THE COMPLEX (2013, original title Kuroyuri danchi) is a slice of J-horror from my main man Hideo Nakata, who of course directed the all-time Japanese ghost story classic RING back in 1998. This one's similar but also very different in many respects, a riff on the Swedish hit LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. Atsuko Maeda stars as Asuka, who moves with her family into a run-down apartment complex. She befriends an odd and lonely little boy in the play park outside but at the same time is disturbed by the scratching she hears on the other side of her bedroom wall every night...
It's quite an odd little production and to say too much would be to spoil it. The first half is very slow indeed with little happening other than a few bits of mystery and mildly creepy atmosphere. Then we let loose with supernatural persecution and some massive plot twists which I didn't spot coming. This second half is a lot more entertaining and it builds to a highly enjoyable climax. Not a great film, certainly not on par with RING, but I enjoyed it well enough when I caught it on Prime.
It's quite an odd little production and to say too much would be to spoil it. The first half is very slow indeed with little happening other than a few bits of mystery and mildly creepy atmosphere. Then we let loose with supernatural persecution and some massive plot twists which I didn't spot coming. This second half is a lot more entertaining and it builds to a highly enjoyable climax. Not a great film, certainly not on par with RING, but I enjoyed it well enough when I caught it on Prime.