Tomie: Deluxe Edition (2016)

Author: Junji Ito | Illustrator: Junji Ito | Page Count: 745

'Her only real interest is herself. She wants to be desired. To see how far she can lead men. It's not that she wants their love. Just a boost to her ego. That's all she cares about. Men, of course, will take it all wrong and fall for her. Strange thing is, when a man falls too far, too hard, he wants to cut her to pieces.'

In the horror world the true icons are the ones who contain that indefinable mystique, that allure which ensnares your attention and draws out your fears. Tomie Kawakami is one such icon. Her outside complexion may be her greatest killer quality. She's the it girl with the highest standards who's on every man's mind. To even set eyes upon her is a death sentence. Tomie doesn't simply inspire great adulation in her suitors, but awakens a sickening and jealous bloodlust which endangers not only others but Tomie herself. They love her to pieces, literally. 

Junji Ito truly created the perfect monster in Tomie. She's that seemingly immortal sci-fi creature who keeps coming back to life. She's that beautiful, out-of-reach sex symbol. You want her so bad you'll kill your friends to be with her. Unfortunately, you'll kill her too...again and again. 

Included are the 20 Tomie manga stories (originally three volumes) into one hardcover. The book's aesthetic follows Viz Media's previous releases of Uzumaki & Gyo with cover and interior art sprinkled throughout the opening and closing pages. 

Tomie was the first manga Junji Ito ever produced. In terms of artwork, he is still honing his craft in the first few stories. He makes good use of POV and obviously grasps the importance of creatively utilizing B&W, but some movement is awkward and there is a lack of refinement in the lines. By the fourth story Ito is near the top of his game. 

The first third of the collection encompasses one Tomie tale. Each chapter has its own plot and some are direct continuations but certain subsequent stories are linked only by either a location or a significant supporting character. It starts with "Tomie" and ends in chapter six with the fantastic yet bizarre climax "Mansion." After that the most important chapter is "Waterfall Basin", which helps disperse the seeds of Tomie into the world as the stories become more sporadic, stand-alone and in my opinion, lesser. Strength lies in a grand storyline as in Ito's successful epics Uzumaki and Gyo. The concepts for many of the remaining chapters are still strong, but a number of them have abrupt and perplexing endings which lead nowhere. Not every single detail must be explained for a satisfying conclusion, but certain ideas are incomplete at best.

That being said, Viz Media's Tomie: Deluxe Edition is a horror manga fan's dream come true and belongs in every Junji Ito follower's collection. It satisfies a number of different genres including science fiction, horror and guro. Ito's mastery of shock is ever evident in his use of burst climaxes throughout Tomie. The sense of dread and excitement is there as you turn each beautifully drawn page.

3½ beauty marks below the left eye out of 5

VideoHound's Horror Show: 999 Hair Raising, Hellish, and Humorous Movies (1998)

Author: Mike Mayo | Page Count: 525

“We’ve gone from the darkened movie house to the darkened den … but our expectations of horror have not changed.”

Before the popularity of DVD, and the advent of the availability of any movie on the internet, came VideoHound, a series of tomes each dedicated to a specific film genre, in an effort to aid the collector of hard-to-find video titles.  VideoHound's Horror Show focuses on the frightening, the macabre and the weird, even including such fringe titles as The Wizard of Oz, Taxi Driver, Deliverance, and Apocalypse Now as they fit the criteria for being scary and traumatizing to many.

Now, a book published in 1998 which aids in tracking down obscure videos may not be as pertinent today, with such websites as IMDB and Wikipedia detailing all things movie and otherwise but it's still a replete reference, and a fine read for anyone interested in the origins and history of the horror film.  The movies are alphabetized, each including a small plot synopsis, review and rating from author Mike Mayo, and a small amount of credits including the release date, actors, director, writer, etc.  The opinions of Mayo will undoubtedly clash with yours as they did with mine but that doesn't defeat the fact that he has an intelligent grasp of how a film is made, and the story devices and underlying themes which pervade a script.

As you flip through the pages you will come upon stark B&W photos of horror icons as a blood-drenced prom queen, a Pazuzu-possessed little girl, a poised yet grotesque Erik and a furry-faced lycanthrope stare back at you.  Besides the reviews, another main attraction is the detailed history of horror films throughout the years.  Each era has an assigned essay describing the origins of trends and a list of standout features.  Other stops among the assemblage are 'Hound Salutes' which include directors, actors, and writers among other important roles that defined and refined genres and paved the way for future horror film-making.

I will say now that I have not read every word in this book. I've only read through the essays, Salutes, and select reviews, as I still hold it as a future reference and guide to more obscure titles I wish to unearth.  From reading what I have, I came to notice an appreciation the author had for certain ground breaking titles such as Fritz Lang's M, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Brian De Palma's Carrie, and John Carpenter's Halloween.  Now while these titles obviously have held a major influence on later films, Mayo holds them in too high a regard, labeling most other films that came after as derivations or even rip-offs of their general formulas and themes.  Though dated, there are many great titles within waiting to be discovered and a flood of information and knowledge that can still gorge the ravenous horror fan.

3 Woofs! out of 5

Nutted by Borderline

Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H.P. Lovecraft (2006)

Author: Andrew Migliore / John Strysik | Page Count: 352

H.P. Lovecraft, a pioneer of science and horror fiction, not only influenced generations of authors but inspired hordes of filmmakers as well.  And it is these films which Lurker in the Lobby focuses on, indexing and chronicling their stories (in front of the camera and off) and general worth to the Lovecraft fan.  The book begins with the HPL quote, "I shall never permit anything bearing my signature to be banalised and vulgarised into the flat infantile twaddle which passes for 'horror tales' amongst radio and cinema audiences!"  His warning is actually quite apropos as most of these films hardly live up to the maddening horror described in his works.  Some of the movies therein are direct (and indirect) adaptations while others only contain certain reoccurring Lovecraft themes.

The authors do a good job of pinpointing a variety of Lovecraftian cinema including stronger representations such as The Dunwich Horror (1970), In the Mouth of Madness (1995) and Re-Animator (1985) to the lesser known yet respectable Call of Cthulhu (2005), The Resurrected (1992) and The Shunned House (2003) to the "flat infantile twaddle" Lovecraft prophecised with Die Monster Die (1965), The Shuttered Room (1967), and Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2004).  Though I warn the potential reader, the films' plots are entirely synopsized, so beware of spoilers throughout the book.  After the Features is the Television section which documents episodes from such series as Masters of Horror, Monsters and Night Gallery to even Digimon and The Real Ghostbusters.

The Gallery section exhibits a range of pre-production sketches from an array of made and (mostly) unmade features to poster art and production stills.  The artwork is truly grotesque in its beautiful depictions of Lovecraft's menagerie of creatures, curiosities and gods.  The Interviews to some will be the most fascinating section as the authors converse with such directors as Guillermo del Toro, John Carpenter, Roger Corman, and Stuart Gordon among other artists willing to discuss behind-the-scenes tidbits and their adoration for HPL.

After finishing the book I found myself delving deeper into Lovecraft's literature and indulging in the films mentioned in this collection, even searching out some of the lesser known ones, having a great time understanding and studying the influence that is H.P. Lovecraft.  Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H.P. Lovecraft is a well organized reference for the followers of Lovecraft who wish to learn more about their preferred film adaptations and perhaps shed new light on a few forgotten gems.

4 concluding conflagrations out of 5

Nutted by Borderline (He’s a Crafty Lover)

Ghosts Caught on Film 3: Photographs of the Supernatural (2011)

Author:  Gordon Rutter  |  Page Count: 159

With an ever increasing amount of photographic evidence of the paranormal, Gordon Rutter takes command to organize the images in this collection and administer his expert analysis. GCoF3 is a hardcover book consisting of over 60 disputed images of ghost photography.

The photos are organized into 8 chapters including opinions from the author on each piece. From reading each description it's obvious that Rutter is an expert in the field of photography and has gone to great lengths to investigate the stories on each image. The author's level of technical knowledge (i.e. camera & film type, shutter speed, etc) when debunking the content is truly fascinating. He never once labels any photo as definitive proof of ghosts, only calling them "intriguing mysteries". And though there are a mass of interesting shots, a number of them I found hardly supernatural.

At times it felt as if I was staring at a Where's Waldo book, never locating the intended subject. While followers of ghost photography will find this entry intriguing be warned that some images are more curiosity than paranormal.

4 cases of pareidolia out of 5

Nutted by Borderline