Apartment 143 (DVD)

The first thing that came to mind when seeing this film is, shouldn’t it be titled Not Another Paranormal Handheld Video Movie in a similar vein to Not Another Teen/Gay Movie? The second thing that came to my mind was, is that the correct spelling of Apartment? (unfortunately it was ! – so I have at least been educated!)

Now back to the film – the fast sell is it’s Paranormal Activity meets Poltergeist, although I would definitely NOT compare it to the Spielberg/Hooper classic – sacrilege indeed!

Ok, now for the groundbreaking plot – a group of parapsychologists have been called in to record/study the ghostly shenanigans that have been disturbing a family who have recently suffered a bereavement. Needless to say cameras are set up in every corner of the house to capture the disturbing series of events, which are literally tearing the family apart.

The film starts with the ‘ghostbusters’ talking to hand held cameras as they travel to the apartment of the title, where they record themselves setting the cameras up and lo and behold, the cameras start capturing the ghostly going ons – pure genius!!

So what does this film deliver that is different to the highly more successful Paranormal Activity? Well, frankly nothing, except for a couple of different angles, the first being that a lot of the ‘scary’ events happen in daylight and there is also a scene where a strobe light is used to sickly/annoying effect – the film really should come with a warning!

This is not the worst film of this well-worn genre. There are a few clever scenes and the film builds up some momentum to the séance scene – get ready for the white contact lenses and floating bodies as the ‘possession’ takes place. But once the ‘happenings’ cease, be prepared for some of the worst acting you will see on screen, as two of the parapsychologists try and have a normal conversation…

Oh and just in case you’re not expecting a jump at the end of the film…

Overall Verdict: This is lazy film making at its most unoriginal, but is may briefly satisfy Paranormal fans, of which there are legions.

Reviewer: Stephen Sclater