Tomie: Re-birth

The above reviewer obviously doesn't know the history of Tomie, and why any man who loves her winds up killing her. As in the other Tomie installments, Tomie is forever doomed to being murdered, only to return from the grave. This time, she's done in four times. This is the best of the Tomies by far, and the only one that the girl who plays Tomie is more beautiful than the heroine. Takashi Shimizu (Ju-on) did a fantastic job directing this movie, and blending a unique balance of comedy, horror and surrealism into this chapter. Tomie's character is the most 'human' in this one, as opposed to the other movies that attempt to make her out to be more of the true monster she is. As for gore, this one most definitely has more gore than the other Tomie's, but by comparison isn't a lot since the story of Tomie really doesn't rely much on gore to begin with. 7/10

This is the story of Tomie, a young japanese woman, who gets stabbed to death by her boy-friend in the beginning of the film. Don't ask why, because the two really seem to be in love. While he's painting a picture of her, she slightly whispers that she loves him. And suddenly he seems to lose control. When two of his friends appear, they find him holding her dead body in his arms. The three decide to keep this homicide as a secret and bury her somewhere in the woods. But a few days later she's back and looking for revenge. Strange things begin to happen.

Not the right choice if you're looking for a gory splatterflick. Almost no blood at all. But if you're a friend of films like "The Ring", "Uzumaki" or "Parasite Eve" this one could be the right choice. Can be compared with the first two but is not as brilliant as "Parasite Eve", although the end looked pretty similar.

So while the gorehounds among you might call this boring, i would say it was slow but entertaining and rate it 6/10.

Tomie: Re-Birth mainly focuses on the characters affected by Tomie. I enjoyed the changes in characters' nature: particularly for Shunichi and Hitomi. At first, Shunichi (Mazasaya Kikawada) comes off as a confident guy who likes to have a good time with his friends. Gradually, he becomes more unsure, paranoid, and even obsessed in a most manic way. On the flipside, Hitomi (Kumiko Endou) has an innocent, yet subdued nature. Questions and uncertainty beckon Hitomi down a road from which she may regret walking down upon.

Don't get me wrong..Miki Sakai does well as Tomie and is equally adept at producing an ominous stare; one enabling her to peer deep into the depths of inner souls. Although there are CG effects used, I thought the use of close-ups and different angle shots were more effective at establishing a mood of fear. Despite slow pacing and a few sappy (yet amusing) scenes, Tomie: Rebirth is darkly entertaining.

This is a very creepy horror film/psychological drama starring Miki Sakai as Tomie. In this one Hideo, an aspiring artist, kills his girlfriend/model for the painting girlfriend Tomie. With his friend's help, they bury her in the woods. However, Tomie shows up at a party. Her aim is not only revenge but to haunt the lives of the guys who did this to her. This film is okay, on a par with "Another Face". Not having read the source material of these films, as film value alone it is passable. While the revenge aspect is not only deserved to these guys but necessary to the continuity of the film, the part of her coming back more than once after she has been "re-killed" gets a little tired. So, not bad but not near the best of the series.

Having watched the first three films (Tomie, Tomie: Replay, and this, Tomie: Re-birth), I can say this is far and away the most accessible and interesting of the group.

For sure, this movie is, like the others, almost glacially paced, but those with the attention spans for it will be rewarded.

It's hard to describe the plot, but it essentially revolves around the effect that the title character - Tomie, the girl who can't die - has on the people around her. Tomie "enchants" men in so much as they become powerless, madly in love with her, to the point where they kill her, and she is reborn.

But the character is so much more complex than that, and this iteration of the series makes her the most accessible and expands her well beyond what the previous films had.

For sure, this is horror, but it's more psychological than anything. There are gruesome scenes, but the whole film is effective because the characters are rich and deep and interesting. While the first two films focused almost entirely on the effects Tomie had on the men she encountered, this one expands beyond that, touching on family and friends, and even deigns to show us what happens when a man resists her charms.

It isn't enough that it's a solid horror film, but the quality of writing on display is outstanding and puts it on par with other classics like Ring and Kairo. This is a matured Tomie film - not dull like the first or overtly Americanized like the second - but raw and intelligent.

Absolute must see.