Directed by Ataru Oikawa
Starring Rio Matsumoto, Asami Imajuku and Kenji Mizuhashi
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Six movies into the franchise and all sorts of different (and weird) was to tell the story about a hell-harpy who causes murder and mayhem wherever she goes...and it was time for the prequel route. While the initial manga's story HAD once been presented in the godawful Tomie: Another Face, this was supposed to be the big-time movie treatment version of the "high school havoc" Tomie that the first movie alluded to only in passing. Sounds like a...well, sound plan in theory, but in practice, it turned out to be anything but.
Released to DVD in 2005, Tomie: Beginning is essentially the genesis (but not the Genesis of McGillicutty) of Part 2 of this franchise. Every movie since has been straight-to-video. Having not seen the final two entries as of yet, I can report that the change is definitely noticeable. There's good cheap and bad cheap, and considering that we got some very gritty-yet-professional looking films before this, it's definitely the latter. *sigh* I don't know what else to say at this point. I try to at least make these introductory paragraphs somewhat long-looking so people don't just skip by them. No salvage job possible now. On with the show!
PLOT: Rather than go the straight-laced route that would have been perfectly acceptable given this material, the film uses a framing device that is much hated by this reporter. Yes, folks, we have the "taking place after the bulk of the action/mostly in flashback" storytelling method, and it's played to obnoxious effect. The main character (in both flashback and present) is Reiko (Asami Imajuku), a nice, shy girl who finds herself befriending the new kid in class Tomie Kawakami (Rio Matsumoto). Cue dreadful dreary music and a whole bunch of scenes that are meant to make us simultaneously sympathize with and be afraid of Tomie. This movie actually takes on the challenge of sympathy a bit more than the others, giving Tomie a few monologues about how much it does indeed suck to die repeatedly, as well as going into a bit more of the intricacies involving her friendship with Reiko. After the class (yes, I say the class as in every single member) takes the "this time around" trap of murdering Tomie, we switch back to the present day, as Reiko sits in the classroom years later talking to another former classmate only for Tomie herself to show up for the thrilling conclusion. The stuff that takes place at the high school in the past is occasionally interesting, especially the Tomie-Reiko dynamic, but is mostly tedious, and the framing scenes are terminally boring in the way that Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior at Halloween Havoc '98 is.
PLOT RATING: * 1/2 out of ****.
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS: Rio Matsumoto, the actress playing Tomie, is certifiably hot. She is - without a doubt - the most attractive of the women to portray the character. So attractive, in fact, that I almost feel guilty pointing out how poor she is at the craft of emoting. For most of the film, she does two things - smiles and laughs in a manner most vile, and it gets grating fast. Imajuku is a bit better as Reiko, at least in the high school scenes - when we're dealing with the "older and wiser" version of the character, we've got a character about as convincing as Heather Langenkamp was in Nightmare on Elm Street 3. For the record...that's the only thing I don't like about my second favorite horror movie of all time. The rest of the kids are as disposable as moist towelettes, though, so don't expect to watch this movie and get much emotional resonance.
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS RATING: * 1/2 out of ****.
COOL FACTOR: Outside of Matsumoto's hotness, you won't find much redeeming value. The body count is pretty low. Unless a demonic girl force-feeding cockroaches to unwitting victims is your idea of cool. In which case this is your bag, baby.
COOL FACTOR: * out of ****.
OVERALL: It should be made apparent by the above, but if it isn't, watching this movie isn't exactly a pleasant experience. While the previous movies in the franchise had some mean stuff happening in them, this movie is actually a little mean-spirited, and it's expounded by just how cheaply shot it is. What else is there? I think I've got it covered. Stay away from this one.
OVERALL RATING: * 1/2 out of ****.
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