Cure

Play trailer

Cure

Now Playing

1h 50m

Crime

Drama

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

65 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

"Cure" is part atmospheric crime film and part philosophical meditation. Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is tracking a series of identical murders, committed under the same bizarre circumstances. Nothing seems to connect the murders and Takabe becomes increasingly frustrated...

Now in Theaters

Now Playing

Buy Tickets

Critics Consensus

Mesmerizing and psychologically intriguing.

Read Critics Reviews

Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

It was here that Kurosawa Kiyoshi's distinctive approach to genre film fully bloomed, an oblique form of horror that unsettles precisely for how much exists outside the frame as much as what lies within it.

Oct 18, 2022

Full Review

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

an increasingly hallucinatory piece where murderousness is a disease spreading rapidly through the susceptible Japanese psyche.

Apr 23, 2018

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

It's unsatisfying as a story precisely because it aspires to create a mounting sense of dread by enlarging questions rather than answering them.

Oct 17, 2011

Full Review

Julian Singleton

Cinapse

Cure forces us to reconsider what terrors might be possible underneath the mundanity of everyday life. What’s more, by doing so we must confront our own capability in conjuring such demons from the darkness of our imaginations.

Jul 11, 2025

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... the deliberate pace may try the patience of some viewers, but it sets a perfect backdrop for the coldly matter-of-fact killings, which Kurosawa films with the passion of a blasé voyeur.

Oct 21, 2024

Full Review

Jack Gross

Loud and Clear Reviews

a hauntingly intricate and deeply inquisitive thriller that questions the concepts of human morality, reason, and repression unlike any other film.

Rated: 5/5

Aug 3, 2024

Full Review

Read all reviews

Devin S.

A truly special movie. One of the best Japanese movies I’ve ever seen, especially made after 1990.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/15/25

Full Review

Mark C

Every so often I enjoy a film like this, full of intrigue, but not many answers on the surface level. The movie was shot with a sense of dread and was gripping despite the lack of explicit answers. If done ham fisted way, you get LongLegs.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/11/25

Full Review

Stephen C

Success in 1 hour and 50 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Japanese and American English audio options with American English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $94,600.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/05/25

Full Review

James J

There honestly isn’t much to say about Cure. It’s utterly perfect. One of the easiest 5s I’ve ever given. Kurosawa builds dread through silence, stillness, and that constant, gnawing tension that anything could go wrong at any second. It’s insanely haunting and packed with more than a few jaw-dropping moments.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/18/25

Full Review

Sophie P.

This film is so unsettling… but I immediately wanted to watch it again for the breadcrumbs I missed on first watch. Lots to unpack!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/04/25

Full Review

Roronoa Z

A eerie, spine chilling experience with a ending that's perfect in every aspect.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/30/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Director

Kôji Yakusho

Ken-ichi Takabe

Tsuyoshi Ujiki

Makoto Sakuma

Anna Nakagawa

Fumie Takabe

Masato Hagiwara

Kunio Mamiya

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writer

Now Streaming: Unfriended, Unexpected, and More

View more photos

Synopsis

"Cure" is part atmospheric crime film and part philosophical meditation. Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is tracking a series of identical murders, committed under the same bizarre circumstances. Nothing seems to connect the murders and Takabe becomes increasingly frustrated...

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Producer: Tetsuya Ikeda, Satoshi Kanno, Tsutomu Tsuchikawa, Atsuyuki Shimoda
Screenwriter: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Distributor: Cowboy Pictures, Criterion Pictures
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 7, 2001, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Aug 9, 2005
Box Office (Gross USA): $94.6K
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now