Directed by Shun Nakahara
Starring Nozomi Ando, Aoi Miyazaki and Jun Kunimura
So now we're up to the "Temptation Island" portion of the Tomie saga. For those who have been paying attention so far, this is one weird series of movies - so weird that no introductory paragraph could possibly convey its weirdness, not only in execution, but how downright different each movie in the series is from each other. The first was all about character and slow-burning suspense based on what we know (and think we know) about the main character. Replay seemed to be focused on being as much of a head-trip as possible while also delving into th actual science of the character. Re-birth took the original manga's concept to the nth degree and showed us a true Goldberg Variation-esque effect that our main heroine/demon/siren has on a wide range of people. This one...yeah, like I said, it's "Temptation Island" crossed with George Michael's "Father Figure," and I'm not so sure that it was the correct route to take.
Having said all that, this was the end of Tomie Kawakami, Version One. At the time of its 2002 release (incredibly enough, the FIFTH film in the series released in a three-year time span), it was believed to be the final entry in the series. A sizable enough gross and a sizable enough demand later and we've had several more films and probably another nineteen forthcoming. However, this WAS the final time that the character would be trotted out with the red carpet theater treatment. All future entries were essentially direct-to-DVD snoozers...but more on them later. You'll get to listen to me metaphorically kill myself soon enough.
THE MOVIE!
PLOT: Coming after the more large-scale and apocalyptic Replay and Re-birth chapters, this particular movie is very...insular, I guess, is the word. For the vast majority of its running time, we're only concerned with three characters. Our central heroine of sorts is young teenager Tomie Hashimoto (Aoi Miyazaki), slightly troubled teenage girl who spends her days at school getting bullied and finding solace in the homo-erotic fanfiction (not a joke) that she pens on a regular basis. She lives alone with her widower father (Jun Kunimura), and their world is turned upside down in a manner that the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air would be damn proud of when Tomie Kawakami (Nozomi Ando) shows up in their lives. It's not quite the usual brand of magic and seduction this time around; it's a much more slow and personal process, sometimes to the detriment of the story, as there are LONG stretches of this movie that feel like root canal. Having said all of that, the third act is VERY intense if you're willing to stick around through all of the previous tedium.
PLOT RATING: ** 1/2 out of ****.
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS: As usual, the producers in charge of the series were able to unearth quite a find when it comes to the title role. The character of Tomie (the villainous one) this time around is on a much more focused, surgical mission to destroy one particular family. As such, the role called for more emotional resonance and quiet menace, and Ando is able to pull off both quite well. Miyazaki is also pretty likable as the OTHER Tomie, and is completely believable when it comes to some of the ridiculous stuff she is required to do (of which I can't include fanfiction because, hell, I've written a couple in my day). The guy playing the dad, however, is milquetoast in the way that Professor Griff prophesized about; a decent portion of the flick's second act is devoted to this guy's background with Tomie Kawakami, and it is in those sections that the movie's drowsiness-inducing qualities make themselves known.
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS RATING: ** 1/2 out of ****.
COOL FACTOR: I'm a firm believer in the idea that ANY subgenre of horror can be cool; it's not exclusive to slashers, zombie cinema, Kaiju or serial killer films. I consider the two theatrical Ju-On films to be two of the coolest horror movies of all time, and there is barely a drop of blood to be had in them. The template was there, and it's one that a couple of the earlier films in this series followed well. This flick isn't one of them. Until the third act, this film really is much more of a domestic squabble with some tension in the form of Tomie Kawakami seducing the father. The film's inevitable money scene involving a couple "deaths" for Tomie even fall up flat on the coolness scale; the director was going for emotion with these scenes, but largely only succeeded in prolonging the running time. Not good.
COOL FACTOR: * 1/2 out of ****.
OVERALL: In doing some pawing around on the net, there are plenty of Tomie aficianadoes out there who enjoy this film a whole lot more than I do. It certainly is different from anything we've seen from the concept before, but as we saw with Jason X, in this guy's opinion different does not necessarily always equal better. The concept of Tomie is one that can be utilized in such amazingly cool ways, and most of those proposed fan fiction stories in my mind involve large-scale chaos and more than a few creative murders. This movie seems much more focused on dwelling in the mundane. Since this flick was intended to be the grand finale for the character on a cinematic basis, I'm not quite sure what the producers were thinking. Maybe in retrospect and without the "this is the last one!" sentimentality it's a bit better, but Tomie Kawakami: Middle-Aged Cockteaser is just not a terribly compelling time in front of the TV.
OVERALL RATING: ** out of ****. It's got its moments (particularly once the violence starts FINALLY hitting in the third act), but for the most part it's a tedious exercise in familial melodrama. Worth a rental.
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