Apartment 1303 3D is a 2012 supernatural horror film written and directed by Michael Taverna. The US-Canadian co-production is an English-language remake of the 2007 Japanese horror film Apartment 1303 (2007), which in turn is an adaptation of the novel Apartment 1303 by Japanese author Kei Ôishi, who is best known for having written the novelization to Ju-On: The Grudge (2002). The film stars Mischa Barton, Rebecca De Mornay, and Julianne Michelle. The film officially went into production in Montreal in early November 2011.
The film was released theatrically in 3D in Russia on December 6, 2012. In the United States, the film was passed over for a wide theatrical release, and was instead released to video on demand on June 17, 2013, followed by a limited theatrical release on July 25, 2013.
Apartment 1303 3D was universally panned by critics. The film grossed $3,377,891 worldwide, against a $5 million budget.
Contents
Plot
Following a family dispute, Janet Slate moves out of the home she shares with her older sister, Lara and their single mother, Maddie. She moves into apartment 1303 on the thirteenth floor of a downtown Detroit apartment building. A 9-year-old neighbor, Emily, explains to Janet that a previous occupant of her new apartment killed herself. Strange things begin to occur in the apartment and when Janet appears bruised at work, she rebuffs her coworkers’ concerns that her boyfriend, Mark Taylor, is abusing her and blames the marks on sleepwalking.
Janet is shaken by the strange events that are happening preferring to stay late at the office rather than return to apartment 1303. She calls her sister, Lara, to ask if she can return home but Lara informs her this would be a bad idea as their mother is having another "drunk psycho rant". Janet suggests going to a hotel but this is quickly dismissed as Lara is not able to pay for it. Janet then calls Mark who is back in town, who agrees to check in on her. Later that night, Janet is awoken by strange supernatural elements in the apartment but unfortunately Mark is no longer around. An invisible ghost possesses Janet, leading to her own depression and suicide. Her sister, Lara, later arrives to gather the possessed Janet's belongings and begins to experience the same terrors.
A detective that was on the case talks to Lara, who believes Janet was murdered. The detective agrees since he's been investigating mysterious suicides with other tenants. Lara discovers the name of the first tenant from 20 years back, Jennifer Logan. The detective tells Lara the sad story of what happened to Jennifer. At the age of 12, she moved into apartment 1303 with her mother, Mary, a respectable school teacher and recently divorced. For the first few years in the apartment, they lived in peace and Mary was a loving mother to Jennifer.
However, the peace was shattered when Mary lost her job as a teacher during a dispute with a parent in a parent-teacher conference. She found work as a prostitute to pay for the apartment, became an alcoholic and brutally abused Jennifer. This leads to Jennifer murdering Mary and burying her in a built in closet. Soon neighbors complained about the smell of the apartment, causing the police and the health department to investigate. By the time they got to the apartment to confront Jennifer, she had already committed suicide by jumping out the window and the police found the decomposed body of Mary. In the years that followed, more tenants were thought to have committed suicide with Janet being the most recent one.
Production
The Swedish director Daniel Fridell had originally been set to direct the project but was later replaced by Michael Taverna.
A specialised crew of 3D experts from Hong Kong were hired for the film. As part of her preparation for the role of Lara, Mischa Barton had her left nostril pierced with a small gold stud, but removed the piercing a few days later when director Michael Taverna decided that it did not suit her character.
Release
Home media
The film was released to DVD by Phase 4 Films on September 24, 2013 after its video-on-demand debut, with no special features. A Blu-ray version of the film has yet to be released in the states. In the Netherlands, the film received a Region-Free 3D Blu-ray Disc with the original film included in a bonus DVD in the package.
Reception
Box office
The film grossed $3,377,891 worldwide against a $5 million budget.
Critical response
Apartment 1303 3D was universally panned by critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 8% based on reviews from critics.
Justin Chang of Variety called the film an "inept and derivative tale" that is not unintentionally funny enough to be "so bad it's good". Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "This non-starter horror film, inexplicably released in 3D, won't haunt theaters for very long." Shawn Macomber of Fangoria rated it 1/4 stars and wrote, "The movie exhibits the germ of something that could potentially be a lot of fun on Saturday night basic cable. Problem is, its higher aspirations are a gauntlet thrown in the way of a deviously barmy romp."
Gareth Jones of Dread Central rated it 0.5/5 stars and wrote, "Bereft of interesting characters, dialogue, acting ability, scares, visual aplomb or much of anything else, Apartment 1303 is occasionally good for a derogatory laugh, or simply to witness what must be the middle of one serious mire in Rebecca de Mornay's career." Andrew Pollard of Starburst rated it 3/10 stars and wrote that there is "no emotion, no care, no feeling and no reason to watch," and that "Barton and Michelle are just plain awful." Julianne Michelle's leading role as Janet Slate was singled out for criticism, with a reviewer writing: "Julianne Michelle is embarrassing... her performance is painful to watch. She also looks ridiculous..."