Tomie is a decidedly heady ‘n’ creepily woozy mix of psychological drama, mystery, crime-triller, and supernatural horror- all scored with a mix of hazy to eerier electronica & looped field recordings. The Japanese film appeared in the late 90s and is often put in the J-horror bracket, and while elements of the film do fit into that genre, there is so much more wonderfully unhinged going on here. From Arrow Video- both in the UK and stateside- here's a Blu-Ray release of the film taking in a new commentary track and a few other extras.

Tomie is from the year 1998, and was based on a manga comic series that ran between 1987 and 2000- but please don’t look it up!, as the less you know about the manga series/ film the better. The film was directed by Tokyo-born Ataru Oikawa- between 1995 and 2011 he had eighteen features to his name. These went from the stark and surreal teen drama The Boy  Made In Japan(1995), high-school romance  Lovers’ Kiss (2003), and supernatural horror Apartment 1303 (2007).

The film kicks off in a suitable weird/ macabre manner- as we see a clearly disturbed man carrying a severed head in a white shop bag down a street, all of a sudden the head winks through a rip in the bag. After the slowly pulsing on/ off lamp credits with a strange warbling vocoder touched electronica. We meet our lead  Tsukiko Izumisawa (Mami Nakamura) a twenty-something who enjoys photography. Of late she’s been having problems sleeping, so she goes to see physiatrist  Dr. Hosono(Yoriko Dôguchi), who uses light-based hypnosis to try and uncover lost memories she has lost from youth.

Also brought into the mix is a troubled young man with a white plastic eye patch- who is seemingly feeding something in a small box. And a sleek, glasses-wearing, always smoking, at times unpredictable cop is investigating a missing school girl and a spate of murders.

For the first hour or so of the film, things drift in a woozy & lightly quirky manner- with ever so often moments of both disquiet and unease.  Before later shifting into a mix of crime thriller & supernatural horror- which is punctured with moments of gore, some of which are fairly low-key deranged.

This was a first-time watch for me, and I was just expecting Tomie to be just another J-horror, but there is much more going on here, and it truly is a great unbalancing/sinisterly weird ride of a film.

Moving onto this new Blu-ray release, we find a good selection of new extras. First of these is a commentary track from critic and Japanese cinema expert Amber T- this is most informative/interesting.  She begins by talking about how this was director Ataru Oikawa's first film- he went on to make two of the film's nine sequels, as well as writing the script for Banmei Takahashi’s 1988 thriller-come-bloody slasher film Door.  She talks about Junji Ito’s original Manga series- touches on how difficult it is to film due to its Lovecraft/ cosmic horror, and gives a potted history of the comic book series/its origins/influences.  She talks about where the Tsukiko Izumisawa character sits in the comic book's wider story,  and points out actors as they appear- giving brief biographies. She discusses both the films sound design and score, and how it creates unease/disquiet. She talks about the role of a photographer/ photos in both the film to hand, and comic book series.  Mentions how the use of ringing phones in Japanese horror films always means something bad, and the sourness of the film's colour pallet. Later on, she talks about how all the men in Tomie’s orbit start to unravel. She points out the use of sunflowers in some of the film's scenes/ what they might mean, and much more. This is my first experience with a commentary track from Amber T- and I must say she did a great/well-researched/ entertaining job, I’ll most certainly keep my eye out for her in the future.

Otherwise, on the new side, we get the following on-film interviews. It’s a Girl’s World( 34.58) with director Ataru Oikawa.  Scream Queen( 15.43) with actress Mami Nakamura.  From Manga to Screen( 12.48) with producer Mikihiko Hirata.

On the archive side, we get a making-of, a trailer, and an image gallery.  The finished release comes with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck. And an illustrated inlay booklet featuring new writing by Zack Davisson and Eugene Thacker.

Tomie is certainly one of the more distinctive/ original films to appear from the J- Horror cycle of the late 90s, and if you enjoy creepily woozy cinema it’s a must. This Arrow Video Blu-Ray features a rewarding/interesting commentary track and extras- so another great release from the label.