Reviewed by Jesse Miller, MoreHorror.com
Apartment 1303 is the American remake of a Japanese Horror film of the same name and tells the story of two sisters moving into an apartment inhabited by a vengeful spirit.
Like a bunch of remakes, this one is devoid of thrills, chills, suspense or substance and falls flat like the supposed unfortunate victims that fall from the apartment in this film.
The great set up is all there but the film soon descends into poor form showcasing clichés we have seen time and time again, presenting paper-thin characters that muster up little sympathy and has a script that I was hoping would be a good creepy time but winds up being lacklustre and painfully dull.
For me, Director Michael Taverna – who also wrote the screenplay here – wasn’t effective enough in crafting the required scares and doesn’t seem to have an understanding of horror – or at least just an understanding of the Grudge Lady-kind of horror – and it’s because of this that the film becomes a rather joyless trudge through an unsatisfying mystery that doesn’t quite hit the mark.
The cast really give it their best and if a line or two sounds unintentionally amusing, like whenever one character sits by herself in the haunted apartment and talks out loud her every emotion, it’s because of the script that needs a good polish.
I will add that any horror music buffs will want to check out the score by Davy and Yoan Bernagoult here as it’s eerie and sets the mood wonderfully.
If you want a fun pizza and horror night, you could spend time with better shocks elsewhere. If you’re an avid fan of horror and always intrigued to watch something new, by all means dive into this effort and then check into the original film to see how that version fares.