Emergo

This movie, though very predictable, definitely had its moments of terror. The build-up before the moments that made you jump were great, and although I was fully anticipating what was to come I still jumped several times. The plot was decent and I appreciated how the characters were written. The acting was surprisingly good for a low-budget film, I was definitely impressed by that. The apex of the film was very intense and dramatic, if slightly cheesy. The only thing that really bothered me was the very, very cliché ending. I felt as though I've seen that very ending 10 other times in various other movies, it has been so over-done that it will ruin an entire movie for me. But other than the very end, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and would definitely recommend it!

Apartment 143 gives us a look at a supposedly haunted apartment. The difference here is that the scientific investigators are looking for scientific explanations rather than the supernatural. It's a neat idea, but leads to some heavy exposition scenes that betray the found-footage set-up. Perhaps if these had been explained in talking head interviews it wouldn't seem so clunky and forced. The film does well to have a little mystery behind it and the cast are generally rather impressive. One of the biggest problems is how quick it wants to start. I don't find that these films work without a decent amount of build up. Here, the camera crew walk in and stuff is happening almost immediately. I also got tired at the scientists continued explanations of stuff when it was clear that some of these things were impossible to explain. Some decent effects and genuine scary parts make this a fine effort, but with a bit more time and some better pacing this could have been so much better.

'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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'Found Footage'/shot at home style horror movies are 10 a penny these days, mostly because they are relatively cheap and easy to film. As such, it takes a lot to make them original because there are so damn many of them. This had it's moments of originality but for the most part was same-old, same-old. However, Apartment 143 starts out a lot better than most, jumping straight into the story without the tedious back story of the investigators or family padding out the first half, which was a good move.

The basic story is that there are some spooky goings on surrounding a family consisting of Dad, daughter Caitlin and son Benny. The investigators pitch up in their house and stay there, setting up their equipment and monitoring the situation. There are a few jump scenes thrown in here and there, and some rather confusing explanations as to what is causing the phenomena.

The acting was mostly decent throughout, and the way the investigators conducted themselves was a lot more interesting than the typical cliché investigators, who freak out at the slightest thing.

The reason the Paranormal Activity money-grabbers are so dull is that virtually nothing happens, and if it does it happens right at the end of the movie. Thankfully Apartment 143 does give the viewer some supernatural goings on very quickly, and they are not badly done, but overall I felt it was just a little boring. Nothing like as bad as PA, and I watched the whole way through, but it wasn't 'edge of your seat' stuff, and none of the jump scenes got me.

The one thing I did like was how the tension built for the one scene where they are using the constant flash on the camera. I thought that was really well done, and the best scene in the movie.

All in all, it wasn't a bad found footage movie, and it might scare you a bit if you're not a horror buff, but for any aficionados it wasn't up to much. See it rather than Paranormal Activity, but for something better with more scares, grab Grave Encounters instead.

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.