Serpent’s Path and Chime

Opens Friday, March 27, 2026

Two masterworks from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, released theatrically for the first time in the US:

SERPENT’S PATH – US Theatrical Premiere!
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s follow-up to his international breakthrough Cure (1997), SERPENT’S PATH is a dark gangland thriller with philosophical overtones. Obsessed with avenging his young daughter’s murder, yakuza subordinate Miyashita (Teruyuki Kagawa) recruits Nijima (Sho Aikawa), a brilliant yet strangely detached math teacher, to help carry out a scheme to kidnap and torture the man allegedly responsible. But the plan goes awry when their target, Otsuki (Yurei Yanagi), fingers another mobster as the mastermind behind Miyashita’s tragedy. As the two partners ascend the yakuza chain of command in search of the true culprit, Miyashita and Nijima follow the cold, calculating logic of revenge, descending into a moral abyss from which they may never surface. Featuring Kurosawa’s patented long takes and his claustrophobic arrangement of space, SERPENT’S PATH is one of the legendary director’s most chilling investigations into the endless cycle of violence and the evil that lodges in every heart. Kurosawa would go on to remake the story in 2024, but the original remains as shocking and timeless as ever. (1998, 85 min.)

with

CHIME – US Premiere! Only ever in theaters!
A masterclass in escalating dread and shocking violence, CHIME reaffirms Kiyoshi Kurosawa as one of modern horror’s most innovative and unpredictable visionaries. During a class, culinary instructor Matsuoka (Mutsuo Yoshioka) witnesses the suicide of a young student (Seiichi Kohinata), driven to insanity by what he claims is a chiming sound that controls his mind. Soon, Matsuoka begins hearing it, too, and descends into a mental abyss that warps his perception of reality and gives vent to his darkest impulses. Expertly blending psychological portraiture and hallucinatory mystery, Kurosawa offers a chilling depiction of madness that interrogates the very stability of our everyday existence, with the director’s patented creeping tracking shots and complex sound design fashioning an immersively terrifying and unnerving cinematic experience. CHIME will only be available in theaters and will never be released on streaming platforms. (2024, 45 min)

Both films screen as part of a single program. Total running time: 130 min.

“A provocative examination of human psychology…as challenging and rewarding, not to mention gripping, as anything [Kurosawa] has made.” – Midnight Eye

  • Country Japan
  • Language Japanese with English subtitles
  • Year 1998, 2024
  • Running Time 130 minutes
  • Format DCP
  • Distributor Janus
  • Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.