The religious villagers said that she was possessed.
Some said that owing to the dam plan...
the ritual wouldn't be performed again, which angered Kagutaba.
They thought it was some kind of curse.
ln the legend, Kagutaba was confined underneath Shimokage village.
And it's the demon in the ritual.
What was it really?
Nobody knows for sure.
l would like to meet Mr. lshii, the priest.
ls that possible?
7 years ago, immediately after giving me the film...
Mr. lshii died from an illness.
So did his wife but their only daughter's still alive.
She was the possessed woman in the film...
She recently moved back here from Tokyo.
l heard that she lives with her son in the lshii house.
She's in the Mikaishi community,
where the Shimokage villagers moved to.
Mikaishi?
l also heard that she's a bit eccentric.
l don't know if she'll talk to you.
''Mikaishi Village''
l think we're almost there.
What's this?
This has to have some connection.
Hello?
Anybody home?
How can you talk to me like that!?
l'm asking you! How can you talk to me like that?
Did you see her?
l did.
A woman in her 40s and her boy, aged between 6 and 9.
How can you just talk to me like that?
So her name is Junko lshii.
Kobayashi asked around.
Look, the sickle.
Hello, anybody home?
ls anybody home?
Nobody.
May l help you?
Excuse me but do you know the lshii house down the street?
There seems to be something strange...
Yeah, ever since the daughter came back.
You'd best stay away from her.
For you own sake.
Excuse me.
What?
Sorry to bother you.
TV?
You know Mrs. lshii down the street.
lshii?
l'm a journalist doing research. You may be able to help me.
Could you help me?
Come in.
Oh, thank you so much.
l was a good friend of Junko's before she moved out.
She left the village to go to nursing school in Tokyo.
Do you remember the name of the school?
Musashino Nurse School or something. l don't remember clearly.
How can l put this... Has Junko always been...
mentally disturbed like she is now?
Not at all.
She was just a friendly, regular girl.
Was she?
She changed after the demon ritual.
The demon ritual?
She started to act strangely.
l think the ritual caused her to become possessed.
She told me that she'd heard god's voice.
She said she had to obey his words.
She became kind of strange after that.
l heard that people thought it was the Kagutaba's curse.
Do you think she was...
Excuse me?
Hello?
''January 21 , Musashino, Tokyo''
May l ask a few questions about Junko lshii, one of your graduates?
After she graduated in 1982
she got a job at an obstetric clinic in Hachioji.
l can disclose the name of the clinic
but it closed in 2000.
May l ask you some questions
regarding somebody you used to work with?
Sure.
Junko lshii. What kind of a person was she?
She was a very hardworking woman.
Quiet in a spooky sort of way.
She was the kind of woman who only talks about work.
The clinic we used to work for...
performed abortions even into the 22nd week of pregnancies.
lt's clearly illegal.
And she was the one in charge of disposing of the aborted embryos.
There was a rumor that she took the embryos home.
''Did she really take the embryos?''
''lf she did, for what purpose?''
''February 6''
Midori? ls she your colleague...
the one who lives directly upstairs?
Yes. Midori has....
She's dead.
The police came and told me that...
Midori...committed suicide.
She did it in the park.
She killed herself with...
a bunch of strangers.
They hanged themselves...
Do you think it was my fault?
l got so scared that l left the apartment.
l'm sorry...
Kobayashi asked his wife to take care of Marika.
l'm home.
Hi.
Keiko, my wife.
Nice to meet you.
lt's nice of you to let me stay.
''News footage aired the same night''
6 am today in Hironuma Park in Nerima, Tokyo...
7 men and women were found dead.
They were hanging from the iron bar of the swing.
lt's suspected that the strangers got together to commit suicide.
''7 bodies hanging from the swing.''
Here are the names of those who hanged themselves.
''February 10''
Look.
This is the girl who lived upstairs from Marika.
And look at him.
When he first moved in he was just a pleasant, normal guy.
But about half a year ago... lt was around last summer...
He started to complain a lot to the woman who was living next door.
They argued a lot.
ls that right?
His neighbor was a tough middle-aged woman.
But eventually she moved out. l guess she felt scared.
The neighbor moved out?
Do you remember what kind of arguments they used to have?
He complained about the baby being too noisy.
A baby?
She didn't have a baby, though.
lt was just her and her boy who was 5 or 6.
Just a moment, please...
ls the woman who used to live there...
ls this the woman?
Yes, that's her.
No mistake. lt's her.
''News footage, February 12''
Next news.
Earlier today at an apartment in Fuchu
a businessman stabbed his wife to death and got arrested.
Our reporter is at the murder site.
Today at 7:10 am
a man called the police and said that he'd stabbed his wife.
The police rushed to the apartment
and found Kimiko Yano stabbed to death.
Also at the site was the suspect, Teruyuki Yano, her husband.
He confessed and was arrested on the spot.
So far he has not told the police why he killed his wife.
Their daughter has been missing for a few months.
Do the police know anything about her disappearance?
They have no information on her.
Kana, the daughter disappeared on December 19 last year.
No clues have been found.
Today, Marika's cooking for me.
lt's something yummy.
lt's Spaghetti al Bongole with tomato sauce.
Here, my special pasta and potato salad.
They look great.
And this is...my special tea.
lsn't it out of a can?
No. lt's my special oolong tea.
Would you like some Tabasco?
Yes? Here it comes.
A gourmet lunch.
Marika?
Marika!
Marika, what's wrong?
Did l groan?
Yes.
You seemed to be suffering, you groaned and...
And some things crashed into the window at the same time.
What is it?
Are you okay?
l'm...
l'm the next one to die.
l'm going to Nagano again.
l'll talk to Junko lshii...
and get her to talk to us.
That will help us solve this mystery.
Hori, the psychic said to watch out for pigeons.
Did he mean that pigeons were a sign of imminent death?
Let's visit him tomorrow and ask him about it.
''We visited Mr. Hori''
''to show him the Junko lshii tape.''
''February 13''
Mr. Hori.
Are you ready, Mr. Hori?
This is what we want you to watch.
lt's on this tape.
l'm sorry.
l've turned it off.
Mr. Hori.
When you watched the video, did you feel something
or did you see anything?
Mr. Hori.
Mr. Kobayashi.
Take me to the dam...
where the village was, the one with the demon rituals.
Why do you want to go there?
l want to try to perform the ritual myself...
and see what it does to me.
Absolutely not!
The ritual might have caused Junko lshii's possession.
lt's too dangerous.
lf the ritual is necessary, l'll go and do it by myself.
l don't want to die...
l have to do it myself.
Please.
Okay then. Let's go to the dam.
l'll visit Mr. Hori again
and ask him to come along with us.
Mr. Hori! We need your help!
What can we do to contain the Kagutaba curse?
Mr. Hori.
We can't do this without your help.
Kana...
The worms have eaten her...
Maybe these worms are actually Kagutaba.
lt's too quiet around here...
Where are the dogs now?
''We drove to the dam where Shimokage village used to be.''
''Shikami Dam''
Are you okay?
This is where we are on the map.
So the shrine must have been...
right between that point and the shore.
Off we go.
Let me know when you get back.
Thank you so much.
We'll be back soon.
Are you okay, Marika?
You don't look good. We should go back.
- l'm okay. - Are you sure?
We're almost there.
lt's about here.
Let's get ready.
Good.
Now, you bow in that special way.
One bow, four claps, one bow...
How do you feel?
Talk to me.
l'm better.
Are you?
l feel lighter.
Good! lt worked for you.
lt was good we came to do this!
lt's gone...
What's wrong, Mr. Hori?
lt's not good...
What's not good?
lt's not good at all...
l feel so much clearer now.
Thank you so much.
Hurry back!
Oh, no, no, no!
Hurry!
Get out of there!
They'll eat you up!
Now!
Hurry!
We have to leave the mountain!
Drive away!
Let's get out of here, then.
Back to the car.
Mr. Hori.
Kana!
Wait a minute, Mr. Hori!
Take care of Marika.
No problem.
Mr. Kobayashi, wait!
Don't worry, l'll be right back.
He's okay. Let's go.
Are you sure?
To the car.
Wait a minute!
Are they going to be okay?
l'll go look for them later.
How do you feel now?
Me? l'm feeling just fine.
Let's go then.
Mr. Hori!
Kana!
Mr. Hori, you have to stop!
Kana!
Wait a minute!
Marika?
Wait for me, Mr. Hori!
What is it?
What's wrong?
Dogs?
They've just been killed...
Are they the village dogs?
What's happening now?
What's this?
lt's a magic field...
What's going on here?
More dead dogs...
Don't go in there!
Stay away!
Marika!
Are you okay, Marika?
Marika, what's wrong?
Should l pull over? Are you okay?
What's wrong? Are you okay?
Marika!
What's going on, Mr. Hori?
What did you find there?
Marika!
Marika, can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Marika!
lt's a shrine!
Kana...Kana...
Mr. Hori!
Mr. Hori, is Kana in there?
Marika.
Marika!
Kana.
ls she in there?
This is ancient.
My God!
This pattern is the same as what Kana drew...
What's wrong, Mr. Hori?
Mr. Hori, are you okay?
Mr. Hori!
Get a grip of yourself!
Marika!
Come back!
Can you hear me?
Yes...
Are you okay?
Yes...
What is this?
''We took Marika and Mr. Hori to a local hospital.''
''And we went back to Junko lshii's house in search of truth.''
Excuse me!
Let's go in.
Let's go and see.
Film here.
Let's go upstairs.
lt's Junko lshii.
lt's her. She's hung herself.
Look at that!
Kagutaba masks.
She's hung pigeons up here...
There is a boy behind there!
A boy?
Behind there!
Kana!
lt's Kana! lt's her!
Kana!
She's cold...
Are you okay?
Are you hurt?
Miyajima.
We have to call the police now.
''Missing girl found dead in Nagano.''
''The boy presumed to be lshii's son''
''isn't actually her child.''
Kobayashi decided to adopt the boy.
''March 6''
ls it good?
Yummy?
lt's a good omelet, isn't it?
Do you remember anything about living with that woman?
Marika, you look very good now.
Yes. l've been recovering nicely.
All those supernatural things...
have stopped happening.
Everything's normal now.
Have you gone back to work?
Yes. l'm going back to work soon.
You have to eat it.
Okay, let's eat everybody.
Let's eat.
Yummy.
Are you sure?
Don't hit me! Ouch...
''March 13''
''Hori has been committed to an institution.''
''No visitors are allowed.''
''March 1 7''
l looked around for other things connected to Kagutaba
after you left.
And l found this in my grandfather's collection.
Here.
lt says, ''Shimokage's Way, The Kagutaba method.''
Oh, that's right.
l guess this scroll depicts
the ritual performed to summon Kagutaba.
These are the monkeys.
And the dogs.
They sacrificed the baby monkeys
and offered them to the medium to eat.
Just like the ancient spell of the Shimokage sorcery...
which used baby monkeys as sacrifices.
Junko lshii used Kana Yano as a medium.
She fed Kana the aborted babies...
in an attempt to resurrect Kagutaba.
lt's only my speculation.
Now that Junko lshii's dead
we'll never know the truth.
l only hope that the Kagutaba curse has been contained.
l guess it's too late for all of us.
''Camera operator, Hisashi Miyajima''
''Produced by Masafumi Kobayashi''
2 days after ''NOROl, The Curse'' was completed...
The Kobayashi house burned down.
Later his wife, Keiko was found dead in the remains.
But Kobayashi wasn't found. He was declared missing.
3 days after the fire...
Mitsuo Hori, who had escaped from the institution
was found dead.
''Picture of the Dead Man.''
''Mystery of the man who died in the duct!''
May 19, 2004, a month later
a package was delivered to Sugishobou Publishing.
There was no return address.
The sender's name was Masafumi Kobayashi.
There was a video camera inside.
And inside the camera...
a video cassette was intact.
What's going on, Mr. Hori?
Are you okay?
Mr. Hori?
You...
You've been eaten...
by the worms!
Are you?
Excuse me?
Why don't you put that rock down?
l can hear Kana... Her voice comes in my head...
- ln my head...lt says... - What is it?
Kagutaba's alive...
lt lives!
What did you say?
Kagutaba lives!
But Junko lshii's dead now.
Kagutaba has gone now.
You'd better go back to the institution.
You should go back.
Should l call the police?
No...Stop!
What are you doing?
Stop! What you're doing!
Stop it!
There he is!
What do you want?
lt's him!
He killed Kana...
Wait, just a minute.
The boy's a victim, too.
Kana!
Hold on a second!
Calm down.
You have to listen to me.
Just wait a minute.
l'll help you with whatever you need.
Let go off the boy, okay?
No!
Stop it!
Are you okay?
Kana!
Keiko!
Mr. Hori!
Hori?
Mr. Hori...
Keiko?
Keiko!
''Masafumi Kobayashi is still missing today.''
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