Oh, Tomie... Tomie, Tomie, Tomie... I just can't quite wrap my head around your films and why I'm so fascinated with them. Based on the wildly popular horror manga created by Junji Ito, the "Tomie" film franchise is a bit of a puzzling watch to me. I haven't been particularly taken with any single chapter in the still-growing cinematic saga, and in fact have found a few to be overtly bad. And yet, I still find myself drawn to them. I think its perhaps a bit of curiosity on my part. After all, between television and theatrical releases, there have been nine adaptations of the character released thus far. So it's clear that there is an audience. And there is most certainly an admiration for the characters and the concepts.
"Forbidden Fruit" is the fourth installment in the feature-length film series, and at the time was evidently built up as a "final chapter" to cap-off the franchise. Of course, we all known that the "final chapter" is never actually the final chapter. But it is interesting watching the film knowing that was the intent. As far as planned conclusions go, I actually think it's a bit of a letdown, and never quite matches the decidedly higher quality set by the two previous follow-ups "Replay" and "Re-Birth." Those films did some really interesting things with the character. "Forbidden Fruit" just feels like its going through the motions. But as something of a casual fan of the series, I also don't think its the worst installment, and it's adequately entertaining with a few mildly creepy moments. It's just... kind of a middle-of-the- road addition. Not particularly good. Not particularly bad. Just... mediocre.
The story this time is perhaps a touch darker and more intricate than previous installments, and involves the titular villain Tomie Kawakami (Nozomi Andô) befriending a high school loser who also happens to be named "Tomie." (Aoi Miyazaki) As the story progresses and their friendship goes through some peculiar moments (with hints of a sexual attraction between the two), it soon enough becomes clear that Tomie Kawakami has ulterior motives... motives which may be related to the father of her new "friend." (Jun Kunimura)
The main issue I have with "Forbidden Fruit" is that without spoiling anything, many scenes and moments seem to add up to a whole lotta nothing. There are intriguing themes and ideas brought up consistently and a handful of stand-out scenes, but its to the service of just more of the same old, same old. It's just another "Tomie" movie through-and-through and does very little outside of imitating what came before with a few fleeting attempts to add more substance. In a lot of ways, I found it similar to the first entry in the cinematic franchise, which also unfortunately is the worst of the films I've seen in my opinion. Good ideas... so-so execution. I also felt there was much to be desired in the visual direction courtesy Shun Nakahara and the dialog by writer Yoshinobu Fujioka. It's very sloppy and aimless at times, especially in the first act, with Nakahara making some bizarre visual choices (an opening prologue scene that's practically pitch black and sepia toned and thus almost impossible to see, for example) and Fujioka trying a bit too hard to be clever with some pretentious moments and a few misjudged meta in-jokes. ("You're just like Sadako, Tomie!" ...subtle.)
That being said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a bit of fun with the film. The performances are quite good for the most part, and you really find yourself enjoying the characters as a result. Miyazaki is a charming lead, while Andô is a good replacement for the villainous "Tomie." I appreciated the attempts to shake up the series and throw in a bit more substance even if it didn't quite come together particularly well. It at least shows a bit of effort on the parts of those involved, which is more than can be said for many horror sequels. There's a few genuinely startling sequences of suspense and fear that will tingle your spine and appeal to fans of horror. And I really enjoyed the ending. I won't spoil it, but it was the perfect way to finish the story and left me with a big old, devious grin on my face.
"Tomie: Forbidden Fruit" is a step in the wrong direction. But if you're a fan of the series, you'll probably get enough of a kick out of it to make it worth seeing. I give it a very middle-of-the-road 5 out of 10.
"Forbidden Fruit" is the fourth installment in the feature-length film series, and at the time was evidently built up as a "final chapter" to cap-off the franchise. Of course, we all known that the "final chapter" is never actually the final chapter. But it is interesting watching the film knowing that was the intent. As far as planned conclusions go, I actually think it's a bit of a letdown, and never quite matches the decidedly higher quality set by the two previous follow-ups "Replay" and "Re-Birth." Those films did some really interesting things with the character. "Forbidden Fruit" just feels like its going through the motions. But as something of a casual fan of the series, I also don't think its the worst installment, and it's adequately entertaining with a few mildly creepy moments. It's just... kind of a middle-of-the- road addition. Not particularly good. Not particularly bad. Just... mediocre.
The story this time is perhaps a touch darker and more intricate than previous installments, and involves the titular villain Tomie Kawakami (Nozomi Andô) befriending a high school loser who also happens to be named "Tomie." (Aoi Miyazaki) As the story progresses and their friendship goes through some peculiar moments (with hints of a sexual attraction between the two), it soon enough becomes clear that Tomie Kawakami has ulterior motives... motives which may be related to the father of her new "friend." (Jun Kunimura)
The main issue I have with "Forbidden Fruit" is that without spoiling anything, many scenes and moments seem to add up to a whole lotta nothing. There are intriguing themes and ideas brought up consistently and a handful of stand-out scenes, but its to the service of just more of the same old, same old. It's just another "Tomie" movie through-and-through and does very little outside of imitating what came before with a few fleeting attempts to add more substance. In a lot of ways, I found it similar to the first entry in the cinematic franchise, which also unfortunately is the worst of the films I've seen in my opinion. Good ideas... so-so execution. I also felt there was much to be desired in the visual direction courtesy Shun Nakahara and the dialog by writer Yoshinobu Fujioka. It's very sloppy and aimless at times, especially in the first act, with Nakahara making some bizarre visual choices (an opening prologue scene that's practically pitch black and sepia toned and thus almost impossible to see, for example) and Fujioka trying a bit too hard to be clever with some pretentious moments and a few misjudged meta in-jokes. ("You're just like Sadako, Tomie!" ...subtle.)
That being said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a bit of fun with the film. The performances are quite good for the most part, and you really find yourself enjoying the characters as a result. Miyazaki is a charming lead, while Andô is a good replacement for the villainous "Tomie." I appreciated the attempts to shake up the series and throw in a bit more substance even if it didn't quite come together particularly well. It at least shows a bit of effort on the parts of those involved, which is more than can be said for many horror sequels. There's a few genuinely startling sequences of suspense and fear that will tingle your spine and appeal to fans of horror. And I really enjoyed the ending. I won't spoil it, but it was the perfect way to finish the story and left me with a big old, devious grin on my face.
"Tomie: Forbidden Fruit" is a step in the wrong direction. But if you're a fan of the series, you'll probably get enough of a kick out of it to make it worth seeing. I give it a very middle-of-the-road 5 out of 10.