Cure (1997)

Cure (1997) is a slow-burning psychological thriller about a frustrated detective, Kenichi Takabe, who is pulled into a baffling series of murders across Tokyo. Each victim has a bloody X carved into the neck, and in every case the killer is found nearby, confessing but with no memory or motive. Working with psychologist Makoto Sakuma, Takabe traces a common link to a vacant, hypnotic young man — Kunio Mamiya — whose passive presence seems to seed violence in anyone who meets him. As the investigation deepens, Takabe’s life and mind begin to unravel, and the film becomes less a conventional whodunit than a probe into suggestion, responsibility, and the fragility of identity. If you watch Cure you should expect a mood-driven experience rather than cheap shocks. The film privileges silence, sparse lighting and steady, clinical camerawork to build an oppressive, uncanny atmosphere. Violence is unsettling and matter-of-fact rather than sensationalized, and performances are restrained, which heightens the sense of human detachment and creeping dread. The narrative teases answers while keeping core questions ambiguous, so viewers are left with moral and philosophical unease as much as with plot resolution. Cure is best suited to viewers who appreciate cerebral, character-focused horror and detective stories that emphasize atmosphere, ethical ambiguity, and slow escalation over action. Content note: it contains graphic murder imagery and disturbing psychological themes that can be unsettling.

Actors: Masato Hagiwara, Kôji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Runtime: 111 min

Genres: Crime, Horror, Mystery

6.5 /10 70 /100 7.5 /10 7.0 /10