Cure

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (1997, Japan)

Cast : Koji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa, Yoriko Douguchi

Plot:
A wave of gruesome murders is sweeping Tokyo. The only connection is a bloody "X" carved into the neck of each of the victims. In each case, a different murderer is found near the victim and remembers nothing of the crime, but appears to be perfectly sane. Detective Takabe and psychiatrist Sakuma are called in to figure out the connection but their investigation goes nowhere. An odd, young man is arrested near the scene of the latest murder, who has a strange effect on everyone who comes into contact with him. Detective Takabe starts a series of interrogations to determine the man's connection with the killings. But this encounter will not leave then unchanged..

Appreciation: 9/10
Seems like the Japanese have definitely taken the flag from the Italians in the little world of horror films. This is another good exemple of what Japanese do good that Americans don't. No need for zillion $$ of special effects, as this little film proves.
As with many recent Japanese movies (Hypnosis, the Ring series, etc..), the first thing worth noticing here is the heavy, oppressive and disturbing atmosphere, which drags you down to explore the dark sides of the mind. The gloomy and dark lighting as well as the sounds reminded me of equally disturbing David Lynch's Eraserhead. The generally slow pace is welcomed here, only to be disturbed as some characters (Takabe) slowly lose their sanity at the contact of Mamiya. Masato Hagiwara is simply totally brilliant in his role as an amnesic hypnotist. By himself he keeps the whole balance of sanity vs insanity in the movie. By the end the tension is so palpable that you'll want to hit him yourself as if you had been hypnotised by him.
If you don't feel like seeing a gorefest but instead something more subtle, this might be the right movie.

Other suggestions: Hypnosis, the Ring series