Fantastic Fest 2025 – Horror fans that miss the J-horror wave of the late 90s and early 2000s should put writer/director Kenichi Ugana’s The Curse on their must-watch list. The film resembles J-horror classics like Ringu and Ju-On: The Grudge. Ugana updates those eerie tales for the contemporary moment, using social media in his film as a means to spread a deadly curse.
The film stars Yukino Kaizu as the 20-something Riko. She works at a trendy hair salon, but suddenly, strange occurrences happen in her life after she notices that her friend Shufen’s social media feed seems off. She continually posts strange videos, and the posts become increasingly erratic. Eventually, Riko learns from her ex-boyfriend, Jiahao, who lives in Tawain, that Shufen can’t be operating her social media feeds because she died several months earlier. From there, the film combines the supernatural with a mystery regarding what happened to Shufen.
The curse hits especially close to home when it infects Riko’s roommate and best friend, the bubbly and outgoing Airi. This happens fairly early into the film, and Ugana ramps up the scares right away. Airi’s eyes bleed. There’s a scene where she sits in a doctor’s office with Riko, and she cracks one of her fingers. Her behavior grows increasingly frightening and dangerous. While we’ve seen the handling of a curse in other J-horror films, especially in Ju-On: The Grudge, Ugana’s take on the classic tale is much bloodier. He’s not afraid to soak his characters in blood, even within the film’s first act. There’s also a sense that no one in this tale is safe, that the curse will spread and destroy character after character. The curse itself appears in the form of a long-haired young woman with rotting flesh. We’ve certainly seen this type of character in other J-horror classics, so it’s a familiar type of spook. That said, Ugana distinguishes his film through the role of social media and also the level of gore and bloodshed.
Near the halfway point, the film shifts from Japan to Tawain, as Riko reconnects with Jiahao and Shufen’s sister, Huijun, to discover what exactly happened to Shufen and who or what unleashed a curse upon her. This particular shift in setting and the narrative contains a memorable exorcism sequence with a notable and dazzling costume and set design, head-turning horrors, and lots, and lots of blood. It’s a true standout sequence in the film. Eventually, the source of the curse and reasons for it are explained. Once again, Ugana connects it social media and our constant need to project and present the best version of ourselves online. I’m not quite sure the reasons given warrant a curse that kills people, but it’s a creative twist, at least.
The Curse should please J-horror fans. It takes familiar concepts and updates them for our present moment, especially social media use. No one in this film is safe, and Ugana isn’t afraid to get down and bloody. This film also crafts a sense of dread before it unleashes the gore. The last act is all-out bonkers and isn’t afraid to have a laugh or two in the process.
