Emergo

There are lights in every corner of the house, and the electricity is on, but the film is so amateur that only camera light is used just to "scare" people. I don't understand people using only camera light and get scared instead of simply turning the lights on. It's even pitch dark near the door- while the outside corridor is brightly illuminated. The owner of the house doesn't need to turn the lights on when opening the door. Another vampire movie scenario would be more appropriate. Amateur, amateur movie.

A four-year old kid is hanging around and not even scared when things go real crazy- another big fail. There's no rational and sensational explanation of a four-year old kid walking in the house without even screaming and taking everything so natural.

Why does not the family move away ? This is another question the scenario-maker needs to answer. Yes the "haunting" is about the family not the place, but at least the family needs to try communicating to the soul and solve the problem, instead of hiring a crew to put cameras and take pictures of the house. A lack of rational scenario.

Even though this is a movie based on the recipe of "Paranormal Activity" it builds on the concept of the "found footage" sub-genre, and it takes it one step further. By combining footage of many cameras and points of view this movie is just the right combination of "first person witnessing" and actual traditional cinematography. The thing with this movie, is that even though you can predict the scary moments before they happen, you still get very very scared. This is the brilliance of this particular genre - and film ! By trapping the viewer in the scene of the "crime", and forcing him to experience first hand whatever the bad "spirit" wishes to "communicate", the viewer is affected even when he is certain of what is about to happen!. The acting is nothing special. I think the actors took it abit too far by pretending to be "real people". However, that is not damaging for the movie, since it is not the actors that are important here, but YOU the viewer ! I would recommend this movie to brave horror fans, and those who want to make their girlfriends shriek in terror. I would also recommend this though, to film students, as this genre has great potential!

'APARTMENT 143': Three Stars (Out of Five)

Another 'Found Footage' haunting movie. This one focuses on a family that recently lost their wife/mother who's haunted by the unknown, at their apartment and the house they lived at prior, and the team of parapsychologists tasked to investigate. It was written by Rodrigo Cortes (who also directed the claustrophobic thriller 'BURIED') and directed by rookie feature film director Carles Torrens. It's a Spanish film originally titled 'Emergo' but it's spoken all in English with American actors (including Michael O'Keefe of 'CADDYSHACK' fame). There's definitely nothing new or original to the story but the scares are effective and well done.

The story revolves around Alan White (Kai Lennox) and his daughter Caitlin (Gia Mantegna) and son Benny (Damian Roman) who recently moved in to apartment #143 of an apartment building after experiencing strange things at their old home. The unusual disturbances continue to haunt them at their new home and Alan asks a team of three parapsychologists, lead by Dr. Helzer (O'Keefe), to investigate what's going on. We soon learn that Alan lost his wife in a car accident and his daughter blames him for it. Helzer and his team constantly witness the drama between the two as well as weird occurrences they were told about. They're able to catch it all on video (of course) as the investigation becomes more and more bizarre.

Like I said there's absolutely nothing unique about this film but it is entertaining if you like spooky films full of shocks. The only problem is you'll soon forget everything as there's nothing memorable to the film. That's the thing about movies like this; they're a lot of fun while you're watching them but don't stay with you at all (I'm sure a year from now I'll barely remember this film). Still it's better made and more effective than something like 'PARANORMAL ACTIVITY'. Scary movie fans looking for a few scares could do a lot worse.

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The reviews of this movie really got me excited. I had just about given up on this style of horror films, so to hear that one was getting some very positive buzz got me fairly excited. But as with "Grave Encounters", I found myself feeling letdown the further the movie progressed.

The idea behind "Apartment 143" is interesting, you have a group of scientists investigating a possible paranormal haunting. Seeing them act very professional about the whole ordeal was fairly entertaining. This alone is what made the film feel a tad fresh and original. The scares were decent but as events unfolded I found myself getting tired of seeing things move around and what not.

With the recent explosion of films along this genre it is hard to really surprise the audience, and that is the main problem this movie had. You arn't going to see anything here you haven't seen before. That doesn't mean that the movie's not entertaining, it will hold your attention throughout, but you can't help but feel like you've seen this entire thing before in tons of other movies.

If you really have an urge to watch a "Found Footage" horror film and you have already seen "Paranormal Activity", than this is probably the best available option atm. Just don't be fooled by all the buzz, this isn't anything great, it is a entertaining yet forgettable movie that is worthy of killing a week day night.

Here's The Lowedown on "Apartment 143" (A Horror/Fount Footage DVD review)...LIKED IT!!

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Genre: 7.5 Movie: 5.5

What's it about?

A parapsychologist team are asked to investigate Apartment 143. The White family, who have lost their wife/mother in a car crash, have been experiencing strange things since they moved in to the apartment. But, they were also experiencing things at their old place.

What did I think?

Found Footage movies are an acquired taste...and I for one have a taste for them. If you are a fan like I am, this movie is better than most. If it is not your style, however, You probably won't like it. The cast is recognizable and the acting was good...plus there are no misconceptions about it being real. Give it a shot...see what you think.