Tomie

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 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.

A slow-burning supernatural drama that's nothing like RING or THE GRUDGE for once. Instead, TOMIE is a comic-book adaptation about an otherwise ordinary schoolgirl who has one special talent: she always, without fail, comes back from the dead.

TOMIE is a weird movie. It's slow-moving and subtle for the most part, and the sometimes disjointed storyline never really visits many places. Horrifying it isn't. On the other hand, it's undoubtedly an atmospheric film full of off-kilter scenes and eerie moments (most of these involving a guy who finds himself 'growing' a new friend).

It's difficult to fault the efforts of cast and crew, and the highlight is the wonderfully weird piece of music that accompanies the titles in which a distorted, computerised voice proclaims an obsessive friendship. Many sequels, of varying quality, followed.

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!

From the opening credits, I was hooked. There's a strange static and distorted voice over the black screen with simple white titles. Then we're taken to a noisy city street where a young man is digging through a white paper bag. Within a few seconds, what should be horrifying segues into one of the most beautiful moments of stillness I have ever seen in a film, Asian or otherwise. The music is at once haunting and peaceful. It's like those moments in a Miyazaki film that are so peaceful, with a tinge of Dario Argento's Goblin soundtrack.

It is very hard to find a decent review of this movie. The one positive review I found gave away the entire plot. It's one of those movies that is so metaphor-laden, it makes absolutely no sense if you just watch the images and hear the sounds. Still pretty amazing, but I don't think it would keep someone's attention if they weren't thinking while viewing. There is a lot more going on here than just a few murders.

Like many (too many?) Japanese movies, there is a lot left unsaid. Characters with strange quirks are introduced, and it never explains why they have those quirks. Transitions from one scene to the next sometimes feel awkward. It sometimes feels like you're reading a book by a first-time author, as it is not clear why some scenes are even included. This is not a polished high-quality cinematography type film either...not up to the standards of Ringu or Dark Water. It lies somewhere between the blockbusters and Evil Dead Trap.

Even as I make those criticisms, I could only bring myself to take one smoke break. As much as Tomie may look like Sadako (and every other female ghost), this is a truly engaging film that still has me thinking 24 hours after viewing it.