Akira Otaka, Anna Nakagawa, Denden

Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) struggles to solve a group of unexplained murders, and so far, the only link that seems to exist among the crimes involves a wound in the shape of an &NFi;X&NFi_; on th...( read more  read more... )e throats of all victims. Soon, evidence surfaces that points in the direction of a lively amnesiac, sending Takabe into a frightening world of ritualistic and inexplicable behavior.

Flixster Users

81% liked it

3,822 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

43 critics

Unrated, 75 min.

Directed by: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Release Date: April 25, 1998

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DVD Release Date: January 6, 2004

Stats: 184 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (184)


  • July 18, 2009
    A detective seeks to solve a series of murders committed by ordinary people, each of whom has come into contact with an amnesiac. Very strange psychohorror taking place largely in the subconscious; nice creepy atmosphere, but it fails to build to a satisfying climax, with the f...( read more)inal scene being a particular letdown.
  • January 6, 2009
    excellent hypnotic serial killer thriller. this is the creepiest film i've seen in some time. much better than average j-horror.
  • May 2, 2008
    On another level than homogenized japanese horror films, Cure is an involving crime drama and a moody thriller about serial killings committed through the power of suggestion. The lack of music during key scenes of violence is a bit unsettling as is the use of ambient sound dur...( read more)ing other scenes which add to the infectious, hypnotic theme.

    It's far too subtle for the die-hard horror crowd and too unconventional and violent for the art house crowd. Unclouded by narrative reassurance for morality themes such as good guy/bad guy found in Seven or Silence of the Lambs. If you enjoy deep, dark, traumatic, thoughtful psychological drama at its most heavy, tense and serious, Cure is for you.
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  • February 3, 2008
    Frustrating at times, and yet, hard not to pay attention to it. I can't say i got everything that K.Kurosawa wanted to say, but it kept me watching it all the way with both eyes and ears wide open. Koji-san performance is rock solid as usual.
  • April 16, 2007
    I adore Kiyoshi Kurosawa's style. I genuinely love it. I just wish he was better with the substance.

    Let's be honest with ourselves - none of KK's movies are really that deep or thoughtful, except probably Pulse. They don't really deserve multiple viewings. They are neat little...( read more) baubles that show off a masterful, mature sense of style and some fantastic performances. If there's one quality Kurosawa has, it's that he can draw A-class performances from any actor in any of his movies. But with all that aside, he can't write for shit. His body of work explores a lot of gripping themes, but consistently fails to expound on all of them. The more he gets out of these ideas, the better his movies are.

    Doppelganger, Cure, Seance, Pulse. From worst to best, that's how his films stack up. (I haven't seen Bright Future or Charisma, and I hear that his J-pop-horror brainchild Loft is downright awful.) Pulse did such a great job tying its messages into its atmosphere and style; Seance was enormously involving, if not a little dry. Cure left me cold and Doppelganger was straight-out dull and repetitive. I'm sorry, but three-minute long shots of people walking through a house with no dialogue or exposition isn't productive film making, as cool as the shot may look. And in Kurosawa tradition, Cure's non-ending is dissatisfying, frustrating and cryptic.

    If you're a fan of Kiyoshi Kurosawa like I am, this is imperative viewing, but it's not a very good movie on many other fronts.
  • October 14, 2009
    Here's a surprise, the Japanese making a movie about a depraved serial killer. Somebody slap me a call me Shirley! Not Ichi the Killer, but definitely high on the WTF meter. Of course, I must admire Japanese filmmakers for pushing the envelope, even when they push the envelope so...( read more) hard it turns into dust.
  • August 9, 2009
    A few gory scenes with a lot of talk, talk, talk. BORING.....
  • July 17, 2009
    a Japanese film noir. Slow paced little-action 'film' in which a psychotic hypnotist tricks people into murdering. the detective who figures him out deals with his own psychosis in the process. sound familiar? yep, nothing original here. dry and bland as crackers.

    so why 4 stars...( read more) from almost 1000 reviews? because anyone who watches foreign film noir will automatically love it just cuz its foreign. bullshit my friends....
  • July 2, 2009
    recommended by rubystevens.
  • May 30, 2009
    Use a beat up genre for exploration of identity.
    Which is real you?
    Water =
    Letters = 2 personas tienen
    teeth chattering style

Critic Reviews


May 3, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

The single best horror film I've seen this century. full review

August 21, 2001
David Edelstein, Slate

A grave, magnificently creepy thriller. full review

August 15, 2001
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Rather than resort to clever plot twists and reversals, Kurosawa constructs an elaborate psychological maze and then strands us in the middle of it. full review

View more Cure reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Cure Trivia


  • Name the movie this tagline is from, "The story of a man who thought he was the greatest lover in the world... and the people who tried to cure him of it".  Answer »
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  • The Cure for Insomnia (1987) is the longest movie ever made at a total running time of 85 hours (5,220 min) . It premiered in its entirety at The School Of The Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois from January 31 to February 3, 1987, in one continuous showing.   Answer »
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