Cure

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Cure

Released Jul 7, 2001

1h 50m

Crime

Drama

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

64 Reviews

84%

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...

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Critics Consensus

Mesmerizing and psychologically intriguing.

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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

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

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

Apr 23, 2018

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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

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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

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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

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Noah Gittell

Washington City Paper

Only a filmmaker as disciplined as Kurosawa would be able to live in such mysteries without losing their audience.

Jan 19, 2024

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Landon J

Boring, long, confusing, and not suspenseful in my opinion. Horror fans will not find this scary, fails to be unsettling in any meaningful way.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/31/24

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Isa B

Atmospheric. Mesmerizing. The true genius of this film is that it serves to sort of hypnotize its audience. It puts you in a trance with its surreal imagery and mysterious plot. I love Kōji Yakusho in this film. He gave a tremendous performance. I love the ambiguous ending as well. Cure is my kind of film. A true masterpiece in Japanese cinema. I highly recommend. 97/100

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/31/24

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J S

Mesmerizing, literally!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/13/24

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sophisticated h

I like japanese guys BUT this movie is crazy it's alright, confusing like i needed an explanation from my mother to understand the ending arigato

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/11/24

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babarizam D

Bad part about the movie is that psychic ability only works in negative way

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/13/24

Full Review

Darren D

Do you really have self control? "Cure" from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, is a gruesome psychologically horror that's equally intriguing & unnerving watch. Just being to watch & listen to the story play out as this mysterious stranger plays his role is hypnotic storytelling.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

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Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Director

Kôji Yakusho

Ken-ichi Takabe

Tsuyoshi Ujiki

Makoto Sakuma

Anna Nakagawa

Fumie Takabe

Masato Hagiwara

Kunio Mamiya

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writer

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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: Criterion Pictures, Cowboy 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)

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