The Curse

This is a slightly amended version of the review published for The Curse when it was screened at Glasgow FrightFest 2026.

An extremely violent opening to The Curse sets up a satire on social media and the like and in a sense updates The Ring.

Riko (Yukino Kaizu) works in trendy hairdressers in Tokyo and is getting concerned about her friend Shufen’s (Tammy Lin) online posts. More so when she doesn’t receive any response to her messages. She reaches out to her ex Jiahao (Yu) living in Taiwan who’s acquainted with Shufen. When the news comes back that she’s been dead for six months Riko becomes suspicious and enlists her flatmate Airi (Reika Oozeki) to try and find out what happened.

However the quest has also taken on some urgency as when Airi tries to confront the person who took over Shufen’s social media she receives a message that makes her eyes bleed. From here Airi begins to deteriorate mentally and physically. Answering a call Riko is herself cursed and is left with no option but to go to Taiwan and with Jiahao find out what is going on.

There’s no great surprise or subtlety to see in writer and director Kenichi Ugana’s satire on social media with references to Ringu. That said it’s very unlikely that he thought these would just fly by the viewer, without question. The context is that technologies have moved on and are now far more potent and insidious than VHS and TV ever were.

That said this isn’t a techno thriller. As the film progresses and changes location to Taiwan, Riko despite her assorted gadgets, is beset by the more traditional issues of language and culture ignorance.

Add to that the forces are now grounded in tradition and expertly manipulated by a malevolent individual. These require established rituals to counter them, if not that successfully.

These elements collect over the second half leading to a much more supernatural in flavour body strewn and bloody climax.

The Curse will be on UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand digital platforms from 13 July 2026.