(2005)
Dir - Ataru Oikawa
Overall: MEH
Initial director Ataru Oikawa returned to the Tomie series with the one-two punch of Tomie: Beginning and Tomie: Revenge, both of which were released in 2005. An adaptation of the fifth chapter of Junji Ito's manga of the same name, this is not the first to be shot on video, yet Oikawa manages to suspend murky cinematography disbelief enough due to the eerie tone which alludes to a more unsettling chain of events than what actually transpires. The title succubus, (this time played by Anri Ban), actually takes a backseat here, remaining off screen almost entirely until the final act. This is a curious choice as the movie only runs seventy-one minutes, leaving the bulk of the proceedings to focus on a carefree woman with amnesia and her female doctor whose growing fondness for each other borders on lesbianism. Tomie herself holds up in a remote cabin in the woods where she kills time with her usual shtick of pitting spellbound men against each other and her victims succumb to cannibalism on top of their usual violent devotion to her. Such gore sequences are inconsistent though as some are graphically nasty and at other times, they do not even bother to utilize any squibs or convincing CGI blood splatter when Tomie gets several slugs emptied inside of her from close-range shotgun blasts.
(2007)
Dir - Tomohiro Kubo
Overall: MEH
An adaptation of the chapter "The Gathering" from the third volume of Junji Ito's source material, Tomie vs Tomie is the to-date penultimate entry in the series, doubling as the second directorial effort from Tomohiro Kubo, (who worked second unit on Tomie: Forbidden Fruit). Still done in the franchise's slow-boil, low-stakes mood, this particular installment features two title characters as the title would promise, plus people being set on fire, a shrine for a dead girlfriend, and mannequins. Yū Abiru and Emiko Matsuoka play the genetically engineered Tomies whose physical forms are deteriorating, hence their particular agenda to be reborn inside of the body of one of their male subordinates. As far as a showdown between them is concerned, it is hardly a balls-out brawl, nor does it conclude the proceedings as a good twenty-plus minutes follows one of their demises by gasoline and lighter. For English speaking viewers, unfortunately the only available version seems to be from a Malaysian DVD whose subtitles may very well qualify as the most hilariously unintelligible that any foreign film has ever had. Who knew that "Tomie" literally translates to "Rich River"?
(2011)
Dir - Noboru Iguchi
Overall: MEH
As is often the case with horror franchises, the reboot ended up being the nail in the coffin, (at least so far), for the Tomie series, with Tomie: Unlimited at once revamping and closing the book on the last nine installments. This one brings in porn/gore filmmaker Noboru Iguchi, has a slicker production, less of an ethereal tone, and plenty of terrible CGI and laugh-out-loud body horror sequences. Severed heads are a major component to the ridiculous visuals with caterpillar creatures made up of them, talking tumors growing on shoulders, Miu Nakamura's giant head talking through a doorway, a bunch of them with wiggling tongues in a lunch box, and also her severed head with entrails hanging off of it Leyak-style. This is also not directly based on any volumes in Junji Ito's mangas, instead sticking to the steadfast theme of obsession turning ugly and the title character manifesting itself like a plague. In this way, it serves as the ultimate Tomie movie; one that slams home the concept that she can never die and will only continue to sprout new life through her victims, presumably taking over the populous in the meantime. To what end is never explained, but that has never been the agenda to such films as they always focus on the life-ruining consequences of particular individuals, this time being a family whose accidentally killed daughter is resurrected as the malevolent, cackling succubus.
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