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Jason reviews Apartment 143 (Emergo)

Sometimes all you want at the end of a long work week is 90 minutes of entertainment and, in the case of a fright flick, scares. Then along comes a movie that gives you all that and more. Cue Apartment 143.

A team of parapsychologists try to figure out a strange phenomenon occurring in an apartment building.
Sounds simple right? Well, it is and it isn't. And that's what makes Apartment 143 so fucking good.

First off, the hand of Rodrigo Cortes -- he who wrote and directed the brilliant Buried -- is all over this movie. He's the writer/producer/editor here and it shows. This is a film that transcends the found-footage genre while playing within it. Sure, there's scares. But there's a surprisingly effective hit of drama as well. Not annoying drama, but a layer of brains and pathos you don't usually get in a movie like this.

Case in point, Kai Lennox deserves an Oscar for his performance. He has a scene where his distraught father character just unloads a shit boat full of emotional baggage. And it's awesome and painful to watch. Give this man an award. Please!

Everything else is good too. Hot Irish blonde? We've got one here. Shorts shitting moments? Yup. There's an especially effective sequence involving a strobe light where you know something scary is coming, but jump despite yourself.

I will catch this again. Truth be told, I wasn't in a hurry for it to end. And that's rare. If you want to watch a good horror movie, this is certainly a Good! My expectations were exceeded.

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