A good article: Spooky Ideas: The Eastern Horror Invasion in Film

The Morality of Horror in the West

Western horror is, historically, firmly grounded in moral principal – something has gone wrong and it is up to the protagonists to fix it. William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist" has 12-year-old Regan innocently play with a Ouija board, only to discover too late its malevolent connections. In "Ghost Story," a group of men take advantage of a flirtatious female acquaintance, and when she is injured and feared dead, they compound their sin by attempting to cover it up by pushing what they think is her lifeless body into a lake. "Poltergeist"'s action is predicated on religious desecration, and even "Nightmare on Elm Street" begins with the vigilante actions of parents against an accused child molester.

The evil supernatural forces arrayed against the heroes of these films are powerful. Demons and ghosts draw their strength from the fear and guilt of their victims. When Father Karras, who is so jaded by years of scientific explanations that he cannot even recognize demonic possession when it stares right into his face, finally believes, he is initially driven back. In "Ghost Story" the guilty are terrified as they see their past literally come back to haunt them. In "Poltergeist" the young family is terrorized because they unwittingly have purchased a home built on a sacred burial ground; and in the Freddy films the razor-gloved one hunts down children for the sins of their parents. Because the problems that initiate the supernatural contact are moral, solutions through sacrifice or change of behavior can overcome the evil.

Depending on how you see Father Karras' final flight through the window, he overcomes the demon and saves young Regan by sacrificing himself (although the full nature of that sacrifice becomes questioned in the third installment of that series). In "Ghost Story" the guilty pay for their sins because they never confessed. "Poltergeist" demands the return of the land. Since Freddy is not himself an innocent, he is not to be appeased, but fought so that the curse can be broken.

Ultimately, then, these films have a redemptive quality to them. Evil is committed and then loosed – manifesting itself in the lives of the possessed or haunted. Once the terrorized humans believe, then action can be taken to combat the evil. And once the sin has been paid for or the evil resisted properly then good triumphs. The only real exception to this rule is the slasher films like the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series that posits the eternal nature of evil, and teenage victims who never seem to understand the transcendent nature of their enemy. The teens will fetch a pistol, but rarely a pastor. Eastern horror, however, does not play by the same rules.

The Fatalism of Horror in the East

Within the last two years, two films that are faithful remakes of Japanese horror movies have hit the box office with a vengeance. In 2002 "The Ring" shocked theater goers out of nearly $130 million with the story of an otherworldly videotape – watch it, and seven days later you die. "The Ring" is one of the top grossing horror films of all time. Set to give "The Ring" a run for its money is the latest entry, "The Grudge" – the tale of a house so malevolently possessed by the spirits of a murdered family that death strikes anyone who enters.

What sets these Eastern horror films apart from their Western counterparts is that the moral violation that sets the evil in motion is completely unconnected with nearly all of the subsequent victims. It is evil without a purpose – thoughtless, rampaging – it just is. Once stumbled upon, the outcome is unavoidable. Even when the protagonist thinks they are doing good:  rescuing a child, protecting an old woman, it counts for nothing – something is coming for you in the dark, or through your television set.

"The Grudge"'s premise is simple – enter the haunted house and you die, call for help and they die too. Worse yet, "The Ring" presents a significant moral dilemma. Since the only way to save yourself from the consequences of watching the demonic video is to make copies to show to others, you are left with only two unsatisfying choices – be a victim of evil or a perpetrator. The fatalism of many Eastern religions infuses these horror films. What can a moral voice say in the face of demonic fatalism?

From: http://www.crosswalk.com/culture/features/spooky-ideas-the-eastern-horror-invasion-in-film-1293645.html