PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Genre blending. You know, a “quasi-slasher/thriller with a rom-com twist”, or something. Some films manage to get the amalgamation of horror sub-genres right, and some fail miserably. More often than not, The Dead Girl In Apartment 03 works, but there are moments of schizophrenia in its 72 minute runtime.
Synopsis
“After finding her roommate dead under mysterious circumstances, a young woman is haunted inside her apartment.”
An ambitious effort from writer/director Kurtis M. Spieler (The Devil’s Well), The Dead Girl In Apartment 03 is a odd combination of: ghostly haunting, occult magick, and crime thriller. While it doesn’t always work, it succeeds in creating a load of atmospheric creepiness, and genuine suspense.
Here’s a look at the trailer.
NYC student Laura (Laura Dooling; Mr. Mercedes), suddenly finds the roommate she barely knew, Elizabeth (Jennie Osterman; Violet) has died in her bedroom (hence the title…get it?). With no obvious cause of death, two local gendarmes, Det. Richards (Adrienne King; Friday the 13th) and Det. Miller (Frank Wihbey; The Sadist) are sent to investigate the death. Was she murdered? Natural causes?? Or something far more sinister???
Soon paranormal goings on and strange runic markings are juxtaposed with increasingly threatening visits from Elizabeth’s sketchy boyfriend (Michael Schantz; The Blacklist) and growing suspicion from law enforcement, leaving poor Laura with only her ex-boyfriend Christian (Bryan Manley Davis; Blood Feud) in her corner, as the fear ratchets up to her breaking point.
A virtual masterclass in dark, foreboding atmosphere, The Dead Girl In Apartment 03 succeeds when it’s staying in its “ghost/haunting/mystery” lane, and only veers into silliness when the occult aspects are introduced. And this isn’t to say the occult component of the plot doesn’t work. It just overreaches to tie every single plot thread together, and muddying the plot waters, instead of, perhaps, just being used as a device to explain Elizabeth’s spirit hanging around.
However, Spieler and his capable cast, especially Dooling, manage to craft a crisply paced, moody, genuinely frightening experience with a workable “twist” ending, and some anxious anticipation as to what is coming next. They even manage to sneak in an homage to King’s Friday The 13th Part 2 demise with a scene involving a whistling tea kettle and a refrigerator (alas, no severed head inside, but you can’t have everything!).
The Blu-ray, from Wild Eye Releasing, features a really cool, slipcover with some retro inspired alternate artwork, and a collectible mini-poster. The picture looks awesome, with the dark lighting of many of the shots adding to the feel of the film rather than being too dark to tell what the Hell is happening like a ton of films trying to create “atmosphere”. There’s a commentary track, a behind the scenes featurette, and Spieler’s short film No Remorse Bloodshed included in the extras. All in all, a really deluxe release for a new film, very well done.
The Dead Girl In Apartment 03, like mentioned above, succeeds more than it fails, and is a creepy, dark little film sure to induce chills, and possibly a smile or two, for any fan of the haunting/occult genres. Big props to Spieler and crew for proving, despite what you hear online, that, yes, there are original ideas in the horror genre getting to the screen these days, you just need to take a chance on a little hyped film once in a while.
The Dead Girl In Apartment 03 is available now on Blu-ray from Wild Eye Releasing at fine retailers.
