“Cure” is a Japanese psychological horror film written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, starring Kōji Yakusho as a Tokyo Metropolitan Police detective named Kenichi Takabe investigating a string of murders by different killers that are only linked by the throats of all the victims being slashed with an X shaped incision.
(Spoiler Alert – Skip down to last paragraph to avoid spoilers and read recommendation)
Takabe and his partner the forensic psychologist Sakuma suspect that a powerful hypnotist is implanting the idea of the murders into each of the killers. They track down a strange man named Mamiya that was present at several of the murder scenes. He behaves as if he has no memory of his own identity or his history. Sakuma has Mamiya committed to a hospital for observation. Mamiya uses his hypnotic powers to learn the details of Takabe’s family problem from a hospital employee. Takabe’s wife is seriously mentally ill and the stress of living with her is undermining his own mental balance. Mamiya uses this information to torment Takabe during an interrogation. Takabe begins imagining his wife committing suicide. He has her placed in a psychiatric institution to safeguard her.
Next, we see Mamiya implant a murder suggestion in a young female doctor and shortly afterward she murders a man. Afterward Mamiya even causes Sakuma to commit suicide. Finally, Mamiya escapes from the hospital and Takabe who is now enraged against his tormentor tracks him down to an abandoned hospital and after being taunted by Mamiya shoots him. When Mamiya’s last motion is to attempt to implant the murder suggestion in Takabe the policeman empties his pistol into the madman.
After killing Mamiya Takabe finds an old phonograph player in the hospital and listens to a recording that seems to be the source of Mamiya’s knowledge of the deadly hypnotic technique. In the next scene we see the corpse of Takabe’s wife at the mental hospital with an X cut into her throat. In the last scene we see Takabe in a restaurant finishing a meal. As the waitress leaves his table, we see her walk over to a counter and grab a butcher’s knife.
This is a very strange movie. And of course, since it’s spoken in Japanese that adds another layer of distance for the non-Japanese speaking viewer. But the movie is quite compelling. The Mamiya character is extremely unnerving. Whenever someone attempts to interrogate him about his actions or even his history it always ends up with him turning the interrogation around. The movie viewer develops a strong revulsion for the character. He manipulates the interrogators and eventually implants his suggestion. Because of this antipathy I felt a great sense of satisfaction when Takabe emptied his pistol into the homicidal hypnotist.
I’m not sure how to provide the recommendation for this movie. My impression of this movie was definitely positive. I did enjoy it. But it’s such a strange movie that I’m having a hard time selecting what audience this movie is made for. I guess we’ll have to start with audiences that enjoy crime dramas. A somewhat similar type of movie might be “Silence of the Lambs.” But added to that is the foreign language aspect which might be problematic for many viewers. I guess I can only qualify this film’s audience with these two factors. That will have to be my recommendation, as vague as it is.