10 Hidden Horror Movie Gems Nobody Talks About
7. Cure
Despite being one of the most acclaimed horror films of the 1990s, it's truly shocking how even die-hard genre fans don't talk much about Kiyoshi Kurosawa's psychological horror masterpiece Cure.
Kurosawa's film follows a Tokyo detective (Kōji Yakusho) investigating a series of violent killings in the city committed seemingly at pure random. And while that premise might suggest card-carrying supernatural shenanigans, Cure is far more interested in rendering its tantalising premise in as gritty and grounded terms as possible.
More in the vein of David Fincher's Se7en than, say, The Ring, this is a sublimely controlled, restrained piece of work which places more of an emphasis on gut-wrenching atmosphere and unraveling an intoxicatingly strange mystery than jump scares or gore.
Though more mainstream-skewing J-horror hits like Ring, Audition, and Ju-On: The Grudge followed in its wake, Cure's ice-cold filmmaking and expectation-defying narrative make it a far superior beast and one of the most unforgettable horror films you've probably never heard of.