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Cure

Play trailer Poster for Cure 2001 1h 50m Crime Drama Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 68 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
"Cure" is part atmospheric crime film and part philosophical meditation. Detective Takabe 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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Cure

Cure

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Critics Consensus

Mesmerizing and psychologically intriguing.

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Critics Reviews

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Jake Cole Slant Magazine Oct 18, 2022
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. Go to Full Review Anton Bitel Little White Lies Apr 23, 2018
an increasingly hallucinatory piece where murderousness is a disease spreading rapidly through the susceptible Japanese psyche. Go to Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Oct 17, 2011
It's unsatisfying as a story precisely because it aspires to create a mounting sense of dread by enlarging questions rather than answering them. Go to Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm Aug 25, 2026
3.5/4
Like an unsettled mind, this is littered with background disturbances... Go to Full Review Jazzmin Crawley Girl, That's Scary (Podcast) Mar 16, 2026
"The Cure blends the grotesque with the mundane, putting the viewer in a position to slip between dream and nightmare seemlessly" Go to Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week Oct 15, 2025
Cure is a master class in using eminently available filmmaking techniques to revolutionize the oldest cop story in the book. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Hey Guys M @RT10297451 Sep 5, 2026 A slow-moving, oppressive, & painfully dreary mood piece that dives headlong into humankind's carnal nature & deepest fears. The atmosphere is among the greatest I've seen & the main protag/antag stand out in exemplary acting roles. The terror never subsides & only multiplies throughout the film to dramatic & deeply unsettling effect. Leaves more questions than answers in a non-ham-fisted way & is so dark that rewatching it is easier said than done. Ari Aster called it among the greatest of all time for a reason. See more Reeves S @RT40345907 Aug 22, 2026 Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I didn’t finish a movie…. I turned it off 15 minutes before it finished but the next day picked it up and finished it. It didn’t engage my senses at all. There was little to no detective work throughout the movie and only cut up stories of death with little connection to lead a detective story. I didn’t feel dread, I didn’t feel horror, I didn’t even feel psychologically disturbed. However, I will give prompts to the actors and the location choices. The story just didn’t go anywhere for me and I wouldn’t recommend it to others. Just my honest review :) See more Ian S @RT48225084 Aug 17, 2026 Atmospheric horror/thriller that takes its time to unfold. Well acted and directed and has more questions than answers. Has a gloomy, downbeat tone which reflects on the lives of some of the unhappy characters. Its very different and interesting compared to many other movies in the same genre. Belongs in the top tier of Japanese horror movies of the past 30 years or so. See more ziomzziom T @ziomzziom Aug 8, 2026 Absolute masterpiece See more Andrew S @Malasita Jul 6, 2026 Great movie and you must pay attention. Most people with think it’s slow though and confusing. See more Anya S @AnyaS Apr 9, 2026 Atmospheric and beautifully filmed, but way over my head, and thus, confusing, artsy, weird, and disjointed. Very stilted, unnatural acting. Only thing that kept my interest was looking at the very handsome detective. See more Read all reviews
Cure

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Cast & Crew

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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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Cure

Cure (1997) Scene from the film "Cure." Scene from the film "Cure." Scene from the film "Cure." Scene from the film "Cure." Scene from the film "Cure." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis "Cure" is part atmospheric crime film and part philosophical meditation. Detective Takabe 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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