Tomie will not die!

Vist The Japanese Cinema Blogathon 2009 here...



Tomie(1998)

"Here is your dinner."



Tomie is just a head and she's growing. Living in a box in a dingy apartment and fed by a crazed, one-eyed young man. Tomie gradually grows a body. Upstairs, her former classmate and best friend Tsukiko who lost her memory of an incident that led to Tomie's death. Unaware that the immortal Tomie is living downstairs and has plans for her.



First time I saw Tomie I really had no idea what to make of it. A film about an evil head in a bag? Sure. The image of that eye looking thru a hole in a bag was such a strong, bizarre image. There's a strong sense of impending doom. And that score works it's way into your psyche. Actress Miho Kanno, who's face is hidden from the camera for most of the film's running time does a good job as the giggling, fickle Tomie. Tomie never one to get her hands dirty uses madness and her sexuality to make the men around her murder.
What really works is the stuff we don't see. Like Tomie's head in that bag and when she's in the box. Only hints are given. Allowing our mind to to the rest.



Much like Tomie's head this film has grown on me over the years. nothing like all The Ring clones out there. Tomie is her own monster. Not a long haired ghost but a living breathing women who's only love is for herself. Tomie's franchise like her will not die. There seems to be a new one every year or so. And that's fine by me.