When best friends Kim and Izzy move into a dark and mysterious apartment, they become convinced their new home is haunted by evil spirits. As they investigate the tortured history, they unearth a terrifying past of disappearances, demonic rituals and possessions that plagued every former tenant of Room 203.
This is why you always reach out to past renters before signing a lease… Although what we’re shown isn’t particularly dialogue driven, and there is a brief instance of one of my personal red flags (jerky possession sequences), I can’t help but be intrigued by the Izzy’s dead eyes and contrition. The film was directed by Ben Jagger, adapted from Japanese author Nanami Kamon’s novel, Căn Hộ Số 203.
“At the emotional core of this story, the characters are dealing with guilt and are trying to find redemption for past and present mistakes that fracture the foundations of friendship, family and love. When I began making this movie, it was always my hope that the audience would be invested by the emotional drama of the story and that the horror would serve as amplification for the conflict that these characters are going through in their daily lives. I grew up on 70’s and 80’s horror movies and there was just something unsettling about the tone and aesthetic of the horror films from those eras. In my experience, every director on their independent project is faced with a plethora of challenges which forces them to become a better filmmaker in the process. Working on Room 203 will always be special to me because of the people who banded together during an uncertain time where the world seemed stuck with no sense of direction, yet we made it happen from our shared love of making movies.” -Ben Jagger
Visually, Room 203 looks better than its unfortunate title card gives it credit for. However…have we experienced a surplus of demonic apartment films that we now need to stack elements? Does the the addition missing persons and culty sacrifices equal a more interesting experience? We’ll find out soon.
Room 203 will be availableon VOD and in Limited Theaters April 15t, 2022.
