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Apartment 1303 is a Japanese horror film, directed by Ataru Oikawa, that revolves around a woman who investigates a series of suicides in her late sister's apartment.[1] Based on Ju-on horror author Kei Oishi's original novel.
Plot Sayaka has been celebrating with her friends at her new 13th-floor apartment when she walks to her balcony and jumps to her death. A little girl picks up a teddy bear found lying near Sayaka's body and, as she looks up at a block of apartments ,she says: "There goes another one." At Sayaka's funeral, her older sister Mariko has been trying to cheer up Sayaka's grieving friends when she soon notices the ghostly form of Sayaka, who whispers: "Mom pushed me." Their mother, deeply devastated by Sayaka s death, seems to be falling into a world of insanity, which worries and concerns Mariko, who decides to protect her mother by taking on the responsibility of sorting out Sayaka s estate. As Mariko's about to enter Sayaka s apartment, a little girl appears from the next door and asks her if she s afraid of #1303. Mariko, puzzled, says she isn t. The girl nods and casually informs her that "all women who lived there had died, you know." While Mariko clears out the apartment, she repeatedly catches the sight of Sayaka and hears her ghostly voice on phone. Each time Mariko tries to talk to her, Sayaka either stares back or whispers a couple of words before vanishing. During the clear out, Mariko comes across an earring that looked as if it d been ripped out of someone's earlobe. Mariko wonders if this might be a clue. After turning over Sayaka s apartment to the landlord, Mariko meets a police detective, Sakurai, who reveals that he s been investigating a series of suicides at #1303 and he doesn t believe it s a coincidence. Mariko gives him the blood-streaked earring as she believes it belongs to a previous tenant. Mariko soon comes across a book about the first two tenants who lived in #1303: Yukiyo Sugiuchi and her mother who, during the first few years, lived peacefully together at their apartment. This however changed when the mother becomes abusive towards Yukiyo for hiding food and having her ears pierced, which prompts her to rip the earring out of Yukiyo's earlobe. Yukiyo defensively reacts to her mother s violent reaction with a butcher knife, then watches while her mother crawls into a closet where she eventually bleeds to death. Six months later, the landlord visits Yukiyo s apartment and reveals his plans to have her and mother thrown out for failing to pay rent. Upset and afraid, Yukiyo sees the ghost of her mother, who s revealed to have been tormenting Yukiyo since her death. You ll never survive without me, her ghostly mother taunts. Yukiyo picks up a teddy bear and after she touches it gently, she walks to her apartment balcony and jumps to her death. Mariko discovers that since Yukiyo s death, the next four tenants - with Sayaka as the latest - had moved into #1303 and eventually jumped to their death. The police has ruled each case as a suicide. Detective Sakurai returns the earring to Mariko and says that he thinks Mariko didn t commit suicide while she was inside #1303 because she still lives with her mother. As Mariko absorbs this, she learns her mother plans to visit #1303 to see Sayaka one more time. She has to save her mother. Unknown to Mariko, the apartment has been rented out to several female college students, who throw a party that night. During the party, Yukiyo appears and pushes some girls over the balcony while terrorising the other party guests. As Mariko arrives at the block of apartments, she spots the authorities removing the bodies from the scene. She rushes up to #1303. As she enters, she doesn t see her mother who s closing a door. She disappears when Mariko opens it. Yukiyo appears in front of Mariko who confronts her over her killing of previous tenants including her own sister, but Yukiyo denies the charge, which disconcerts Mariko. However, as Yukiyo becomes hostile towards Mariko, she reveals that her mother is the one who told her to throw them over because they were evil. Mariko returns Yukiyo s earring to her while promising to look after #1303 and Yukiyo herself. Yukiyo seems to accept this and vanishes, causing Mariko to faint. As Mariko awakens the following morning, Yukiyo appears and knocks her against the balcony railing. Yukiyo tells her that her mother has only one daughter. Mariko notices her ghostly sister Sayaka watching, just as she falls to her death. Standing next to her mother, the little girl says: "There goes another one." Then she and her mother vanish. At #1303, Yukiyo and Sayaka also vanish, leaving the apartment empty once more. Cast Production Apartment 1303 was filmed in the Japanese Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.[2] Release The film premiered on 8 February, 2007, as part of the European Film Market in Germany.[3] Remake Apartment 1303 3D There are talks of making a remake, which is set to be written, directed and co-produced by Swedish filmmaker Daniel Fridell.[4] [5]Mischa Barton, Rebecca De Mornay and Julianne Michelle have reportedly been cast in the English-language production.[6] References External links es:Apartment 1303 fr:Appartement 1303 ja:1303 pt:Apartamento 1303 ru: 1303
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