Cure

Detective Kenichi Takabe leads the inquiry into a string of brutal killings where each perpetrator confesses yet offers no clear motive. Every victim bears a large X carved on the neck or chest, and the killers are arrested near the crime scenes, suggesting a disturbing pattern. The case defies easy explanation as the body count rises.

Takabe partners with forensic psychologist Shin Sakuma to search for a connecting pattern behind the murders. The two identify a common link: each killer had contact with Kunio Mamiya shortly before the crime. The investigation also strains Takabe's private life as his wife Fumie slips deeper into schizophrenia.

Mamiya is found to have extreme short-term memory loss, claiming he cannot recall his past. In custody, he deliberately evades Takabe's questions by turning the interview back on the detective. Takabe and Sakuma begin to suspect Mamiya could be a hypnotist capable of planting murderous suggestions.

Takabe analyzes Mamiya's background in psychology, mesmerism, and hypnosis, bolstering his suspicion that Mamiya is orchestrating the killings rather than merely recalling them. He and Sakuma agree to treat Mamiya as a potential hypnotic instigator and pursue incitement to murder charges. The theory links the crimes to deeper manipulation rather than random chance.

Takabe experiences a vision of Fumie's suicide, which devastates him and prompts him to act. He has Fumie committed to a mental hospital, hoping to protect her and manage the mounting pressure of the case. The personal stakes of the investigation become as intense as the professional ones.

Sakuma presents a videotape showing a mysterious man believed to be Suejiro Bakuro, the progenitor of Japanese mesmerism. In the video, a female subject is hypnotized as the man dabs an X in midair, a gesture that echoes the ritualistic killings. Sakuma argues the crimes are connected to a past influence and that Mamiya acts as a missionary inciting others to murder.

Sakuma unconsciously draws an X in black paint on his wall and begins hallucinating Takabe cornering him. The mounting pressure of the case fuels paranoia and suggests a wider hypnotic influence at work behind the murders. The episode deepens the sense that something unseen is guiding the violence.

Days later, Sakuma's body is found handcuffed to a pipe in his home, with the police concluding he took his own life. The loss removes a crucial ally in interpreting the murders and heightens Takabe's urgency. The case takes a darker turn as the strategist behind the theory disappears.

Mamiya breaks out of prison and kills a policeman during the escape. Takabe pursues him, understanding that the threat may be escalating. The chase culminates in a confrontation that tests Takabe's resolve and investigative theories.

Takabe corners Mamiya in a deserted building and shoots him. As Mamiya dies, he draws an X in the air, a final symbolic echo of the murders. Exploring the building, Takabe discovers a phonograph cylinder containing a recording of a male voice repeating hypnotic instructions believed to be Bakuro's.

Takabe uncovers an old phonograph cylinder with a recording that repeats hypnotic instructions, plausibly connected to Bakuro's hypnotism. The find ties the earlier visions and the Mamiya connection to a broader manipulation scheme. The murder ritual appears to be guided by echoes of past mesmerism.

Fumie's decomposed corpse is found by a nurse, with a savage X carved into her throat. The discovery confirms the killer's graphic signature and suggests the ritualistic scope of the crimes persists beyond any one suspect. Takabe's personal tragedy collapses into the case's grim evidence.

In a restaurant, a waitress serves Takabe, then, as staff whisper among themselves, quietly draws a knife. The scene underscores the pervasive reach of the hypnotic influence and the sense that danger remains close at hand. It leaves the audience with a chilling image of threat still present.