The unsettling and hazy atmosphere in the pristinely crafted Cure is heavy and hypnotic, and it is only ever broken by bursts of raw emotion or the bluntly-shown murders. Blending the noir with soft mystical elements, writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa brings a strong originality to the crime genre with his slow-burn psychological thriller that simultaneously intrigues and horrifies the audience.

Detective Kenichi Takabe (Kōji Yakusho) is tasked with investigating a string of very odd murders. All of the victims are brutally murdered with a giant X being cut into the bottom of their necks. But these murders are not committed by just one person. The murders are committed by unsuspecting, seemingly normal citizens. But once the assailants are arrested, they cannot say what drove them to commit the crime. It is almost as if they do not realize what or why they are doing it. Through his investigation, Detective Takabe along with psychologist Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) link the murders to a young man named Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara), discovered to be a former psychology student, who is hypnotizing people into committing these murders. Through his frustrating interactions with Mamiya, Detective Takabe’s mental and emotional states become increasingly volatile. He bursts into fits of anger and has visions of finding his mentally ill wife suddenly dead. Despite his best efforts, perhaps he cannot help but fall under Mamiya’s spell. And maybe he can even find peace from succumbing to it.

What Kurosawa is able to do with Cure is something that very few filmmakers have been able to pull off, and that is being able to permeate the entire film with a feeling of overwhelming dread. The long, uninterrupted takes, the sudden and horrific kills, Mamiya’s circle of questions and confusion, and Detective Takabe’s unreadable face. It all grounds the film in a harsh realism that pulls you in in all it’s disturbing glory.

And of course, having two lead actors that take this film work so well and have the kind of pull that it does. Yakusho masters the explosive bursts of emotions. Sometimes Detective Takabe is a brick wall of emotion. He stares off, making the audience wonder what he could possibly be thinking. But in a split second, he is able to thrash around objects in the room in his anger. He is able to break down in horrific tears when he has visions of his wife killing herself. It is a very understated performance that proves the actor to have massive discipline and control. And Hagiwara is - and excuse my pun for those who have/will see the movie – mesmerizing. The emptiness in his eyes and the dragging movements are captivating and make the audience not so much scared of him, but very intrigued. His unintimidating presence actually makes him a very dangerous villain. He is able to easily suck people in. 

The most suspenseful parts are hands-down the scenes of Mimiya hypnotizing his victims, and of course, the scenes of Detective Takabe and Mamiya interacting. It’s all a game to Mamiya, who frankly admires the Detective for his strength. But what makes the film even more interesting is how it handles the violence and the kills. There is no swell of overreaching suspense that we are used to. But the kills happen so…plainly. It takes the audience totally by surprise, and when you realize what is happening, it is too late. There is a great shock factor that is very original. And this bluntness of violence is horrifying, yes, but it also comes off as hilarious (at least to me) because of how abrupt and shocking they are. With all of this, Cure balances the suspense with the surprise in a unique and immaculate fashion.

Cure puts the audience into a haze that you don’t come out of until a few minutes after the movie ends. There are some things left unanswered, and that’s great. It is a film that will leave people thinking about it for days after the viewing. And with the new Blu Ray release from The Criterion Collection, audiences can be mesmerized with a brand new 4K restoration of this Japanese classic.

Home Video Distributor: Criterion
Available on Blu-ray - October 18, 2019
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: Japanese: LPCM 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s arresting international breakthrough established him as one of the leaders of an emerging new wave of Japanese horror while pushing the genre into uncharted realms of philosophical and existential exploration. A string of shocking, seemingly unmotivated murders—each committed by a different person yet all bearing the same grisly hallmarks—leads Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) into a labyrinthine investigation to discover what connects them, and into a disturbing game of cat and mouse with an enigmatic amnesiac (Masato Hagiwara) who may be evil incarnate. Awash in hushed, hypnotic dread, Cure is a tour de force of psychological tension and a hallucinatory journey into the darkest recesses of the human mind.

Video

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85: 1, the new 4K digital restoration taken from the original 35 mm camera negative, supervised by cinematographer Tokusho Kikumura, without a doubt the best the film has ever looked. Color depth, image, and sharpness are all outstanding. No complaints here.

Audio

With the original 2.0 stereo soundtrack being remastered and uncompressed, the haunting sound design is perfectly eerie and clear. A great restoration.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Feature commentary audio track with director Chris Addison

Special Features:

• New conversation between director Kiyoshi Kurosawa and filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi
• Interviews with actors Masato Hagiwara and Koji Yakusho
• Interview from 2003 with Kurosawa
• Trailers and teaser
• PLUS: An essay by critic Chris Fujiwara

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 111 mins
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Writer: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Cast: Masato Hagiwara; Kôji Yakusho; Tsuyoshi Ujiki
Genre: Horror | Crime
Tagline: Madness. Terror. Murder.
Memorable Movie Quote: "All the things that used to be inside of me... now they are all outside."
Theatrical Distributor:
Official Site:
Release Date: July 8, 2001
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 18, 2022.
Synopsis: A string of shocking, seemingly unmotivated murders—each committed by a different person yet all bearing the same grisly hallmarks—leads Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) into a labyrinthine investigation to discover what connects them, and into a disturbing game of cat and mouse with an enigmatic amnesiac (Masato Hagiwara) who may be evil incarnate.