Saturday, October 03, 2015

Cure (1997)

Cure is a 1997 Japanese horror/thriller directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (who also directed Pulse). A series of identical murders are committed, each by a different person who is found nearby afterwards remembering killing and mutilating the victim but not why. The chief investigator has a wife who is mentally unstable, and he (in concert with a psychologist) uses what he has learned about mental illness to try to figure out the murders. The most interesting part takes place after he figures it out and a subject of interest is committed to a psychiatric hospital for observation. This one sneaks up on you.

trailer:



Images Journal calls it a "minor masterpiece" and says,
Much of the film's subtle power and resonance is predicated on its serpentine narrative ambiguities, unanswerable character motivations, and dramatic incidents. This would be understandably maddening in lesser hands, but Kurosawa's direction is always assured and the film's deviousness is always sufficiently grounded by its purposeful storyline and magnificent performances. Although the film will nevertheless drive viewers bonkers who demand straight lines where they don't exist, Cure will be a welcome reward for those adventurous souls who like their lines on the squiggly side.
Moria finds it confusing. HorrorNews.net says it " manages to be equal parts detective story, horror film and psychological thriller with an evenhandedness rarely seen." Combustible Celluloid gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and calls it "a mesmerizing film." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics rating of 91%.

8 comments:

  1. Oh good! I absolutely LOVE squiggly, disjointed, must-watch-closely plots. I hate predictable, or something I can guess about half way through. I might have to find this one. It sounds like my kind of psychological thriller.

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    1. He's a good director. I liked "Pulse", too. It's also very atmospheric.

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  2. Actually, this looks interesting. Perhaps I fell for the detective, perhaps it´s the Japanese landscape, or the ambience. I don´t normally go for horror, but I see it´s on youtube in its entirety. I am tempted.

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    1. There are a number of films I first saw on Youtube and then went on to buy. Films I never would've seen if I'd had to buy them to start with are often ones I want in my library. "Pulse" was one of those. I lean towards horror films that have a more haunted air and less gore.

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    2. Unfortunately the youtube version did not have subtitles (although it was advertised to), but I read the Wikipedia summary and watched it anyway. It´s a bit like hearing a song in a language one does not understand, I find I notice other things. The visual language is really special, and Koji Yakusho has the best face I´ve seen in a long time.

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    3. This one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5HjuOJtXFw has English subtitles if you click on the CC button at the bottom right of the video. I'd have been lost without them. My Japanese is limited to hello, goodbye, and a few Sumo terms.

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    4. Darn it, that was the one I saw, but I had no clue about the CC button... I may see it again now!

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    5. CC for "closed captions" is not what I'd call an intuitive way of saying "click for subtitles here".

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