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Tomie Blu-ray Review

Writer's picture: Gabe PowersGabe Powers


Arrow Video

Blu-ray Release: November 19, 2024

Video: 1.85:1/1080p/Color

Audio: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo

Subtitles: English

Run Time: 94:58

Director: Ataru Oikawa


Photography student Tsukiko (Mami Nakamura) is plagued by violent dreams as she struggles to recall long-suppressed memories following a teenage trauma with the help of psychiatrist Dr. Hosono (Yoriko Douguchi). Meanwhile, as Detective Harada (Tomorō Taguchi) leads an investigation into a missing high-school girl, he discovers a long line of similar cases that can be traced back decades with all of the victims going by the name of Tomie Kawakami, who were slaughtered and decapitated by jealous lovers before they reach womanhood. Meanwhile, Tsukiko's new neighbor seems to be harboring something nasty in the downstairs apartment, something which rapidly begins to take on a dangerous form. (From Arrow’s official synopsis)



Almost a decade before he wrote and illustrated his magnum opus, Uzumaki (1998), gaining international fame, and stamping his trademark on world horror culture, Junji Ito had his first local Japanese manga hit with Tomie, which was serialized in Monthly Halloween magazine between 1987 and 2000. It has since spawned a novel (Tomie: Replay by Fumihiko Iino, 2000), a three episode TV miniseries (Tomie: Another Face, 1999), and the title character has made appearances in animated shows based on Ito’s work (2018 and 2023). There was almost a Quibi series before that entire network collapsed, but the franchise’s biggest claim to fame is a series of nine theatrically-released movies (and counting). 


The first, Tomie, was released in 1998, the same year as Hideo Nakata’s critical J-horror canon entry Ringu. It was the third film from director Ataru Oikawa, who was initially a writer, before making his directorial debut on The Boy Made in Japan (Japanese: Nippon sei shônen, 1995). With its creeping camera, dark, grainy compositions, and eerie sense of stillness between scares, Tomie follows the early J-horror playbook closely, which is reasonable, since Oikawa helped write said playbook. While his sense of pace and rhythm doesn’t match Nakata’s or Takashi Shimizu’s, he is quite good at making banal, everyday locations appear as if they are infected with malice. Everything feels damp and on the verge of rotting.



I haven’t read Ito’s comic, so I don’t know how much of it made it into the film version. My guess is not much, though certain aspects of Oikawa’s script seem to match descriptions of the second arc of the comic series, which was designed as a prequel to the first arc. I think my lack of familiarity might explain why I struggled to connect the dots, because it’s not a particularly convoluted plot in the end. First time viewers who are coming to Tomie in search of Uzumaki levels of high concept cosmic horror may be disappointed by this more straightforward supernatural murder mystery that turns into an elaborate revenge story, rather more in line with movies like Nakata’s Ju-on (2002) and Ringu. Still, fans will recognize plenty of Ito’s favorite existentialist themes, as well as his love of contagious psychosis and grotesque imagery. 


Oikawa returned to the franchise in 2005 for Tomie: Beginning and Tomie: Revenge. He wasn’t the most prolific of the early J-horror luminaries, but found time to direct Tokyo Psycho (Japanese: Tôkyô densetsu: ugomeku machi no kyôki, 2004), Apartment 1303 (2007), based on a novel by Ju-on author Kei Ôishi, an adaptation of the Akimi Yoshida manga Kisshō Tennyo (2007), and two films based on Ryukishi07’s visual novel series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry [2008] and Shrill Cries: Reshuffle [2009]).



Video

Tomie was released on North American DVD via Ventura Distribution and as part of a five-film Tomie collection from BCI Eclipse. This 1080p, 1.85:1 disc and its UK and Canadian counterparts represent the film’s Blu-ray debut outside of Japan. The transfer was supplied to Arrow directly by the distributor and is similar to other J-horror releases from the late ‘90s and early ‘00s in its darkness, fuzziness, and sickly green and amber color timing. It doesn’t look crisp and clean and it wasn’t meant to. Textures and film grain are a bit soft, but actual compression and digital artifacts are minimal, mostly consisting of macroblocking. Even the wide-angle edge haloes appear to be a part of the chemical film process, not an oversharpening issue. The colors, icky though they may be, are consistent and similar to various DVD editions. 


Audio

Tomie is presented with two audio options – its original 2.0 stereo and a 5.1 DVD remix, both in Japanese. Both tracks are a textbook example of what early J-horror movement directors could do with audio to unnerve their audience and make every location feel hostile. There aren’t a lot of directional cues, but the stereo channels are filled with ambience and the 5.1 track neatly centers the dialogue. Hiroshi Futami and Toshihiro Kimura’s unconventional electronic score is used in a limited capacity, but its compressed, glitchy qualities still stand out as highlights.



Extras

  • Commentary with Amber T. – The Fangoria staff writer and Japanese film expert explores Ito’s work and other adaptations of that work (she verifies that the film is only slightly related to the comic and points out some of the character cameos), Oikawa’s career, the careers of the rest of the cast & crew, and themes/imagery shared throughout this era of Japanese horror. 

  • It's a Girl's World (34:58, HD) – In the first of three new, Arrow exclusive interviews, director Ataru Oikawa discusses being brought onto the film, adapting Ito’s work, casting, real-world and artistic influences, and Ito’s cameo.

  • Scream Queen (15:43, HD) – Actress Mami Nakamura, who plays the title character, looks back on her performance, the performances that inspire her, the film’s themes of gendered violence and vengeance, and her castmates.

  • From Manga to Screen (12:46, HD) – Producer Mikihiko Hirata chats about working with Oikawa on multiple projects, the cast helping secure financing, promotional touring with Ito, and producing some of the Tomie sequels.

  • Making-of featurette (28:13, SD) – The original archival EPK, presumably from 1998.

  • Trailers for Tomie, Tomie: Another Face (1999), Tomie: Replay (2000), Tomie: Re-Birth (2001), and Tomie: Forbidden Fruit (2002)

  • Image gallery




The images on this page are taken from the BD and sized for the page. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking the images. Note that there will be some JPG compression.

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