Apartment 1303

(2007) ***

You guys must be getting really tired of my reviews.



The film starts off with a woman who just moved in and is unpacking in her new apartment. She’s alone and hears a weird thump. She goes to the bedroom to check it out, there seems to be a nasty odor coming from the closet, that can’t be good. We then see a mother and daughter in front of the apartment building along with the new resident’s partner who is just arriving at the apartment. For some odd reason the little girl grabs onto him and leads him over to the pool just in time to see his wife/girlfriend whatever she is diving headfirst off the balcony of their new apartment and landing with an audible splat.

That’s just the intro, now the real story really begins. Sayaka, is the next victim…uh…resident of 1303. She arrives with a bunch of friends who have come to help her unpack. Sayaka hears the dreaded thump and goes into the bedroom. A minute or so later she comes ambling out of the bedroom as if in a daze. She drops to the floor on all fours and begins eating furiously out of her dog Samantha’s bowl. She then gets up and puts on a helmet. When a friend asks her why she just says, ” I don’t want my face to get messed up”. She then walks immediately to the balcony and takes a header over the railing.

Now we cut to her sister Mariko who is convinced that her sister wouldn’t commit suicide. She is determined to find out what really happened. What follows is a lengthy story involving the damaged relationship between Mariko and her mother. As she uncovers the history of 1303 she digs a little deeper into her own personal demons.

The beginning of this film sucks you right in to it. The first fall is shot with amazing brilliance and just leaves you with this, “What the hell?” feeling. The end of the film is exciting, scary & surprising, really well done. The middle is well…let’s just say I was fighting to keep my eyes open a couple of times. It’s like biting into a Twinkie and finding out they forgot to put in the cream filling.

The whole secondary story of Mariko and her mother is unnecessary and irrelevant. I can see why it’s there but it just wasn’t something that needed to be there to complete the story. Still, it’s a very cool concept and good watch all the same.