\u201cCure\u201d is a Japanese psychological horror film written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, starring K\u014dji 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.<\/p>\n
(Spoiler Alert \u2013 Skip down to last paragraph to avoid spoilers and read recommendation)<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 They track down a strange man named Mamiya that was present at several of the murder scenes.\u00a0 He behaves as if he has no memory of his own identity or his history.\u00a0 Sakuma has Mamiya committed to a hospital for observation.\u00a0 Mamiya uses his hypnotic powers to learn the details of Takabe\u2019s family problem from a hospital employee.\u00a0 Takabe\u2019s wife is seriously mentally ill and the stress of living with her is undermining his own mental balance.\u00a0 Mamiya uses this information to torment Takabe during an interrogation.\u00a0 Takabe begins imagining his wife committing suicide.\u00a0 He has her placed in a psychiatric institution to safeguard her.<\/p>\n Next, we see Mamiya implant a murder suggestion in a young female doctor and shortly afterward she murders a man.\u00a0 Afterward Mamiya even causes Sakuma to commit suicide.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 When Mamiya\u2019s last motion is to attempt to implant the murder suggestion in Takabe the policeman empties his pistol into the madman.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s knowledge of the deadly hypnotic technique.\u00a0 In the next scene we see the corpse of Takabe\u2019s wife at the mental hospital with an X cut into her throat.\u00a0 In the last scene we see Takabe in a restaurant finishing a meal.\u00a0 As the waitress leaves his table, we see her walk over to a counter and grab a butcher\u2019s knife.<\/p>\n This is a very strange movie.\u00a0 And of course, since it\u2019s spoken in Japanese that adds another layer of distance for the non-Japanese speaking viewer.\u00a0 But the movie is quite compelling.\u00a0 The Mamiya character is extremely unnerving.\u00a0 Whenever someone attempts to interrogate him about his actions or even his history it always ends up with him turning the interrogation around.\u00a0 The movie viewer develops a strong revulsion for the character.\u00a0 He manipulates the interrogators and eventually implants his suggestion.\u00a0 Because of this antipathy I felt a great sense of satisfaction when Takabe emptied his pistol into the homicidal hypnotist.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure how to provide the recommendation for this movie.\u00a0 My impression of this movie was definitely positive.\u00a0 I did enjoy it.\u00a0 But it\u2019s such a strange movie that I\u2019m having a hard time selecting what audience this movie is made for.\u00a0 I guess we\u2019ll have to start with audiences that enjoy crime dramas.\u00a0 A somewhat similar type of movie might be \u201cSilence of the Lambs.\u201d\u00a0 But added to that is the foreign language aspect which might be problematic for many viewers.\u00a0 I guess I can only qualify this film\u2019s audience with these two factors.\u00a0 That will have to be my recommendation, as vague as it is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cCure\u201d is a Japanese psychological horror film written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, starring K\u014dji Yakusho as a Tokyo Metropolitan Police detective named Kenichi Takabe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[239,237],"tags":[354,2532,4307,4306,43,38,1355],"class_list":["post-26191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","category-reviews","tag-horror","tag-japanese-cinema","tag-kenichi-takabe","tag-kiyoshi-kurosawa","tag-movie-review","tag-review","tag-reviews"],"yoast_head":"\n