Noroi: The Curse

Masafumi Kobayashi is a renowned paranormal researcher who has authored books and produced documentaries about supernatural activity across Japan. His work shapes his investigative approach and frames his ongoing pursuit of strange phenomena. The profile sets the stage for the Curse and the events to come.

A year and a half before the present, Kobayashi investigates a case that culminates in his house burning and his wife Keiko dying in the ruins. The project The Curse begins to play, largely through Miyajima's recordings. The events are framed by Kobayashi's sudden disappearance.

A year and a half before the present, Kobayashi visits Junko Ishii and her son after a neighbor hears crying babies. He and Miyajima search Ishii's former residence and discover dead pigeons on the property. Ishii moves away, setting off a trail of ominous events.

Kana Yano, a girl with strong psychic abilities seen on television, disappears from a variety program. Kobayashi learns that Mitsuo Hori visited Kana, claiming she was taken by 'ectoplasmic worms' and directing him toward further clues. Hori's directions lead to Osawa, a pigeons keeper in a nearby apartment block.

Hori, an eccentric psychic, insists Kana was abducted by 'ectoplasmic worms' and provides cryptic directions that push Kobayashi deeper into the mystery. His theory links Kana's disappearance to a broader supernatural pattern. The pair begins tracing leads toward Osawa.

Kobayashi and Miyajima observe Osawa taking pigeons into his home, hinting at a link between animal activity and the hauntings. Osawa is later reported missing, deepening the sense of danger and mystery. The investigation tightens around the apartment block where Osawa kept birds.

After filming at a shrine, actress Marika Matsumoto begins fashioning yarn and wires into loops as she sleeps. Kobayashi sets up a camera to record her, and a voice distinctly says the name 'Kagutaba.' The moment marks a haunting link between the ritual history and present possession.

A local historian explains Kagutaba as a demon once summoned by Shimokage villagers. They imprisoned it for disobedience, and an annual ritual was performed to appease Kagutaba until the village was demolished in 1978 to make way for a dam. The final ritual is filmed and reveals the ritual's terror.

The historian's scroll links Kagutaba to Ishii through the village's rituals, showing that the daughter in the final ritual later surfaced as Ishii herself. It also reveals Ishii's connections to a nursing school where illegal abortions and fetal thefts were involved. The past casts a long shadow over present events.

Marika reveals that her neighbor Midori has committed suicide by hanging. She also notes that Midori, along with six other people including Osawa, hanged themselves in a park using nooses similar to Marika's loops. The pattern of ritualized deaths intensifies the dread.

Desperate to break Kagutaba's hold, Kobayashi, Marika, Miyajima, and Hori travel to the Shimokage dam to perform the ritual. They hope appeasement will free Marika from possession and stop the cycle of terror. The ritual marks the narrative's turning point.

During the ritual, Hori becomes agitated and runs into the forest, with Kobayashi following. They find the village dogs slaughtered near a secluded shrine, and Kobayashi's camera captures an apparition of Kana under a torii, surrounded by writhing fetuses. The warning signs escalate.

Marika recovers, and Kobayashi and Miyajima deliver her and Hori to a hospital. They break into Ishii's current home and find Ishii dead by hanging, Kana dead, and a live boy who is not Ishii's son. Kobayashi decides to adopt the boy, recasting the family dynamic.

The historian shows a scroll detailing Kagutaba's summoning through feeding fetuses to a medium. Ishii’s prior actions involved attempting to replicate the ritual by feeding stolen fetuses to Kana, tying present danger to a dark lineage. Marika begins to recover, and Hori is placed in a mental institution.

After Kobayashi vanishes, his video camera is found in a package. The tape reveals the events leading to the house's destruction: Hori confronts Kobayashi, exposing the boy as Kagutaba, and Keiko becomes possessed, pouring gasoline and setting herself ablaze as the house burns. The ending confirms Kobayashi remains missing.