Horror Means the Good Guy Loses

Some things are cultural. In American films and books, the bad guy generally loses. There are exceptions of course, but the bad guy gets caught (or dies) and the monster is vanquished. That's not true of Asian film and literature. 

I noticed it first when watching "The Ring". I've never been so terrified by a ghost story. Here is a story where the characters encounter a ghost and there is literally nothing they can do. They are going to die. Even when they think they've gotten away, they are snatched back...and they die. It's horrifying.

It's true for psychological thrillers too. 

I just finished reading The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong. It's a Korean novel about a young man who wakes up in a pool of blood and can't remember what happened. The entire thing takes place over three days while the protagonist sorts through a persistent case of amnesia and the body count rises. 

It's a quick read and it's not more gory than other thrillers. The horror factor comes from the "surely not" effect. As in "he won't get away, surely not".  It makes sense. The idea that the bad guy gets caught and punished is very comforting and conversely the bad guy triumphing is more horrifying. It just seems like we pull that particular punch more often and that Asian lit is more willing to go there.

Or may I don't really read enough in the genre. Maybe it's simply what is getting translated and ported over... but it does seem like a trend.