Cure (film)

Cure
Directed by	Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Written by	Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Produced by	Junyuki Shimoba Tsutomu Tsuchikawa
Starring	Kōji Yakusho Masato Hagiwara Tsuyoshi Ujiki Anna Nakagawa Yoriko Dōguchi Yukijirō Hotaru
Cinematography	Tokushô Kikumura
Edited by	Kan Suzuki
Music by	Gary Ashiya
Production company	Daiei Film
Distributed by	Daiei Film
Release date	27 December 1997 (1997-12-27) (Japan)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Budget	est. $1,000,000 (JPY)

Cure (キュア, Kyua) is a 1997 Japanese psychological horror film written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, starring Kōji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi Ujiki and Anna Nakagawa. The story follows a detective investigating a string of gruesome murders where an X is carved into the neck of each victim, and the murderer is found near the victim of each case and remembers nothing of the crime. It is considered a progenitor of the explosion of Japanese horror media in the late 1990s and early 2000s, preceding other releases like Hideo Nakata's Ring and Takashi Shimizu's Ju-On: The Grudge.^[1]

Originally entitled Evangelist (伝道師, Dendoushi), the film's name was changed due to the Tokyo subway sarin attack perpetrated by Aum Shinrikyo that happened while the film was in production. To avoid suggesting a religious cult connection to the crimes in the story, it was retitled Cure at the suggestion of a Daiei Film producer.^[2][3] The film was released to strong critical acclaim in Japan and internationally, with critics praising Kurosawa's direction as well as the visuals and atmosphere.^[4] In 2012, South Korean film director Bong Joon-ho listed the film as one of the greatest films of all time.^[5] This is Kurosawa and lead actor Yakusho's first collaboration.^[6]