Tomie (1998) is a relatively minor addition to the ghostly scares genre. The film was based on a manga by Junji Ito, who, thus far, has seen his work translated two other times in the films Kakashi and the wonderfully mind-warping Uzumaki.

The story concerns a young girl named Tsukiko (Mami Nakamura, Tokyo Trash Baby) who suffers from amnesia and sleepless nights. Her mother tells her it was due to a car accident three years prior. As she undergoes hypnotherpy, Tsukiko begins to speak the name "Tomie". A detective visits her doctor and reveals the true nature of her trauma. Tsukiko witnessed a bizarre murder when she was in high school- her then boyfriend murdered her best friend, one Tomie Kawakami (Miho Kanno, Hypnosis, Dolls), then chopped up and disposed of the body, parts of which were never found. The story is linked to other unsolved cases, all involving jealous love triangles, a girl named Tomie, all resulting in insanity and the dismemberment of this girl. Meanwhile something is growing in Tsukiko's downstairs neighbor's apartment, something evolving into a girl named Tomie, something hellish and bent on revenge.

Hitchcock once said that if you really wanted to make something scary, often the most effective way was to have your protagonist doing the most mundane thing possible. That is why the real frights come when Janet Leigh is taking a shower in Psycho, when Tippi Hedren is idly smoking a cigarette in The Birds, and Cary Grant is just casually standing on a empty road beside a corn field in North By Northwest. One thing I've noticed in this Asian horror wave is the use of understated direction, be it Hideo Nakata's The Ring, Kyoshi Kurosawa's Kairo, or the Pang Bros. The Eye. However, Ataru Oikawa's direction goes from understated into the realm of the completely mundane.

It is fine to go for subtlety, to bring out horror in simple shocks, be it a darkly lit face or a simple audio cue of hearing something strange in another room, but in order to rope a viewer in something exciting has to happen... eventually. In Tomie, the premise is creepy enough, full of possibilities, and the characters are engaging, yet the suspense never ratchets itself up. It is pretty telling that part of the films climax involves Tsukiko tied down to a bed and Tomie giving a long creepy monologue- the film itself always feels tied down, never leaping to the intensity that a successful chiller needs.

Plotwise, the fim lays all its cards on the table. No mystery here; the detective is never puzzled, he states the premise simply and from the outset is certain it is some supernatural occurance, a girl who never dies and inspires a suicidal mania in men. This detective angle goes nowhere and it feels like a missed opportunity for suspicion to be cast on Tsukiko. The premise is just so blunt, one realizes everything that is about to happen, and save for the typically ambiguous ending, it predictably unfolds. The demonic Tomie goes after her revenge, zombifiying or killing people around Tsukiko before confronting her. So, Tomie is neat and pleasantly weird, but not the real horrific shocker it could be if the script and direction weren't on Sominex.

The DVD: Ventura

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Furthering the hit-or-miss quality of so many Asian import releases, the image quality is a little less than perfect. While the print is fairly clean, the transfer is on the soft side with murky color and dulled contrast. Such is the case with many import prints, be it Audition, Ichi The Killer or Freeze Me, you get a watchable copy but the overall definition looks less than you suspect it could be if the proper attention was given to the source. Having examined stills from the Japanese release, they look similair, so the US version has just inherited the same soft presentation.

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese with optional English subtitles. The sound is good. Particularly admirable is the use of a song that features vocoder singing and a very 70's horror Goblinesque riff. Also, the fx mixing really adds to the scares, making something as simple as rain being shook off an umbrella very unnerving. Also the subtitle translation is great and very welcome considering previous import releases were plagued by confusing subs.

Extras: Chapter Selections— Trailers for all five Tomie films:Tomie, Tomie: Replay (which looks to be quite interesting, and word is that it is a rare sequel that improves on the original), Tomie: Re-birth, Tomie: Another Face (a direct to video/shot on video release), and 2003's Tomie: Forbidden Fruit.— "Making of" Featurette (28:10). When your featurette is a third as long as your movie, you'd better hope it is informative. In this case it is, with behind the scenes moments and interviews with all of the principal players, from the directors, actors, and Junji Ito.

Conclusion:It is an interesting story and a film admirable in its oddity but disappointing in its lack of suspenseful energy. Sure, some moments gave me the chills and I enjoyed the premise enough to be entertained, but I grumbled after it was over at the wasted possibilities. If you are really, really interested in Asian horror, the price and presentation are worthwhile. The DVD is decent enough, good subs, featurette, and middling image, but not so jaw-dropping as to give this lukewarm horror more than a rental for most viewers.