A traumatized young woman is trying to recover her memories with the help of a psychiatrist. During her hypnosis sessions, she repeats the name "Tomie" but is unable to recall where she knows it from.
Tomie is the first film in the longest Japanese horror series to date, with eight other films in the franchise. Based on the manga by Junji Ito, Tomie is a very creepy and disturbing film, though never as horrifying as its manga counterpart. Even though the series consists of nine movies, this first film is one of the better ones and definitely worthy of your attention. A good J-horror experience.
So what about all the other Tomie-movies? Well, here's my personal recap of the rest of the series:
Tomie: Another Face (1999) - Another Face features horrible acting and atrocious production values, and for some reason I got very annoyed at the girl playing Tomie. Not recommended.
Tomie: Replay (2000) - A huge improvement over Another Face, Replay digs deeper into the story but unfortunately isn't particularly scary. It was based on one of the more interesting chapters from the manga; "Basement".
Tomie - Re-birth (2001) - This one just didn't do it for me. Failed to scare me, failed to make me feel anything for the characters, and this film is really repetitive when Tomie comes back over and over again. Tomie dies in every film and is resurrected, but for some reason Re-birth just went to town with that idea and it's just not scary. It's pretty cool that it was directed by Takashi Shimizu (Ju-on), though he hasn't made anything good in a long, long time (so I guess it's not cool).
Tomie: Forbidden Fruit (2002) - I'm kind of torn on this one. It starts off almost as a J-drama about friendship? Then it turns into a very bizarre creature horror film with Tomie depicted as a huge meat potato and must be driven around in a baby stroller. So it's actually fun from time to time, and I also like the music (the soundtrack is always important to me).
Tomie: Beginning (2005) - This Tomie-film felt a bit too uneventful, and it almost had the feel of a student's film project. This series should be filled with horror gems, but instead we get something as mediocre as this. Where did the horror go?
Tomie: Revenge (2005) - I haven't seen all of it but it seemed fairly promising, actually.
Tomie vs Tomie (2007) - Unfortunately I haven't found any working subtitles for this one.
Tomie: Unlimited (2011) - If you just can't get enough Tomie, here's another one for you. Better effects, but still not as scary as it should be. A fun B-horror flick that could work if you're in the mood for it.
So what about all the other Tomie-movies? Well, here's my personal recap of the rest of the series:
Tomie: Another Face (1999) - Another Face features horrible acting and atrocious production values, and for some reason I got very annoyed at the girl playing Tomie. Not recommended.
Tomie: Replay (2000) - A huge improvement over Another Face, Replay digs deeper into the story but unfortunately isn't particularly scary. It was based on one of the more interesting chapters from the manga; "Basement".
Tomie - Re-birth (2001) - This one just didn't do it for me. Failed to scare me, failed to make me feel anything for the characters, and this film is really repetitive when Tomie comes back over and over again. Tomie dies in every film and is resurrected, but for some reason Re-birth just went to town with that idea and it's just not scary. It's pretty cool that it was directed by Takashi Shimizu (Ju-on), though he hasn't made anything good in a long, long time (so I guess it's not cool).
Tomie: Forbidden Fruit (2002) - I'm kind of torn on this one. It starts off almost as a J-drama about friendship? Then it turns into a very bizarre creature horror film with Tomie depicted as a huge meat potato and must be driven around in a baby stroller. So it's actually fun from time to time, and I also like the music (the soundtrack is always important to me).
Tomie: Beginning (2005) - This Tomie-film felt a bit too uneventful, and it almost had the feel of a student's film project. This series should be filled with horror gems, but instead we get something as mediocre as this. Where did the horror go?
Tomie: Revenge (2005) - I haven't seen all of it but it seemed fairly promising, actually.
Tomie vs Tomie (2007) - Unfortunately I haven't found any working subtitles for this one.
Tomie: Unlimited (2011) - If you just can't get enough Tomie, here's another one for you. Better effects, but still not as scary as it should be. A fun B-horror flick that could work if you're in the mood for it.
Genre: Horror
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