An acrylic painting on wood panel, titled 'Tomie', of a young woman sitting on a chair looking menacingly as she holds holding a lit flare that is spirting out blood. A large orange circle hovers ominously behind her and a bloody plastic bag is at her feet.

Tomie

(1998, Ataru Oikawa)

There’s a lot of mixed reviews for the Tomie movies but I think they are worth watching. There’s really nothing else like them. Long ago I rented the first movie knowing nothing about Junji Ito’s manga but I became obsessed with his work afterwards. Without spoiling anything, the appearance of Tomie drives the men around her crazy and chaos ensues. Every story follows the same premise with various twists for how crazy people get. I like the first movie the most in that it just feels like a solid indie movie. Watching it years last, I still get ghostbumps when Tomie finally shows her face. The music is also amazing; not only a haunting soundtrack but nearly impossible to find, adding to its mystery.


A screenshot from the movie 'Tomie' of a young woman, Tsukiko, sitting outside with her back to the camera talking to her therapist. An animated gif of a scene from the movie 'Tomie' showing an eye opening as seen through the slit of a plastic bag. The eye color is orange. A screenshot of a young woman Tomie (played by Miho Kanno), sitting on a chair looking menacingly at another girl off-screen from the movie 'Tomie'.

© 1998 - Daiei Studios