The Complex – Das Böse in Dir (2013)

The Complex – Das Böse in Dir: Directed by Hideo Nakata. With Atsuko Maeda, Hiroki Narimiya, Ryô Iwamatsu, Masanobu Katsumura. Nursing student Asuka (Atsuko Maeda) has just moved into an apartment complex with her parents and younger brother. On the first night in her new room, she is awoken by a strange scratching sound coming from the apartment of her neighbor, a reclusive old man who has refused all attempts at communication. Concerned over his well being, Asuka enters his home only to find him dead from malnutrition. Worse, it looks as if he had been trying to claw his way into her room. Asuka learns that there have been a number of strange deaths in the complex over the years from Shinobu (Hiroki Narimiya), the handyman cleaning up the old man’s apartment. Even the girls at school whisper rumors of it being haunted. When the late night scratching returns, Asuka ventures back into her neighbor’s home and comes face to face with an apparition of the old man! Panicked by the discovery of her apartment emptied and her family gone, Asuka seeks help from Shinobu, who brings in a spiritualist to exorcise Asuka of the evil surrounding her. However, as she delves into the girl’s predicament, the spiritualist discovers that signs points not to the old man but to a small boy living in the complex with a past as tragic as the one Asuka herself lives in denial of.

“The Complex isnu0026#39;t a perfect film, but it builds on a time-honored formula: Nothing is what it seems to be. u0026#39;Ringuu0026#39; director Hideo Nakata is back with a thriller that may annoy you with seemingly random plot twists, changes of scene, and viewpoint changes, but stick with it, thereu0026#39;s a terrifying story behind all the confusion. In fact, The Complex resembles a Korean thriller more than a J-horror flick, in the kaleidoscopic subjective-cinema way things are frequently turned upside down to reveal more of whatu0026#39;s really going on. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe truth, once you discover it, is nothing really new, but its truly thriling in the way the pieces fall together (Iu0026#39;m pretty sure a lot of the low ratings were from people who got lost), and itu0026#39;s genuinely scary all the way through, and the lovely cinematography and some fine performances by the young stars help lift it up to near-Ringu status. But what puts it over the top is an exciting, compelling score by veteran composer Kenji Kawai, which keeps the heart racing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;ve seen them all, and this one still scared the heck out of me, while doing an ingenious job orchestrating the threatening power of grief and guilt in a way I havenu0026#39;t seen since u0026#39;Dark Water.u0026#39;”