Hey folks, Harry here with that barnacle fondler, Quint, and his latest look at something, you may have never heard of. The new film from Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Ahoy, squirts. The super seaman, Quint, here with a look at HVE's upcoming release of very talented Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's CURE. This film originally came out in '97, but I doubt it showed on any US screens outside of some festivals.
Kurosawa is probably best known for his 2001 horror flick PULSE. Remember that weird, fucked up little flick? Well, this is a more intimate flick, but nonetheless disturbing for it.
The movie is about a detective (played by the great Koji Yakusho) investigating a string of brutal murders. The thing is the killer is different for each murder... seemingly ordinary people who just find it a good idea to murder strangers and carve ragged X's into their throats. The only connecting piece between them all is an amnesiac stranger (Masato Hagiwara).
The flick is brutal and very intriguing. It's also subtle. So subtle that if you're not paying attention in a few key scenes, you will miss the bits of crucial information that will explain the film. I, for one, like that. A lot. Especially in that last shot...
The performances are great, the cinematography is gritty and tonally perfect and Kurosawa's direction is superb. His style is very reminiscent of the great American directors of the last '60s and '70s. He uses long takes, camera exploring places not traditional, but perfectly legitimate and important for the story.
The DVD by HVE is sparse on special features, but the fact that they're releasing these films at all is a credit to them. Japanese horror is riding out its prime at the moment. One of my favorite movies I saw this past year was JU-ON: THE GRUDGE... They know how to do it. Character, atmosphere, lingering shots, powerful acting, unconventional stories... All take front and center.
The special features on CURE are simple. There's a 20 minute subtitled interview with director Kiyoshi Kurosawa that is very informative. My favorite parts were his talk about taking influence from the early '70s American films from directors like Robert Aldrich and Sam Peckinpah. You can see the love of these films in his eye and their influences on his shots and atmosphere are very obvious. Also included is a rather cool trailer with no Mr. Voice or "Entire movie in a minute and a half" syndrome that seems to plague American trailers in recent years. Just a series of creepy images and some music. Perfect.
So, what's next from HVE? They're releasing two Kinji Fukasaku (BATTLE ROYALE) flicks from early on in his career called BLACKMAIL IS MY LIFE and IF YOU WERE YOUNG: RAGE. I should have reviews of those up in the next few days. I like this trend HVE is on. I'd be very happy to see HVE put out more Asian horror flicks, like PULSE. But in order for them to do that, they have to get out there and find the newbies before the Big Studios do and pick up the remake rights and sit on the DVD release rights for the rest of eternity.
Anyway, that's about all I can say about this one. Check it out if you get a chance. It comes out January 6th, 2004 here in the States. If you like smart horror/crime flicks, you won't go wrong with this one!
-Quint
