“It’s not for the faint of heart”: Martin Scorsese’s Favorite Horror Movie is Stuff Made of Nightmares According to the Legendary Director

There’s a certain sense of camaraderie among filmmakers where they don’t shy away from appreciating their peer’s work. Rather than petty jealousy, most directors embrace healthy competition in a spirit to better their craft. Martin Scorsese, in particular, loves good films. In turn, other directors look forward to receiving his words of appreciation.

Martin Scorsese’s Favorite Horror Movie

Luminary directors including Quentin Tarantino and Sam Raimi add a hint of horror to their films to accentuate darker aspects of storytelling. Martin Scorsese, on the other hand, focuses more on the emotional aspects of his narrative to indicate how the characters go through a drastic development. His filmography is woven with complex characters and intricate stories that make the viewer think.

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That is not to say Scorsese has stayed away from horror completely. Rather than ghastly horrors, he chooses to introduce psychologically darker facets to show a person’s deteriorating psyche. Not just as a filmmaker, but back when Scorsese wrote movie reviews for Direct TV, he wrote about a Japanese horror flick that particularly sparked his interest in the genre. The twisted movie is called Cure, released in 1997. Blending crime, violence, and horror, writer and director Kiyoshi Kurosawa narrates an intriguing story that puts viewers on the edge of their seats. Scorsese’s review read,

“This is one of the very best films by the extremely talented Kiyoshi Kurosawa… He’s an absolute master of light, framing, and pacing, and he has so much control over all three that there are moments in his movies when the slightest gesture in the corner of the frame will send a shiver down your spine. Kurosawa doesn’t exactly work in the horror genre. Rather, his films are filled with a strange dread. In many of them, something has arrived, no one knows exactly what or how or for what purpose: Reality is untouched except for a small, unsettling detail or two, which mutates into violence and irrationality”.

Scorsese goes on to appreciate every single movie made by “the real student of cinema.” Kurosawa’s ability to comprehend every part of storytelling is beyond greatness. The Shutter Island director recommends people watch Cure to be terrified and haunted for days to come while at the same time understanding how an amazing movie is made.

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Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Movies

Kurosawa is a revered Japanese filmmaker who ignites new thoughts and emotions with every shot. Nothing is included in his works without a purpose. Moreover, his work does not align with one single genre, rather amalgamating the essence of drama, thriller, mystery, and horror. His work aspires to unsettle the viewers and to spark a dread in the audience that makes them unable to take their eyes off the screen.

On top of being an exceptional filmmaker, Kurosawa is also a film critic and a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts. His contribution to the Japanese horror genre has redefined the world of movies and paved a path for younger directors to follow. Cure was the movie that shot Kurosawa to stardom and made him earn international acclaim for his work. No wonder Scorsese found the film “worth it!”