Apartment 1303 - Noriko Nakagoshi

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "1303-gôshitsu" )

directed by Ataru Oikawa
Japan 2007

Tenants who occupy apartment 1303 have a tendency to throw themselves off of the balcony onto the pavement or the swimming pool below. When her younger sister suddenly commits suicide during a housewarming party in a similar manner after having moved into the apartment, her older sister Mariko (Eriko Hatsune) begins collecting her sister's personal effects. While inhabiting the apartment (and drawing out her stay to get away from her cold mother who seems to blame her for her younger sister's wanting to move away as well as her unexplained death) she realizes that there is something terribly wrong with the apartment and the strange little girl in 1302 who seems to know when each tenant takes their plunge. Touted as being from the author of THE GRUDGE, APARTMENT 1303 is slick but overly familiar with more long-haired children and intimations of child abuse but Hatsune makes a sympathetic lead who feels connected to the apparent source of the haunting through her own lonely and neglected childhood. Whether this can keep a viewer compelled to watch it to the end will likely depend on their fondness for the J-horror genre and their familiarity or unfamiliarity with its motifs and the various innovations employed to keep the sub-genre alive.

Eric Cotenas

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Theatrical Release: 27 October 2007

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DVD Review: Tartan Video (Tartan Asia Extreme) - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Tartan Video Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:36:18
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 8.7 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	Japanese DTS 5.1; Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1; Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles	English, Spanish, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Tartan Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer (4:3; 1:23) • Photo Gallery • Trailers for THE HEIRLOOM, THE GHOST, CARVED, SILK, ARANG, and SHUTTER DVD Release Date: October 23rd, 2007 Amaray Chapters 14

Comments

The Tartan DVD is interlaced but not a PAL-conversion (as is the case with some of Tartan's other Asian horror titles). Half-bitrate DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo downmix are all fine and enveloping. The English subtitles are well done but could have used a little proofing (Spanish subs are also included).

The UK release is similarly barebones but is missing the DTS track. A glance at the specs of other import editions shows that they are similarly light on extras but this does allow for a higher feature bitrate (given the runtime) which is usually semi-compromised by Tartan cramming extras of the Asian 2-disc editions onto the same disc as the feature (along with the inclusion of a stereo downmix with the 5.1 and DTS tracks). Only the R2 Japanese release from Kadokawa Pictures has any extras but they are untranslated as is the film.

- Eric Cotenas

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