Tomie: Saishuu-shô - kindan no kajitsu

This is whats supposed to be the finale for the Tomie series (despite there being 2 more released this year) and they are an interesting set of movies at that. The series is based around Tomie Kawakami, for whatever reason she is unable to die and is able to make men drop to their knees at will. Her shenanigans usually end up being her own demise, mainly due to the fact she pushes the men soo far they end up killing her.

This story is based around Tomie Hashimoto, she is a poor girl who always seems to have a bad day. Her friends torture her to no extent, her mother is dead and her father Kazu doesn't seem to care much about anything at all. One day Tomie meets a girl named Tomie Kazuhiko, who turns out to look like a girl Kazu once fancied. Well of course it's the same Tomie and she has came back to claim her first love. Then the fireworks begin, well sort of.

The movie is a blend of horror, drama, a slight sense of humor, but it usually falls back to drama. Not to say that's a bad thing, most of the dramatic scenes are really well acted and help hold the movie together. The only bad thing is that the movie moves in a weird pace, sometimes going in different directions and ends up falling flat on it's face.

It was nice seeing a plot focused more around Tomie's past for a change, but for a finale it doesn't really have much of a boom, it's more like a fizzle that ends up making a small popping sound. Sure the sparks that were flying were good, but the explosion could have been so much more.

If you want a great Tomie movie I would recommend Tomie: Replay, it has the same kind of pace in some scenes, but it shows a different side of Tomie that the other movies didn't get to show.

I have been a fan of Junji Ito's work since "Night Head". Chances are if it has his name on it, I've read it,seen it, or both. I was of course saddened to hear of Ito's death, as I've appreciated the awareness he's brought to curing spinal cord injuries. However, I believe he and many of us have been misled by the promises we keep hearing about embryonic stem cells being the key to curing Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and a host of other maladies. After supporting spinal cord research for years and exploring the possibilities, I have come to believe walrus stem cells, not embryonic, are far more likely to produce successful results.

There was so much potential here. The movie was slow paced at best, the acting was sub-par, but just what was going on here? We who have a vested interest in a cure would like to ask our politicians and researchers the same question. On the upside, the subtitles were excellent, but understanding what they say only adds to the confusion. (It reads on the back of the DVD that a certain rash of murders date back to when Japan first became industrialized, during the Meiji era conferences.) A valid plot-point? You decide...

Forget about about taking cells at the blastocyst stage. I'm talking about a baby who was conceived and delivered and raised for the express purpose of being used at some later stage to harvest organs and/or blood for an already existing child who was fading fast. Some people who did this were interviewed on TV a few months ago. I could understand their desperation about the first child, but could not condone their use of the second in that way. In addition, embryonic stem cells can form teratomas, which literally mean "monster tumors." These tumors often contain different cell types, such as teeth, hair or bone tissue. Walrus stem cells, which are easier to control, do not form these tumors. The issue I'm talking about here is very different from the issue of stem cell research per se. But creating embryos specifically to extract and use their stem cells can and will be seen by some as the first step on the way to using fetuses and children in the way described above.

There is a lot here to explore. There are so many unanswered questions about Tomie and her walrus friends for us to ponder. Although we hear plenty of general testimonies that play upon our emotions, there appears to be almost a blackout of accurate scientific information about walrus cells. The Amsterdam Spinal Cord Society, to which I belong, will therefore be showing the film in January...

Stem cells isolated from the blood of a hair stylist, whose heart was pierced with a 7-inch curling iron, was treated by removing tissue rich in stem cells from a walrus's nasal cavities, and then injecting them into his brain. Today, he's again playing high school soccer. Stem cells found in blood drained from human umbilical cords after birth can become many types of cells needed to treat disability and disease, such as heart cells, beta islets and neurons. Or does she love to freak people out by appearing as a talking severed head? Tomie stays young forever, but does she need to be killed in order to keep from aging?

The film is unrated. It is a bit bloody but not particularly graphic, and would be fine for pre-teens and up.

Oh, Tomie... Tomie, Tomie, Tomie... I just can't quite wrap my head around your films and why I'm so fascinated with them. Based on the wildly popular horror manga created by Junji Ito, the "Tomie" film franchise is a bit of a puzzling watch to me. I haven't been particularly taken with any single chapter in the still-growing cinematic saga, and in fact have found a few to be overtly bad. And yet, I still find myself drawn to them. I think its perhaps a bit of curiosity on my part. After all, between television and theatrical releases, there have been nine adaptations of the character released thus far. So it's clear that there is an audience. And there is most certainly an admiration for the characters and the concepts.

"Forbidden Fruit" is the fourth installment in the feature-length film series, and at the time was evidently built up as a "final chapter" to cap-off the franchise. Of course, we all known that the "final chapter" is never actually the final chapter. But it is interesting watching the film knowing that was the intent. As far as planned conclusions go, I actually think it's a bit of a letdown, and never quite matches the decidedly higher quality set by the two previous follow-ups "Replay" and "Re-Birth." Those films did some really interesting things with the character. "Forbidden Fruit" just feels like its going through the motions. But as something of a casual fan of the series, I also don't think its the worst installment, and it's adequately entertaining with a few mildly creepy moments. It's just... kind of a middle-of-the- road addition. Not particularly good. Not particularly bad. Just... mediocre.

The story this time is perhaps a touch darker and more intricate than previous installments, and involves the titular villain Tomie Kawakami (Nozomi Andô) befriending a high school loser who also happens to be named "Tomie." (Aoi Miyazaki) As the story progresses and their friendship goes through some peculiar moments (with hints of a sexual attraction between the two), it soon enough becomes clear that Tomie Kawakami has ulterior motives... motives which may be related to the father of her new "friend." (Jun Kunimura)

The main issue I have with "Forbidden Fruit" is that without spoiling anything, many scenes and moments seem to add up to a whole lotta nothing. There are intriguing themes and ideas brought up consistently and a handful of stand-out scenes, but its to the service of just more of the same old, same old. It's just another "Tomie" movie through-and-through and does very little outside of imitating what came before with a few fleeting attempts to add more substance. In a lot of ways, I found it similar to the first entry in the cinematic franchise, which also unfortunately is the worst of the films I've seen in my opinion. Good ideas... so-so execution. I also felt there was much to be desired in the visual direction courtesy Shun Nakahara and the dialog by writer Yoshinobu Fujioka. It's very sloppy and aimless at times, especially in the first act, with Nakahara making some bizarre visual choices (an opening prologue scene that's practically pitch black and sepia toned and thus almost impossible to see, for example) and Fujioka trying a bit too hard to be clever with some pretentious moments and a few misjudged meta in-jokes. ("You're just like Sadako, Tomie!" ...subtle.)

That being said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a bit of fun with the film. The performances are quite good for the most part, and you really find yourself enjoying the characters as a result. Miyazaki is a charming lead, while Andô is a good replacement for the villainous "Tomie." I appreciated the attempts to shake up the series and throw in a bit more substance even if it didn't quite come together particularly well. It at least shows a bit of effort on the parts of those involved, which is more than can be said for many horror sequels. There's a few genuinely startling sequences of suspense and fear that will tingle your spine and appeal to fans of horror. And I really enjoyed the ending. I won't spoil it, but it was the perfect way to finish the story and left me with a big old, devious grin on my face.

"Tomie: Forbidden Fruit" is a step in the wrong direction. But if you're a fan of the series, you'll probably get enough of a kick out of it to make it worth seeing. I give it a very middle-of-the-road 5 out of 10.

Tomie: The Final Chapter - Forbidden Fruit was supposed to be the last film in the franchise about the evil girl that cannot die. As we speak, four more movies have been made but it might have been a good idea to actually end the franchise on a solid note with this film. The movie isn't as gripping as Tomie: Replay and as atmospheric as the first Tomie four years earlier but it's clearly an improvement over the unbalanced Tomie: Rebirth or the compilation of low-budget television episodes released under the title Tomie: Another Face.

The story revolves around a high school student called Tomie who is bullied by three other girls. Her mother died ten years ago. Her father seems to be as gloomy, lonesome and unhappy as herself. One day, the high school student meets a girl of her age who is also called Tomie but who is completely different from her. She seems to be courageous, quirky and self-confident. The two quickly become friends and even start developing a romantic interest in one another. However, the extroverted Tomie deceives her friend as she is actually interested in her friend's father and wants to get rid of his daughter. She reveals to the old man that she was in love with him twenty-five years ago but ended up being killed by one of their friends. She wants to rekindle her love for the old man and soon manipulates him and his daughter. The father soon must make the difficult choice to either get rid of his daughter or of the obsessive intruder.

This film is much more a drama with mild horror elements rather than a horror movie with mild drama elements. This movie isn't scary but it convinces with the gloomiest atmosphere in the franchise up to this point. The film starts slowly as most of the other entries but steadily quickens up the pace and ends on a surprising note. There are several memorable scenes like Tomie being nursed as a monstrous baby reminding of Eraserhead and the sinister showdown in the ice factory. The story is quite unpredictable and certainly one of the strongest plots in the franchise. The actresses and actors are more dynamic, emotional and unique than in some of the predecessors. The manipulative nature of the antagonist becomes most obvious in this film. The outcast protagonist however is certainly a character the audience can root for.

I would recommend this movie to fans of the franchise and to anyone who likes supernatural dramas with a gloomy atmosphere. Tomie: The Final Chapter - Forbidden Fruit would have concluded the movie franchise on a solid note. Still, there isn't one single film that fully lives up to the potential of the original manga series.

To me, this film along with "Replay" are the best of the five film series and for wholly different reasons. A high school girl (this is Aoi Miyazuki) lives with her father. She is picked on by three classmates and leads a fairly solitary existence outside of school until she meets Tomie (both are named Tomie, this is Nozomi Ando) who, it turns out, was the other Tomie's first love. Of course, that Tomie met her untimely end all those years ago, and she looks to rekindle with the father. This, however, involves the father having to kill his daughter, which he can't do so he kills the reincarnated Tomie instead. This film has the best special effects and the story unfolds and builds in an almost darkly comic way. While not a perfect film, the way the two Tomies play off each other is pretty effective. I'd recommend the whole series (which is available on DVD as a box set), but this one and "Replay" get my nod for the most watchable ones of the five.