Apartment
1303 in September
5
September 2007
Those
of you who thought the J-Horror cycle had run its
course can think again. Not only is Thai cinema
getting in on the act (with the genuinely scary
Shutter), but Japan is still exploring
stories of ghostly apparitions in a modern urban
environment. The latest to hit UK DVD is Apartment
1303, co-written and directed by Ataru
Oikawa, whose 1999 Tomie was on
of the more pleasingly peculiar post-Ringu
pleasures.
 |
Some
story. The view from the balcony of Apartment 1303,
situated on the thirteenth floor of a beautiful
seaside tower block, is breathtaking in more ways
than one. Behind the airy, light décor and
desirable location lies a shocking history of inexplicable,
but apparently coincidental, suicides by several
of 1303's former tenants, all of them young women.
The most recent resident, Sayaka Midorika, is in
the middle of her unpacking party with her friends
and celebrating moving into the first apartment
of her own when she finds herself irresistibly drawn
to a closet in the bedroom. Returning to the living
room moments later, Sayaka dons her scooter helmet
and without any warning runs to the balcony and
over the edge as her horrified friends look on helplessly.
Refusing
to believe Sayaka could possibly have committed
suicide, her elder sister, Mariko, begins to investigate
the history of Apartment 1303 and its tenants in
the hope of finding some clue as to why Sayaka fell
to her death. What Mariko uncovers is a bizarre
story involving physical and mental abuse, psychological
despair, murder and retribution. But none of her
discoveries go any way to explaining the strange
behaviour of the mother and daughter living in the
next-door apartment, nor the malevolent presence
she senses when she finds herself alone in Apartment
1303.
The
ground may be familiar but we're promised that Oikawa
has his own particular spin on these well worn elements.
You'll be able to see for yourself on 17th September
2007 when the film is released on UK DVD by Cine
Asia at the RRP of £12.99. We have no information
on screen ratio or sound at present, and no extras
are listed.
For
now you can check out the trailer by clicking on
one of the links below.
Low
resolution trailer
High
resolution trailer
