‘Apartment 1303’ Movie Review: 2013’s Worst Horror Entry?

Written & Directed by Michael Taverna

Starring:  Mischa Barton, Rebecca De Mornay, and Julianne Michelle

A modern ghost story which turns a love/hate relationship between mother and daughter into a tale of horror. Some rentals are too good to be true.

Unfettered by a plot, subtext, or talent in any discernible way, Apartment 1303 stands out as one of the year’s worst horror films. This film is devoid of characterization, a back story, or concise storytelling; a horror fan’s worst enemy. This “modern ghost story” is nothing but a Japanese curse plot given free-reign to exist outside any rule or boundary. A Detroit apartment is cursed for some reason, causing any young women who inhabit it to plunge to their deaths. I say for “some reason” because the film takes no responsibility in filling in the blanks. Imagine all the worst elements of The Grudge,The Ring, or any Americanized version of a Japanese horror film, and this is still 1000 times worse.

Fed up with her alcoholic, has-been mother, Janet (Michelle) ventures out on her own and finds apartment living as challenging as her abusive mom (De Mornay), who’s stuck in her former glory days. Within hours, Janet is terrorized by the ghosts of former tenants, causing her premature death. Logically, the older sister (Barton) moves in and plumbs the depths of perverted apartment supers and moronic acting.  Nothing in the film makes any sense and the interaction between characters is schlockier than a D list musical. Mischa Barton shows her strengths in Apartment 1303, which is the ability to deliver any line with ineptitude. I can’t stress how terrible Barton is. Good God.

There is no reason to watch this film. It doesn’t transcend itself like Showgirls; it instead reaches for new levels in appalling film making. Don’t take the free bait from Netflix streaming or Amazon Prime. Apartment 1303 is everything wrong with horror movies.