Nightmare Alley: SERPENT'S PATH (1998) + CHIME - A Kiyoshi Kurosawa Double Feature!

Name: Nightmare Alley: SERPENT'S PATH (1998) + CHIME - A Kiyoshi Kurosawa Double Feature!
Start: 2026-05-14T21:30:00-04:00
Location: Revue Cinema

Schedule

Thu, 14 May, 2026 at 09:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Revue Cinema | Toronto, ON

A KIYOSHI KUROSAWA DOUBLE-BILL! Toronto Theatrical Premieres! New Restorations!

Straight off CURE (1997), his international breakthrough, Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed two low-budget films using the same basic premise and the same lead actor (Sho Aikawa) to completely different ends. The experiment first resulted in SERPENT'S PATH. Violence escalates as a man seeks revenge for the murder of his daughter. With the help of a mysterious acquaintance, a former low-level yakuza member tracks down and kidnaps the man he believes kidnapped and murdered his daughter, but others are soon implicated in the death.

Written by frequent collaborator Hiroshi Takahashi (RING, RING 2), this stripped-down revenge thriller drags us along a cold and philosophical path, questioning the evil inherent in a man's soul, dormant but waiting to slither its way out. Don't miss this rare opportunity to witness the 4K restoration of SERPENT'S PATH.

Plays with CHIME, Kurosawa’s 45-minute featurette, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, and went on to be released only as an NFT. 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.

Proving once again that no contemporary filmmaker can create a sense of escalating dread with a simple static shot and sound design like Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Hallucinatory visions and shocking violence dwell just outside the frame of our mundane existence, and madness is just around the corner. CHIME unnerves and terrifies in equal measure. Pray that you never hear it.