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STUDIO: Magnet Releasing
MSRP: $26.98
RATED: R
RUNNING TIME: 80 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Making of
• Brief behind the scenes looks at special effects, levitating, visual concept, etc.
• Interview with director Carles Torrens
• HDNet: A Look at Apartment 143
The Pitch
A single father hires a team of parapsychologists to figure out why his doors keep slamming.
The Humans
Directed by Carles Torrens, written by Rodrigo Cortes, and starring Kai Lennox, Gia Mantegna, and Michael O’Keefe.
The Nutshell
Another Paranormal Activity knockoff destined for the bargain bin.
The Lowdown
Before talking about Apartment 143 (Emergo) I’d like to say that it’s not the worst of the Paranormal Activity ripoffs. In my book that honor goes to the shameless Paranormal Entity. With that being said, Apartment 143 is another fish in the large and tepid pool of found footage horror films we’ve been assaulted with since 2007. What sets it apart on the surface is that it takes place in a small apartment and that there are a buttload of cameras capturing everything. There are motion-activated surveillance cams, handhelds, cameras on tripods, and even small digital cameras strapped to people’s heads. It’s ridiculous.
There are some grasps at originality in the film’s look at a single father struggling to keep his family together while all this spooky shit is going on. I have to give them credit for trying to have some dramatic elements and tying them to the paranormal stuff, but none of the characters are likable so who cares.
Three paranormal investigators, led by Michael O’Keefe (Caddyshack), are hired by a single father to build him a porch. Just kidding, they’re hired to investigate the paranormal activity going down in his apartment, of course! Although watching them build a porch would probably be just as engaging as them sitting around staring at monitors. Slamming doors, teleporting tea kettles, and electronic interference build up to the rest of the crap you’ve seen in these movies 100 times.
The gaps in between scares are filled with a lot of dialogue about the death of the mother. This tragedy ties in nicely with the haunting but doesn’t make up for how predictable and flat-out not scary this movie is. It was written by Rodrigo Cortes, director of the overrated Buried and this year’s decent supernatural thriller Red Lights. His imagination should have been able to spit out something at least remotely original. Unfortunately Apartment 143 is just another Paranormal Activity knockoff for the bargain bin.
The Package
Making Of: Covers the usual ground of casting, shooting, and special effects. At one point director Carles Torrens boldly states that his film presents a “unique visual language” or some garbage like that. He’s referring to the insane amount of cameras they used, I think.
Special Effects, Levitating, Visual Concept, etc.: A series of brief behind the scenes looks at specific aspects of the film.
Interview With Director Carles Torrens: 20 minutes of the director explaining the entire movie, then telling us how realistic and original it is.
HDNet: A Look at Apartment 143: Five minute promo.
Rating: Out of a Possible 5 Stars
