on the ring remake

[Giacomo]

I'm quite fond of Tomie series, so I wouldn't call it a waste of film.
Though it's not very innovative, nor deep as more "renowned" movies
like Nakata's, Kurosawa's, Miike's and so on, it's a good example of
low budget, fresh and entertaining genre cinema, which follows
strictly the standars without being too sloppy. I think that, among the "minor"
horror movies of this asian new wave, it's one of the most worthy a
look. Maybe this is Ito Junji's merit, but I appreciate how 4
different directors (and actresses) could give different and "not too bad" (except for
"Tomie replay", which, apart from the opening scene, is quite a banal
and confused movie) interpretations of this ingriguing character.
The closest to Ito's work is absolutely Shimizu's "Tomie: rebirth",
but, apart from Oikawa's first chapter, "Tomie: last chapter" too isn't a
bad movie (though I wouldn't call it an horror movie at all, it's quite fresh and amusing,
maybe thanks to Miyazaki Aoi's talent).

bye

giacomo



MM> ----- Original Message ----- 
MM> From: "Peter Larson" <pete at bulbrecords.com>
MM> To: <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
MM> Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 6:16 PM
MM> Subject: RE: on the ring remake

>>
>> Tomie was just a waste of film.

MM> I thought the original had it's moments, the early appearances of Tomie were
MM> unsettling enough. As far as horror movies marketed to a young audience go
MM> it did the job. Still can't wrap my mind around that ending. I really
MM> enjoyed REPLAY, not simply because it is more true to the source. The film
MM> embraces some teen horror genre conventions so earnestly that it's
MM> refreshing, charming even.