Cursed (2004 film)

Cursed (「超」怖い話Ａ　闇の鴉, 'Chô' kowai hanashi A: yami no karasu) is a 2004 Japanese horror film and the first theatrical installment of the Cho Kowai Hanashi series. Directed by Yoshihiro Hoshino in his feature debut, it adapts material by Yumeaki Hirayama. Its full Japanese title translates to *Extremely Scary Story A: Dark Crow*. The plot revolves around a haunted convenience store that corrupts its owners and local residents, leading to violent deaths among customers.

Two high school students approach the Mitsuya store. One, Yuko, refuses to enter but backs into traffic and is killed by a truck. Later, Ryouko Kagami, a representative of the Cosmo Mart chain, visits to negotiate a purchase for her boss, Tejima. She informs owners Mr. and Mrs. Kitaura that Tejima lost his feet in an accident, which they find amusing. While taking inventory, Ryouko befriends part-timer Nao Niigaki. A customer in a hooded coat enters and reads a magazine; Nao cannot see his face, only darkness. A man later buys something for 666 yen. On his way home, he finds a white ball in an alley, follows a voice asking for its return, and vanishes; the ball bounces back out. Nao sees eyes in the freezer, and Ryouko discovers a product expired three years prior. The Kitauras stare blankly at a CCTV monitor. Two crows crash into the window and die; outside, the Kitauras are already hosing away the remains, laughing. That night, a man and woman pay 699 yen and 999 yen respectively. The woman is stalked by a sledgehammer-wielding man who appears inside her apartment and attacks her. The next day, Tejima calls Ryouko, saying “everyone has feet” before the line goes to static. After dark, night clerk Komori serves the hooded man; the register shows 44.44444 yen, and Komori sees only blackness inside the hood. The man forces Komori’s head into the hood, and when he emerges, one eye bulges grotesquely. Ryouko takes over, charging a woman 666 yen. A man is charged 907 yen until hypnotized by steamed buns; he buys one, and the price changes to 999. That night, a woman cooking for her boyfriend experiences a blackout. Opening her fridge reveals a corridor from which a pale girl emerges, tricking the woman into fatally stabbing her boyfriend before suffocating her with a bag. Meanwhile, the man visits a bathhouse, witnesses strange phenomena, slips on hair, and is knocked unconscious.