resists easy explanation. And keep an eye on festival lineups from that year — the best discoveries are often one-off shorts that didn’t get wide release.

There was something deliciously strange about 2013 for foreign horror — not a tsunami of big international hits, but a handful of intense, weird films that stuck in my head for months. One I keep recommending to friends is 'Rigor Mortis' (Hong Kong). I saw it at a late-night screening with a crowd who cheered the old-school ghosts and gore; it’s a loving, campy, and surprisingly heartfelt salute to the Shaw Brothers era mixed with modern body-horror and vampire lore. It’s loud, tragic, and oddly tender in parts — like watching a haunted wuxia movie that learned to bleed impressively well.

Another film I keep returning to when I want something arty and unsettling is 'The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears' (Belgium/France). It’s not for everyone: if you want plot clarity, that’s not the point. The film is all atmosphere, color palettes, and sound design — the way it uses mirrors and hallways made me replay scenes in my head for days. And then there are some lesser-seen pieces that hovered around 2013 festivals or had staggered releases, like the Spanish surreal-horror 'Fin' (released in 2012 but still making festival rounds into 2013) — a bleak, apocalyptic mood piece that's more dread than jump scares.

If you’re digging through 2013 to build a foreign-language horror queue, pair 'Rigor Mortis' with something cerebral like 'The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears' and sprinkle in festival shorts or international anthology pieces for variety. Those nights when I’m craving something both eerie and a little smart, this mix never disappoints.

If I had to boil it down quick: the two foreign-language horror films from around 2013 I still send to people are 'Rigor Mortis' and 'The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears'. 'Rigor Mortis' is Hong Kong genre cinema with real bite — vampires, practical gore, and a mournful streak that surprised me. I watched it at home with friends and we kept pausing to point at clever physical effects.

'The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears' is the opposite mood: dreamy, fragmented, and intensely visual. It’s the kind of movie that rewards repeated viewings or watching with someone who likes to argue about symbolism. If you’re combing through 2013 foreign horror, add a couple of festival shorts or obscure regional titles to break up the heaviness; I found some of the best shocks hiding in those shorter pieces. Both films left me with that sticky, lingering unease I look for in horror — the kind that keeps you turning on lights long after the credits roll.