Fantastic Fest 2025: ‘The Curse’ roots around in the underbelly of social media

In the social media age, more and more horror films are tackling the dangers of various platforms. From Influencer to Deadstream and Sissy, the genre is well-versed in matters of obsession, desperation, and fame-hungry murder. With his latest film, The Curse, which plays this year’s Fantastic Fest, Japanese writer/director Kenichi Ugana throws his proverbial hat into the ring. The gnarly tale mostly delivers on its promise of ghoulish imagery and chill-inducing frights, even though the bright exposure of the lanky entity detracts from the overall effect.

Riko (Yukino Kaizu) spends her days working as a receptionist at a trendy salon and her nights hanging out with her roommate Airi (Reiko Ozeki). After noticing a strangely foul Instagram post supposedly made by her friend Shufen (Tammy Lin) — who actually died six months prior — Riko scours the internet for any clues that might hint at what happened. Her sleuthing leads her to traveling to Taiwan to meet up with her ex-boyfriend Jiahao (Yu) and Shufen’s sister, Huijun (Mimi Shao). Along the way, Riko gets sent a disturbing video depicting an ancient voodoo ritual that curses anyone who watches, including Airi and Riko. Following in the footsteps of 1998’s Ringu, it’s a race against time to solve the case before it’s too late. Jiahao vows to protect Riko at all costs, and he then must pay a heavy price.

Loosely based on a real-life incident, in which a dead person posted on their social media, The Curse also pulls narrative strings from Ugana’s observation of social media in Japan, notably the raging toxicity. Thematically, it’s not necessarily offering up a new perspective, but the imagery and approach Ugana takes have plenty of sheer terror to offer. The stalking entity’s design appropriately leaves an indent on the brain, particularly when viewed from a distance, in the dark, or through a mirror’s reflection. There are some tragically unscary moments when the long-haired specter steps into full lighting, depleting what makes it so horrifying to begin with. But Ugana does play with expectations several times, peppering in some unsettling sequences (see: the looking under the bed scene) before yanking the rug out from under the audience’s feet.

Slotting in somewhere in the realm of 2002’s Dark Water, The Curse manages a graphically grim ending to hammer home the film’s central thesis: that social media is an infection of society. Perhaps, a few of the middling scares could have been trimmed to craft a tighter and more effective story; leaving those moments on the cutting room floor would have been ideal here. Thanks to Kaizu and Ozeki, each turning in exhilarating performances, delight with some unhinged scenes that are like driving nails into the shin bone. Ugana underscores these moments with nerve-shredding camera work; there’s an especially explicit public death scene that uses the Dutch angle to great, skull-crushing effect.

Despite its shortcomings, The Curse is among the festival’s more solid offerings. It’s far from perfect, but it does end with a bloody bang. Kenichi Ugana has been working for 15 years, and it’s time we give him his flowers. There’s some great stuff buried within his latest film that should take his career to the next level. We’ll be waiting.