It’s easy to see why many horror fans may gravitate towards foreign material when you compare the general factors. Foreign horror tends to lean more towards the classic side of horror, as in Gothic novels and complete attention on the elements that make the novel truly, “horror.”

Foreign filmmakers don’t appear to simply look for a response; they look for a reaction to horror. Many American counterparts seem to desire the opposite. They want to “shock” the viewer instead of scare them. Many of the respective entities used in books and film are just “in-your-face,” and leave no room for suspense or doubt.

There are many differences in culture that play into this comparison, but they aren’t elements only available to particular regions of our world. They are elements that anyone can incorporate into their stories or film. One difference between Eastern and Western cultures, as many fans will notice, is how much Japanese horror involves water. “The Grudge,” involved drowning in a bathtub. “The Ring,” involved a girl trapped in a well. “Dark Water,” involved a water tower. In much of Japanese folklore, water is a “portal,” of sorts for the supernatural.

Their frightening places will always be humid or involve some sort of water. Western places that are designed to be frightening will often be dry and dusty. These are the same settings we’ve used for centuries. It can be a refreshing spin on the usual to incorporate some of the more contrasting elements.

The use of screams has been in play for years to invoke fear in the American audience. However, they have been used to such an extent that audiences and readers are no longer unsettled by them. In chronicling fear, screams aren’t as widely instinctive as they are portrayed. There are many other ways of showing your character is frightened or setting the scene for a scare.

Audio releases are just a minor role in the scope of human reaction to fear. One of the most famous paintings in the world, “The Scream,” by Edward Munch, offers a vivid and powerful visual example of fear. The work is completely silent, but those who see the painting know the man is afraid.

According to the Center for Nonverbal Studies, headed by Dr. David B. Givens http://members.aol.com/nonverbal2, fear is far more visual than audio. For example, there is a reaction called, “Exaggerated angular distance.” This complex term is the technical label for a person slowly backing away from a frightening person or event.

There is also a reaction called a, “Flexion Withdrawal.” This is a reflexive movement in the body meant for protection. People do this when they fold their arms or generally try to shield a portion of their body. Scientists believe that fear is shown most clearly in the eye area.

Fear and disturbances can also be shown in other physical ways. Increased breathing or panting, trembling and shaking, the innate tendency to crouch, fast blinking, widened eyes, and the body stiffens, the eyes enlarge and stare, often with dilated pupils. There’s a change in the voice and complexion, the body’s muscles tighten, and humans can have a, “fear grin,” or, “displacement gestures.”

A fear grin is described as a submissive grin to indicate compliance while the teeth remain clenched and often barely visible. “Displacement gestures” are simply a term used to describe nervous tendencies or inclinations. They can range from placing a hand at the bottom of the neck to grabbing your earlobe. It is a technical term for “fidgeting,” and nearly everyone has some sort of nervous tick or habit.

American horror, as listed above, often simply tries too hard to scare the audience. As if to state, “This is the horror and you are supposed to react in precisely that way.” They obliterate their intentions by dragging the wrong elements out for extended periods of time. The foreign horror movies, as listed above, are more experimental. They don’t follow a “formula” to frighten audiences. In many cases, their films can have an artistic quality, despite being intensely disturbing.

Music is used to enhance ambiance in many movies. Many American movies use heavy metal as background music. This is very appropriate for many plots, however this does far more harm when it isn’t appropriate. Sound is a very powerful sense during a horror movie, it can be even more intense than a visual scene. Heavy metal conveys aggression and anger, this is a stark contrast when the scene is suspenseful or when the character is carefully attempting to move without drawing attention. In far too many Western movies, sound is completely overdone. Instead of drawing further into the plot, viewers are taken aback when the sound effects shock them out of their suspense.

Bizarre or eerie music is a powerful component used by foreign filmmakers. Although, in all fairness, it does seem to be gaining some momentum amid the horror industry. What would, “The Grudge,” have been without the woman’s growling sound or the cat screeching? There are a host of sounds that are completely disturbing to the average viewer and American movies seldom incorporate this experience. The sound of liquid or gore isn’t the spectrum of potential for the genre.

Writing is no exception. You can incorporate sounds and noise and retain the same power by exploring the noise through the character. If you can’t explain it in one sentence, don’t. You can always return to it as the character attempts to discover what’s making it. You can compare it with other sounds, blend it in with normal noises your reader will be familiar with, approach it like a typical person would.

When attempting to incorporate a strange or unsettling sound, what does it sound like at first? Does it get louder as the character goes in a particular direction? Does it sound human, animal, or unearthly? Is it a disgusting noise or something too creepy for cut-and-dried description?

You can enhance your scene with the character’s dislike of the noise. They can shift their focus from the current situation, to wanting the noise to stop, and back to their issues. You can use it to speed the pacing up or to slow it down if the character’s trying to figure it out.

Many foreign filmmakers and “horror” professionals don’t like to show the ghost. They prefer the audience interpret the entity or spirit in their own way. Every individual on Earth has a vivid imagination if left uncontrolled. This goes along with the power of suggestion. What might seem utterly laughable to you would terrify someone else. They respect this and it works. What you create in your own mind, as a fan or viewer, is often far more frightening, for you, than anything someone else could portray.

By leaving hints and mere indications of what the character is dealing with, they incorporate more horror for everyone. With shapes, shades, and shadows, the world is uncertain. Is it something openly fake and unthreatening? Or is it something more transparent and impossible to locate? Is it something the character can run from or is it something they can’t see at all?

The old adage is, “There’s nothing to fear, but fear itself,” and that’s never more true than in horror. Suggestion can accomplish more than a hundred gory rooms or displaced screams.

The subtle spirits used elsewhere in the world always seem to leave the most lasting impression. With many American portrayals of ghosts, you can’t miss them. You can’t be too surprised because you see them coming. If you can’t see them with your eyes, you can certainly hear them across the house.

The foreign subtleness in horror states something altogether different. You don’t know where it is or what will happen next. The spirits are quiet and deliberate, they are ruthless, and often the victim doesn’t know they’re there until they are nearly on top of them. This is an unfair quality for your character, but can be necessary to bring about the proper plot. Life is often unfair and to create a world ruled by what is fair and justified isn’t “real.”

In, “Pan’s Labyrinth,” when Ofilia is eating the grapes and the Pale Man awakens, you don’t know what’s going to happen. She doesn’t notice, even the entities helping her don’t notice.

“The Dark,” is a classic example of the unknown in film, as the short story, “1408” by Stephen King is on paper. This discussion is not to say this quality is completely absent from domestic material, only that it isn’t incorporated enough. It’s a wonderful choice to let the audience know the character is human and vulnerable. John Carpenter created an amazing movie, “The Thing,” and the audience was left in question. You didn’t know who was infected, until it was too late, and there was no escape for any character.