Dear friend,
as I write this post I realise my December is essentially a re-quel of my April, including but not limited to my viewing history.
Tomie: Forbidden Fruit/富江 最終章～禁断の果実～, directed by Shun Nakahara, written by Yoshinobu Fujioka, from Junji Ito’s manga, Japan, 2002 - ⭐⭐⭐
It’s refreshing to see a Tomie story that’s a bit more interested in its characters than usual. Here Tomie seems to start a relationship with another girl called Tomie - what a coincidence… or is it? - but her behaviour might hide a secret plan. Maybe inspired by Friday the 13th, this fifth film is also known as Tomie: Final Chapter, and - similar to how the fifth chapter of that series (Friday The 13th: A New Beginning) was directed by a former adult films director, Shun Nakahara also has the same background. In contrast to Danny Steinmann’s film, there’s nothing explicit here. Another very important difference: this movie is good.
Tomie: Beginning/富江 BEGINNING, directed by Ataru Oikawa, from Junji Ito’s manga, Japan, 2005 - ⭐
Last week I watched with no Tomie at all, so I had to catch up (actually: I didn’t have a lot of time in the evenings, so shorter films fit quite well). Again, taking a page from Jason Voorhees’ book, a Final Chapter is followed by a Beginning. But in this case, it’s the old beginning, because this sixth chapter is supposed to be a prequel to the first movie. One of the actors from the original Tomie reprises his role, but - alas - not Miho Kanno, Tomie herself. The writer/director from that film is back as well, which is quite surprising because this movie looks like a high-school student production from all points of view. Furthermore, I couldn’t find a writing screen credit, which makes sense, because, for me, this is awful.
Carry-On, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, written by T.J. Fixman, US, 2024 - ⭐⭐⭐
There’s a lot of praise for this film online and offline, and a plane trip sounded the right occasion to watch this airport-centred story. I’m afraid I risked taking the whole flight down because of all the aerodynamics, physics and carbon fuel required to keep my disbelief suspended enough to continue watching. But if I set aside my feelings, I guess it can be considered a decent film.
Ju-On: White Ghost/呪怨: 白い老女, directed by Ryuta Miyake, co-written with Takashi Shimizu, Japan, 2009 - ⭐⭐⭐
The Ju-On Arrow boxset includes two direct-to-video films commissioned to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Shimizu’s first stories in the saga. Both deal with different curses than the main Ju-On timeline, but are set in that ‘same universe’ (that materialises as Toshio making a cameo appearance in both). The ‘white old lady’ of the original title and her basketball aren’t scary - except for a couple of jump scares - but there’s a good level of creepiness all around, as the film explores, in the classic exquisite time-jumps, themes of grief, guilt and child abuse. It’s set around Christmas, so it was a good coincidence.
Ju-On: Black Ghost/呪怨: 黒い少女, directed by Mari Asato, co-written with Takashi Shimizu, Japan, 2009 - ⭐⭐⭐
The other story in this diptych is in my opinion less effective, as it is more linear and centred around the old trope of the ‘unborn twin’. The ‘black young girl’ ghost is indeed a young girl with a black face, and although it’s not as unintentionally funny as the white old lady, it’s not scary either. It’s not like she lives behind a Winkie’s.
Still, it has its moments and it’s short, so these two ’tribute acts’ make a good double bill.
Black Christmas, directed by Sophia Takal, co-written with April Wolfe, US, 2019 - ⭐⭐
I thought of re-watching the original Black Christmas, but Netflix suggested this one, so I gave it a chance. Aside from being set in a sorority house during the festive period, it doesn’t have much in common with Bob Clark’s film, so it’s not really a remake, not a sequel (unless I missed something). This one is much more interested in denouncing abuse against women in a predatory world but then introduces a supernatural element which clashes, in my opinion, with the message. As I write this I’m thinking it might be, instead, part of the political point (something like: not all men, but maybe all men if they find themselves in a favourable situation), but it would be the only subtle aspect of this film, so I would need further proof.
One of the film shots gave me strong ‘Exorcist III’ vibes, and indeed it ended the way I expected.
A Tale of Two Sisters, written and directed by Kim Jee-woon, South Korea, 2003 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (up from ⭐⭐⭐½)
Another episode in my ’let me rewatch this in Blu-ray quality even if I saw it only a few months ago’ series. Free from expectations about the story - and focussing, instead, on whether the plot holds together -, the second watch was more enjoyable because it allowed a better immersion in the atmosphere of the old family house and its secrets.