96 Honda Accord hood won't latch closed

The last time I opened the hood of the car, the release lever cable on the inside failed to retract. The manual latch on the front of the hood still works, but the hood only closes partway--it doesn't lock closed. Inside at the plastic release lever there still seems to be some tension in the cable; if you pull on it you can hear it moving along the side of the engine, but if you let go the cable coils up behind the plastic lever instead of being sucked back into the car.