THE DEAD GIRL IN APARTMENT 03 | ©2022 Wild Eye Releasing
Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Laura Dooling, Frank Wihbey, Bryan Manley Davis, Michael Schantz, Adrienne King
Writer: Kurtis M. Spieler
Director: Kurtis M. Spieler
Distributor: Wild Eye Releasing
Release Date: August 9, 2022
THE DEAD GIRL IN APARTMENT 03 feels a little like one of those movie-of-the-week horror films that used to crop up on network television in the 1970s. It has a small cast, contained sets, a short running time of 72 minutes, and the sort of plot twists that were terrifying way back when.
Indeed, apart from the use of mobile phones and more sophisticated makeup effects, THE DEAD GIRL IN APARTMENT 03 seems like it could have been set almost any time in the past fifty years.
The opening at a police station turns out to be a flashforward. Christian (Bryan Manley Davis) is being interrogated. The detective says, “We’ve got three dead bodies, your girlfriend is missing, and you were the last one to talk to her.”
After expressing concerns that the truth won’t be believed, Christian at last asks, “Do you believe in ghosts?”
We then get a title card that says, “A ghost story by Kurtis M. Spieler,” Spieler being the writer/director, as well as one of the producers and a bit part actor here.
The flashforward feels like a misstep, as it broadly indicates where this will go and how we’ll get there. Funnily enough, THE DEAD GIRL IN APARTMENT 03 isn’t, strictly speaking, a ghost story, although it is definitely supernatural.
Another title card tells us we’re in Queens, nine hours before the interrogation scene. College student Laura (Laura Dooling) comes home to the apartment she shares with her roommate Elizabeth. Not having seen Elizabeth in a few days, Laura knocks on Elizabeth’s door, doesn’t get an answer, opens it – and finds Elizabeth dead on the floor.
Laura sensibly calls the police. Detective Richards (Adrienne King, of FRIDAY THE 13th fame and Miller (Frank Wihbey) show up, look around, and ask some questions.
The film spends a fair amount of time establishing why Laura doesn’t just leave the apartment for the night, and why she reaches out to ex-boyfriend Christian, as well as the somewhat smitten Detective Miller.
Past a certain point, the time could have been more productively spent building scares. It also seems as though the story might work better if certain plot elements were introduced earlier with more emphasis.
Even so, THE DEAD GIRL IN APARTMENT 03 has its merits. Spieler manages to create suspense and even a few jump scares. The premise is intriguing enough while it’s being uncovered, even if it’s not all that original once we get the gist.
The set decoration by Amy Holomakoff gives some hints as to what’s happening. The subdued cinematography by Shannon Madden, aided by an unconventional lighting scheme, gives the film a distinctive look. The score by Satanic Panic ’81 has a pleasing John Carpenter homage sound.
The characters are played decently, but this is really where that early ‘70s sensibility hits. We have no expectations that Laura is going to turn out to be a Jamie Lee Curtis-style tough protagonist, and Christian is the well-meaning but clueless young man from any number of genre pieces.
THE DEAD GIRL IN APARTMENT 03 is fun in its unironic retro manner. Viewers will probably have trouble a few months on placing the release in its true era.
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