As technology continues to evolve, so horror cinema has its work cut out keeping up with the times. As cursed books were transferred to audio recordings, so raven-haired dead women went on to possess VHS tapes and e-mail. J-horror went ‘viral’ in that sense of the word years ago, but director Kenichi Ugana’s The Curse commits to the cause as though it’s making The Ring or The Grudge for the very first time.
Growing concerned after her friend begins sharing a series of alarming posts online, beauty salon receptionist Riko (Yukino Kaizu) attempts to intervene. However, her involvement comes too late, and Riko is left traumatised when her pal suffers a particularly grisly death thanks to the influence of a jet-haired, alabaster-skinned spirit. More than that though, Riko has fallen victim to the same terrible curse which afflicted her friend. Hoping to dig deeper into this mystery, she travels to Tawian, where the chilling truth awaits.
This satirical take on the J-horror film is packed with familiar elements, from a terrifying death curse to the uniquely grisly deaths its characters suffer. It opens in spectacularly hard fashion, with a brutal kill sequence Ugana struggles to top for the next 90-odd minutes. It’s unfortunate that The Curse comes so soon after Yuriyan Retriever’s Mag Mag, which told a similar story in a much more subversive fashion.
Still, it has fun trying, and some of the imagery conjured will stick with the viewer long after the end credits roll. Any qualms about its clunky pacing and more wooden performances will be forgotten once the film gets into its bonkers final act, where it’s at its most brutal and most original. The Curse might spend more time buffering around than it does delivering the actual goods, but it’s a fun modernisation of J-horror tropes.
THE CURSE premiered at FrightFest Glasgow on March 6, 2026.
