A stunningly original take on the traditional serial killer film, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's CURE follows the determined and tortured trail of detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) as he races against time and logic to solve a baffling string of gruesome, unexplained murders. As the corpses accumulate, the only connection between the crimes is the surgically precise x-shaped wound inflicted at the throat and the mystifying fact that each killing is committed by a different party, each of whom confess immediately, unable to explain their actions. Takabe, already severely troubled by his wife's mental instability, embarks on a personal quest to understand and hopefully stop the bizarre killings. When a young and disturbingly charismatic amnesiac appears near the scene of the latest killing, the pieces of the puzzle begin to shift into place, however the picture that is revealed is no less confusing.

Evidence that a connection between the amnesiac and the killings may involve ancient rituals of hypnotism, mind control, and animal magnetism plunges Takabe into the murky world of the occult as he simultaneously projects his personal struggles with madness into his feverish quest to stop the killings. Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa and cinematographer Noriaki Kikumura conjure a dizzying visual and psychological maze with CURE, transcending genre conventions to craft a thriller of uncommon poetry and suspense.