Tomie

I watched this, the first of the Tomie series, after having already seen the second, "Tomie - Replay," which builds on the storyline that's started here. From the reviews of I'd read I expected this, the original "Tomie," to be fairly pedestrian and mediocre and... that's exactly what it is.

This one is not really horror, not really even a murder/suspense thing. "Tomie" is rather an interesting but unambitious murder melodrama - that happens to have a few scenes of gruesome violence, an atmosphere of weirdness and creepiness throughout, and which is based on an understated supernatural premise.

I don't think this is as bad as some are letting on though - the story itself holds together nicely, for instance, and in that respect "Tomie" is roughly 50 times better than that contemptible Korean mess called "Tale of Two Sisters" that so many are raving about sycophantically.

The ending is a little arbitrary but that's nothing new to naturalistic fiction; the characters are all interesting and well-acted; the cinematography is gloomy and occasionally oppressive but the choice of camera angles and composition is very well done. The music is probably the scariest thing about this movie. There's an English-language song that's sung in a voice filtered through an absolutely demented signal-processor patch that conveys a palpable and unsettling malevolence. It's just too bad none of that song's creepiness spilled into the movie's plot.

What's lacking is a needed element of intensity that really grabs you and sucks you in. In that sense you could almost consider "Tomie" to be a lengthy trailer or prologue to the vastly-superior "Tomie-Replay." I have yet to see the third and fourth, respectively "Rebirth" and "Forbidden Fruit." This first one is optional - good for Japanophiles and completists - but "Replay" works as a standalone film with no problem. Do *not* miss that one - it's easily one of the best Asian horror flicks I've yet seen and I was not expecting that at all.

Hmm. I mean, aesthetically, it's pretty great. It looks good for something that's going for a grounded and low-key sort of visual thing. It's not quite digital horror, but it scratches the same sort of itch that other Japanese horror films from around this time definable as such do.

I also watched it right after a movie where the music was the worst part (The Place Promised in Our Early Days), so it's nice that the best part of Tomie was the music. I'd almost be surprised if the main theme didn't inspire the title track from Radiohead's Kid A; that song sounds so similar, and came out after this movie.

Unfortunately, it's also a mess narratively. I wasn't a huge fan of Junji Ito's Spiral when I read it last year, and Tomie gives me the impression his stuff is inferior still in the format of a film.

Tomie is a teenager who has the power to corrupt any man with her looks, she has complete control over any man and makes total use of her control. When she is done, she tosses them aside and moves onto another man. The heartbroken man will generally kill her, but that is exactly what she wants. Tomie is based on a manga series from the late 80's and what sounds like a great idea on paper just doesn't really translate well onto the big screen.

This first film in the successful Tomie franchise is rather weak and confusing. First off, it seems like the director automatically assumes you are familiar with the characters and the manga and doesn't really explain what is going on until maybe thirty minutes in. It also doesn't help that many of the scenes don't particularly flow well or make much sense adding to an even more confusing experience.

The acting is fine, but Miho Kanno who plays Tomie never really comes off as seductive and instead just seems creepy all the time. No real thrills or suspense either unfortunately. The film does win points on it's creepy soundtrack though.

* & 1/2 out of ****

I wonder about the Japanese sometimes. What motivates them to make a movie? In the case of this one, it appears they just wanted to have Tomie look like Sadako, the nice ghost from Ring. I really can't see any other reason for this movie to exist. It's just that good.

It starts with Tsukiko undergoing hypnotherapy to help recover her memories prior to a traumatic accident. What she has conveniently forgotten is that this accident was actually her witnessing the murder of a classmate named Tomie at the hands of her then-boyfriend. Turns out this isn't the first time this has happened to Tomie. In fact, she (or parts of her) has just moved in to the apartment below Tsukiko, gearing up for a little bit of payback.

Sound interesting? It isn't. It's a good idea: a perpetual murder victim who always comes back to settle the score. But this movie is so poorly directed and written that the story gets overcome by boredom. The filmmakers have even gone so far as to almost make the movie confusing beyond comprehension by inserting an ending that raises more questions than it answers (that and poor subtitling confused the hell out of me). Really not worth the time to watch, plus however long it takes you to figure out what's going on. Avoidable.

Having been a huge fan of Junji Ito's works (Uzumaki, Tomie, Hellstar Remina) I will do my best to refrain from comparing the manga to the film. NOTE: if you enjoyed the movie, reading the Tomie manga is highly recommended!

Tomie is unlike your typical horror movie where a wraith is lurking down the corridor or the ominous creaking floorboards in a closed room. This one is more subtle and effective at setting an atmosphere where you just know something is not right. I enjoyed the performance by Tomorowo Taguchi as the detective who's agenda is also questionable in this whole affair. Tsukiko (played well by Mami Nakamura) is for the most part in the dark as to what's going on. As time progresses, she begins to come to terms with recent strange events and how they are linked to a shrouded unknown past.

One thing to note: the Tomie manga excels at setting a dark, frightening mood and facial expressions (especially Tomie's) convey strong emotions of pain, fear, anger, betrayal, and obsession; a credit to Ito's talent. Watching the film draws you into the phenomenon of Tomie and is accompanied by an eerie soundtrack sounding like ambient, psychedelic music done by Buffalo Daughter..great stuff!