Recent Reviews
Asian Horror Series: Cure (Kyua)
By HammerFanatic
Apr 16, 2006, 10:54

In 1997, writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa adapted his own novel into a screenplay for the film, Cure (Kyua). It would seem the film had a limited U.S. theatrical release and limited success in the States, but with the DVD release, more film fans are offered an opportunity to see the film. The film stars; Koji Yakusho (Detective Takabe), Masato Hagiwara (Kunio Mamiya), Tsuyoshi Ujki (Makoto Sakuma), Anna Nakawaga (Fumie Takabe), Yoriko Douguchi (Dr. Akiko Miyajima) and Yukijiro Hotaru (Ichiro Kuwano).

Set in modern-day, Tokyo, Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is assigned to a strange case of murders where the only link to the gruesome murders is a wound on either the neck or chest in the shape of an 'X'. All the murders have been done by different people and the killers claim to have no memory of having committed the crime. Takabe is stressed in both his professional life with trying to solve these murders as well as in his private life, as his wife, Fumie (Anna Nakawaga) appears to have a history of mental illness as well. Takabe's psychiatric associate, Makoto Sakuma (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) is stumped as well and is constantly saying, 'The Devil made them do it'. The case takes a strange twist when a drifter, Kunio Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) enters the picture. Mamiya appears to have absolutely no memory and when questioned, he often forgets the question before he's even able to offer an answer. Mamiya, it would seem, is a powerful hypnotist and has been hypnotizing citizens of Tokyo into performing horrible acts, but is he somehow connected to these brutal murders? Momiya soon pulls Takabe into a strange world of strange behavior and even more frightening rituals.

I found, Cure to be a very engrossing film. It's not a constant roller-coaster ride of thrills and in your face graphic horror, most of the horror in this film is quite subtle and left to the viewer to decide how chilling the film's overall affect has on them. The film moves along at a steady pace, but answers few questions that the viewer might feel a need to be answered. I found the entire film to be quite enjoyable and while fans of Japanese horror may find this film a bit too slowly paced or with a few too many unanswered questions, I think if given an opportunity, this film could find a decent sized fan base.

Buy Cure on DVD at Amazon.com

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