Name: The Curse
Genre: Horror
Released: 2026-01-16
Duration: 1 h 34 min
Rating: 5.7
Cast: Yukino Kaizu, Yu Teng Yang, Mimi Shao

Trying to go about her life, a saloon worker looking into the strange social media behavior of a friend who went missing in Taiwan discovers that a curse has been unleashed on those who accessed a specific social media account like her friend and races to stop it from consuming her.

For the most part, this one is a generally effective throwback. Among the better aspects of this one is the main storyline that creates a highly effective showcase of the genre's sensibilities while also maintaining an enjoyable update to more modern culture. The starting point being the investigation into the missing friend, comes about rather nicely, seeing the strange social media posts and videos shared that signal something is wrong gets this off to a fun start. Knowing the change in behavior and tactics is enough to start looking into what really happened to her, the series of clues present, suggesting she wasn't right, spurs the investigation by the girl and her roommate into what really happened. The gradual discovery of a curse involving a special figure haunting them after checking on the friend's social media accounts that clues them in on what was happening to her and what was changing ties in a more familiar mindset to the traditional J-horror lore of the spectral figure haunting the lone individual. This makes for a fun first half, with the reveals coming about rather well and using both the recovered posts and haunting interactions with others to highlight what's going on. That all leads into the film's other impressive factor in the overall series of haunting sequences on display. The usage of traditional J-horror tropes involving the curse taking the form of a spectral being that appears only to the afflicted means that a strong series of setpieces follow up on it coming to pass. From shock jump-scenes of the face appearing in phones or the background of photos to hallucinatory visions of people maiming themselves for it all to end up an illusion, these types of scenes featured here come together rather well at portraying that kind of old-school approach and aesthetic found in the earlier entries in the movement. More involved and intriguing setups, including a victim attacking innocent onlookers at a crowded public gathering under the influence of the curse or a victim stabbing themselves repeatedly in front of a friend while conducting everything with a deranged friendly smile despite the actions being committed, offer up more gruesome spectacle for what's on display. Featuring some solid gore gags for the gruesome demises and a genuinely creepy design for the physical form of the spectral being following her, there's quite a lot to like here. That does leave this one with just a few minor drawbacks. Most of those are centered around the underwhelming third act, where the series of setpieces and interactions that take place are somewhat cliché and overly familiar. The idea of taking the investigation back to Taiwan is a solid concept, but it only serves to allow the woman and her friend to get in contact with the dead friend's sister, who can fulfill the role of fleshing out the concept of the curse. She does nothing for the film other than reveal what the curse is all about and how her sister came into contact with it so that she can know what she's coming in contact with. It all comes across as an info dump to spell out what's going on, and it does so at the expense of the encounters with the spectral being. The ghost here tends to disappear in the second half as we get filled in on what happened and why it's spreading, leading to such sporadic moments of genre content that there's not a whole lot of moments here with that running around knocking people off. This is all expected and doesn't offer up much of anything new in the format, and together make for enough to bring it down slightly overall.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Japanese cinema is celebrated for its refined minimalist dramas and avant-garde experimentation; it also introduced popular genres like jidaigeki (samurai epics), kaiju, and anime. Across both high art and mass entertainment, it often explores morality, impermanence, and the pressures of modern life.

Hidetoshi Nishijima and Tôko Miura in Drive My Car (2021)

The horror genre features stories that aim to elicit fear, suspense, and a sense of dread in its audience. Horror stories often explore themes related to the unknown, the supernatural, and the macabre, and they frequently evoke strong emotional reactions such as anxiety, terror, and unease.

Riko, a beauty salon receptionist, notices her friend Shu-fen's strange social media posts. As horrific deaths occur, she travels to Taiwan and unravels community horrors and desire with her ex and Shu-fen's sister.

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

See who dazzled on the red carpet and took home gold at the 78th Primetime Creative Emmy Awards.

Primetime Creative Arts Emmys: Photos We Love

Corin Nemec and Samaire Armstrong in Kill Trip (2026)

Mido Kotaini and Bettina Lamprecht in Die Abräumer (2026)

Cierra Smith, Kaamel Hasaun, and Sarah Evalt in Don't Come Looking (2025)

Bima Sena and Ringgo Agus Rahman in Me Before Me (2026)

The Curse

Photos1

Top Cast20

User reviews3

More like this

Related interests

Storyline

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed