5. Infection
Year: 2004
Country: Japan
Director: Masayuki Ochiai Masayuki Ochiai is probably most recognizable to Western audiences as the director of the dreadful American remake of Shutter, but before he was handed that unfortunate assignment he helmed this disgustingly effective chiller in his home country. The plot concerns a run-down hospital that's overcrowded, low on supplies, and saddled with unskilled workers. After a mistake by one of the doctors kills a patient, the staff decide to try and save their jobs by covering it up. Meanwhile, a patient with an unidentified, rapidly-spreading disease that is liquefying his organs is left in the hospital by a desperate ambulance driver who can't find anywhere willing to accept him. The doctors decide to examine the subject in hopes of getting rich and famous on their discovery, but his body disappears and the infection begins spreading amongst the staff, along with some seemingly ghostly happenings. Infection is not for the squeamish, but it's a tense, dour, and effective horror film about flawed individuals facing overpowering forces both mundane and supernatural. The combination of a medical drama, a killer disease thriller, and a supernatural horror flick is quite compelling. While the ending is a head-scratcher - moreso than usual for these kinds of movies, even - the journey is worth taking for anyone with a strong enough stomach.