Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 1997 flick, Cure, is just an absolute mindbend of a journey throughout its entire 1 hour and 51 minute runtime. If you thought Silence Of The Lambs or Saw screwed with your brain, then I can promise you’ve seen absolutely nothing. The primary murderer (who I won’t name to avoid spoilers) is arguably the most bone-chilling and ruthless I have ever witnessed in any horror film by a country mile. As a viewer, you will be left feeling absolutely helpless as you gaze upon a master male manipulator gradually breaking down multiple characters’ consciousness into borderline insanity. I also must warn you that if you consume this film, you will end up spending hours on YouTube and Reddit afterwards scrolling through the countless explanations of the film like I am right as we speak. Buckle up folks, as this one is a rollercoaster ride like no other in cinema history. WARNING: This post includes major spoilers for the 1997 film Cure.
For starters, there is just about zero semblance of a musical score seen in this movie. As an American viewer, I have been so conditioned to expect dramatic instrumentals to rattle my eardrums whenever a scary moment is supposed to occur that I feel like a Pavlov dog at this point. In the case of Cure, the film instead induces tension in a way that almost no others I’ve watched have ever accomplished: through simply just existing. When the killer is present during scenes, simply seeing him or hearing his monotone voice is enough to send shivers down my spine. If this hollow fellow’s presence is not enough to get you hooked, then the profound cinematography work should do the rest for you. From start to finish, the audience is presented with an unrelentingly grim color palette in the mise-en-scene. At least half of the run-time is also spent in a prison-like setting, making us feel claustrophobic and giving us no room for relief. We even see this effect occur when given shots from outdoors, as they are often engulfed with bland and visually unappealing buildings in the background. The architecture and general cinematography sort of feels Eraserhead-esque to me, as that film also invokes sensations of entrapment through its bleak color schemes and soulless urban designs. Between the depressing cinematography and the empty void that is the killer (as well as a million other factors I can’t fit into this post), the audience is lobbed into a relentless hellscape of a diegesis that will leave you feeling as worn down as the manipulator’s victims.
Regarding motifs, there are a considerable amount to note. We first witness the repeated imagery of water dripping or spilling, which is often spotted in scenes where the primary killer is attempting hypnosis on unsuspecting victims. This visual motif serves the purpose of putting both the viewer and victim into a trance-like state as we marvel at the beauty of the H2O dribbling across the floor. In addition, the shots of water leakage also represent victims’ souls and humanity gradually seeping out of their minds as the cold-blooded manipulator attaches his puppet strings to their consciousness. Around 40:55, we see a prominent example of this symbolism when the master manipulator describes himself being “empty” on the inside. Right as he blurts out this phrase, he immediately tips over a glass of water onto the hospital floor. To me, this is him quite literally equating his soul or mind to that of an empty glass: lifeless and devoid of any matter whatsoever. Any humanity that has previously accumulated inside of him has since spilled out and has leaked down the drain for eternity.
The imagery of a lighter flame is also portrayed occasionally by Kurosawa. On the surface, this motif holds an identical purpose to the water: it mesmerizes us along with the characters as we stare into the orange ember flickering at us. Both of these are obviously primary elements of nature that can both cause devastation to our lives and also can allure us through their natural beauty. On a deeper level, I see the flame encapsulating a similar theme as the water does: each character’s reality gradually burning/disintegrating right before our very eyes. After watching this film, you will never see a cup of water or a flame the same way ever again!
The letter X is not only another excellent motif, but is a symbol that is as monumental as other horror killer trademarks, such as the jigsaw piece in Saw. Prior to watching Cure, X is a letter that I’ve often associated with death, such as a dead character having “X’s” in their eyes or the X shape formed by the bones on a pirate ship flag or poison bottle. In Cure, the X maintains a similar theme of looming death/murder, as it was carved into every single victims’ body after their slaying. When the symbol was painted on walls, it would typically be painted in a blood red color as well, which I have learned signifies death in 99% of horror films from Dr. Muench’s horror film course. In quite a few cases, this symbolism would be incorporated very sneakily into certain shots throughout the film, such as the monkey corpse tied to the bathtub (the small X on its neck as well as the other two X’s it forms with its arms and legs) and the restaurant worker at the end (which I will discuss later).
We are also shown the motif of repetitive events in the life of the main character (detective). While these shots appear to just be moving the plot along at first, they end up expanding in significance as the runtime progresses. At the start, we are given shots of the detective sitting at the dinner table, turning off a washing machine, changing his clothes, and completing other everyday tasks. In the second half, the audience is delivered near-identical shots again, but this time, cracks are starting to manifest in the mask of normalcy the detective is putting on. After all of the manipulation and mental exhaustion the primary murderer has forced him to endure, we see him start to explode mentally and physically. He starts throwing items around, such as the cold piece of meat his wife had left out for him to eat. We also see a pissed-off expression take over his face instead of the mask of contentment he was wearing for the majority of the film. He has become so warped that he can’t even muster the strength to look his wife in the eyes or talk to her anymore at this point. For the first time in his existence, his mundane, societally-accepted way of living is being challenged by his id’s underlying desires. By depicting these shots over and over again, Kurosawa is striking home the point of the clockwork feel many of our lives (including the characters) have in this modern era. For some, all it could take is this one push or sign that wakes us up from our slumber and motivates us to pursue our true internal desires (whether they are all civil or not).
Zooming in on the social commentary here, there is an endless amount to unpack. To start, Kurosawa decided to tackle various issues and traumas women are often faced with in past/present societies worldwide. A key instance in which a frequent threat to women is examined occurs around the 3 minute mark, where investigators have just discovered the battered body of a slaughtered female sex worker. Rather than show empathy and care for the woman being unjustly slayed, the male investigators seemed to show no respect for her circumstances whatsoever. In fact, one of the men is even quoted as stating, “A prostitute. Something like this was bound to happen someday.” To me, this quote induced an immense sensation of verisimilitude, as it is widely known that sex workers (especially women) are faced with staggeringly high probabilities of violent behavior occurring on the job. Oftentimes, societies worldwide (especially America) seem to dismiss or even approve of these inhumane murders because they view a woman choosing to do what she wants with her body as a vile sin that is deserving of repercussions. In depicting this gruesome imagery and the ignorant male reactions, I believe Kurosawa wanted to illustrate the downright corrupt and dehumanizing views that too many men often have of the sex work industry. You can even witness this rhetoric on social media frequently still, where I have witnessed endless amounts of men make vile jokes about women having OnlyFans accounts.
Around 41:55, we witness the examination of female discrimination in male-dominated careers when the primary killer is reading the mind of a female doctor. As he is digging through her internal thoughts and experiences, he states, “You’re just a woman. Why did you become a doctor?” and “That’s what people said, isn’t it?”. Through the primary killer’s mind-reading abilities, we are given a direct scope into the trauma and undermining commonly experienced by one female worker (and others) in various male-hoarded professions. Like the doctor in this film, women in the workforce are often unfortunately left with no other options other than to do what she had chosen: to bury their anger and act like everything was all sunshine and rainbows. While she rightfully earned a well-paying and respected career, the wounds from years of male condescension faced while climbing the corporate ladder were secretly gnawing away at her insides still. Sadly, the mind-reading killer ends up weaponizing this suppressed pain against her by using it to make her commit an act of murder on another man. Despite this tragic conclusion to her character arc, I think Kurosawa once again nails it here in his attempt to illustrate the depth behind multiple women’s issues predominant in cultures worldwide.
This film also asks both the audience and characters the most simple yet complex question in existence: who are you? Pretty much all of us would initially respond to this inquiry by listing off all of the societally-invented labels slapped upon us, such as our current major or profession. While these are technically valid answers, they would still not be sufficient enough for the male manipulator seen in this movie. He is a psychology major, and he knows all about Freud just like I do (as I am also a psychology major.) Because of this, he desires an answer that does not stem from just our superego or ego, but instead comes from our true unconscious self: the id. The primary killer/manipulator views all of these egotistic labels we humans have created as an absolute farce, and he makes his feelings known on several occasions. For example, the master manipulator states around 1:13:10, “The detective or the husband… which is the real you?” and follows up with, “Neither is the real you.”. From what is seen, it appears that this killer has become a little too obsessed with his psychology studies, similarly to how Billy from Scream became a tad too fixated on his love for scary movies.
Last but not least, I must talk about the final scene, as it is one of the most well-crafted I’ve ever witnessed in any movie. . The scene starts with a steady shot of one of the killers of the film casually eating at a restaurant table on his own. Earlier in the film, we were given a near identical shot of this particular character performing this action, so I did not sense anything amiss initially. However, one of the first lowkey differences incorporated is that the character is smoking a cigarette, which he did not do very often in the film at all. The significance of this action is that the lighting/smoking of a cigarette is another trademark motif seen during the killer/killers’ mesmerization of other citizens, hinting that death or hypnosis may be imminent. As he is inhaling his cancer stick, we then see a female waiter come and take his food trays as she is running errands around the restaurant.
At this point, you may wonder what the heck the significance of some supposedly random waiter could be in this plot. However, here is where the scene starts to become absolutely mind-blowing. Around 1:48:47, we see a co-worker of hers start to bug her over something, which makes me suspect that animosity could be unconsciously brewing between the two like the police officers earlier in the flick. Once this coworker drifts away, the camera continues to focus in on the initial waiter as she turns around, and guess what symbol is deftly outlined on the back of her outfit? An “X” symbol just like I’ve mentioned earlier. In this case, it is not drawn into someone’s skin, but rather is seen through the strings reinforcing the worker’s white apron lining up neatly into the shape of an “X”, which left me dropping my jaw. This clearly signifies to viewers that yet another mesmerisation murder was about to unfold, and this lady was likely going to be the next killer.
Once a few more seconds of this “X” shot have passed, the camera pans to the left as it tracks this waiter’s movement around the building. Then, at 1:49:00, we are given one of the film’s most bone-chilling shots of all. The waitress subtly grabs something that is obscured from the shot initially, but once it’s uncovered, we can evidently see that she has just grabbed a knife, and is likely about to slaughter that coworker who was bugging her moments prior. To make the moment even more impactful, the director immediately cuts to the credits after this shot, forcing the audience to visualize the bloodshed that was about to occur (or about what other possibilities could manifest.) In my opinion, it appears that this killer has mesmerized this waiter similarly to how the initial killer would mesmerize his victims. What makes this scene so formidable to me is both the intricate subtleness of it as well as it not giving us a satisfactory ending. There will be no conclusion to the cycle of mesmerization and murders depicted in the film, and the list of victims will stretch on for eternity.
If you are in the mood for a film that will tear your mind out and twist it around like never before, then look no further than Kurosawa’s inquisitive work of art here. Cure is a psychological horror that rivals other iconic entries in the genre, and perhaps even surpasses every single one when it’s all said and done. If I had to describe this film, I would say it’s a potent mix of both Inception’s themes of subconsciousness as well as Silence Of The Lambs’ lack of human remorse and killer motive. Also, I have never in my life experienced a film that is open to as many interpretations as this one is. You will truly witness a horror experience like no other, as this flick will immerse you into a claustrophobic diegesis that will have you questioning reality like you’re Neo in The Matrix!
FINAL RATING: 10/10
– Nicholas DeBello, Blogger
Nicholas DeBello – Blogger: Nicholas is a Senior at Lewis University who is currently working towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. After he graduates, he will likely pursue a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lewis University. He spends countless hours of his leisure time consuming YouTube videos and online forum posts of others reviewing/discussing music albums, films, and TV shows, which has inspired him to take his own stab at the art of media critique himself. Nicholas also enjoys going for nature walks, daydreaming, film-watching, and listening to his vinyl/CD collection in his free time as well. Some of Nicholas’ favorite films are The Silence of The Lambs, Parasite, The Truman Show, and The Thing (1982). He is also an avid fan of the television series Bojack Horseman.