( 2005 / Japan )

Review By-Paul Cooke
Director: Inoue Yasuo
Starring: Oguri Shun , Nakamura Shidou , Arai Hirofumi , Yoshimura Yumi & Ishii Tomoya
Source : AMUSE DVD Japan / NTSC Region 2 Japan / Format Approx 1:77:1 / 16:9 Enhanced / English Subtitled /Dolby Digital 5.1 / Trailers / TV Spots / Cast & Crew Bios

‘‘That was another me who’s in my body’’

A stark reinvigoration of the horror / thriller genre is welcomingly unveiled by first time director Inoue Yazoo , with his unerringly perturbing psycho chiller ‘TheNeighbor No. Thirteen’.

Forget about the over saturation of ghostly goings on , featuring spindly young girls with body length black hair , as this feature could not be farther apart from the expected scene. Right from the off Yasuo envelopes his audience in a fragmented world of unease , as his central character Murasaki Juzo endures a refractive human state of cruelty from the viewpoint of perpetrated through to perpetrator !. Watching what plays out is as close to experiencing a living nightmare , with all the accompanying effects of palpitations , nervous sweats and a neck tingling shudder to put the average viewer in a state of anaphylactic shock for days to follow !.The nightmarish opening sequence is a visual palette summonsed up from a disturbed interpretational painters closeted mind recess. The sight of a bloodied , beaten and broken young man , whimpering in pain sat naked within a dimly lit room , immediately grabs the attention. This facially scarred person is a tortured soul , all alone within an isolated shack set starkly adrift within a realm of unreality. Shards of painful memories flood his thoughts and a visual rift formed of terrible flashbacks display the young man as a boy , a boy picked on at school by a pernicious bully. Young Murasaki Juzo is constantly tormented by this bully and his small flock of witless pupils baying close by. Juzo is set upon in all manner of cruel pranks , the cruellest of all being drops of acid spilt upon his hand that suddenly becomes a dropped bottle upon his face !. His screams of agony go unheard , apart from by those of the bully and his cowardly class mates scurrying away , leaving Juzo to suffer alone.

Within his self imposed sanctum ‘sanatorium’ Juzo’s personality splits apart. The dark door of his pain stricken mind closes , at the same time another door to the outside world opens for the first time since these events. The now young adult is thrown out by his own dark presence into a playground of other peoples pain. He is fresh faced and free from any physical scarring , yet beneath his own exterior lay the ravages of suffering , and the suppurating scars will not heal without vengeful sufferance !.

Murasaki Juzo moves into a typically tightly packed , low grade two tier apartment complex. Situated on the ground floor he resides at flat number thirteen !. His demeanour is seemingly no different than your average person , more noticeable only due to his choice of attire , as he sports an orange sleeveless zipper jacket. By choice or chance !? , the local bully lives above him and their lives are inevitably intrinsically linked. Akai is the area hood , struggling like those around him but elevated by his history of violence against others. Like most of the populace he is now with wife and child and making basic wage to make ends meet. His young son already showing signs of growing up in a dysfunctional environment , and his mother covering up physical signs of abuse.

Juzo’s new job just so happens to be at the same construction company as Akai , and unfortunately Akai is his immediate superior. From introduction onwards Akai sets out to make Juzo’s life difficult and he picks on him to the point of physically hurting him. Pent up within Juzo though is an inner strength , repressed no more and waiting to step on out , and definitely not to play friendly !. As Juzo needs protecting the ‘Dark Juzo’ persona at first steps out discretely , an unfettered ego , strong , defiant and utterly unsympathetic. So it begins !.

With Akai and his family out for an evening Juzo’s dark guise enters his apartment and dutifully sets about desecrating its very fabric. He intoxicates himself in the manner of the householder by sitting in Akai’s placing , eating from his plate , drinking from his cup and using his toothbrush to clean his unkempt teeth. His final act of invasiveness is to relieve himself in the bath room , urinating over and around the toilet , marking his alpha male territory like a dominant tom cat. An invasive and deeply pathological display of aggressive future intent , capped off by his perverse pleasure taking at uncovering and dishevelling Akai’s wife’s underwear. He works the flat , profiling his prey , with a calm yet disturbing studiousness. He takes away Akai’s school graduation album , and leaves behind a listening apparatus to enable him to eavesdrop from his apartment below.

A fellow worker and loner named Seki befriends Juzo and a visit to Juzo’s apartment gives Seki an insight into his new friend not being quite all there. Uncovering the graduation album and asking Juzo about it meets with a curious reaction that shows Juzo being puzzled as to why it is in his apartment. Its appearance sparks flashbacks to Juzo’s youth some ten years earlier and points to the real connection between him and Akai !.

The violence here on in occurs in short sharp bursts. Neighbor number fifteen , a cameo appearance by non other than iconic Director Takashi Miike , soon regrets banging on Juzo’s party wall as Juzo’s alter ego pays him a visit , brandishing a rather large and particularly sharp knife !. Director Inoue Yasuo never crosses the reality line though as the nastiness , although intensely played out , never borders on the excessive. The power of implication is expertly woven into the viewers thoughts to the effect of induced nausea felt from being told a gruesome news headline in real life. This is a subtle depiction of evil that grafts itself under its audiences skin , leaving an itch that can’t easily be put to rest. The experience in viewing will catch you off guard with its down played evolution in a similar way to the awe striking Chan-Wook Park Korean classic ‘Oldboy’. Imagine perhaps a young Anthony Wong starring in a Category III variation of ‘Fight Club’. This is Japanese cinema at its most pure , telling a story of traumatic terror with realistic horror and staying on track from beginning to very satisfying conclusion. There are no cheap thrills , no wincing special effects. The Director gets the best from his relatively unknown actors and the unravelling story is the centre piece.

 

Once Juzo and his other self start playing Jekyll and Hyde with Akai’s wife and son this unsettling drama really starts to make you shuffle uncomfortably in your seat. Leaving your young son with a bi polar schizophrenic with an aptitude for inflicting suffering upon others , whilst you go out for the evening , doesn’t quite fit in with the national family services authority recommended guidelines !. The late realisation by Akai , when his wife tells him who she has left their son with , brings about immediate concern and stricken panic for his sons well being. Akai is beside himself with concern , whereas Juzo is beside himself !. One wants his stolen child , the other his stolen child hood !. Akai will kill anyone who would hurt his son … Juzo is killing everyone that have hurt him !.

     

The two intrinsically entwined men head back to the place where it all began , Public School Five. What plays out is the stuff Hollywood remakes are not made of !. Some doors to the mind are best left unopened , this one however has a neon lit sign stating ‘Enter At Your Own Risk !’.

‘The Neighbor No. Thirteen’ will stick with you through the end credits and revisit when you may not want it to. The only recommended therapy is to revisit it. Sleep well.

Film : 4.5/5 Schizo Slaps
Picture : 4/5 Schizo Slaps
Sound : 4/5 Schizo Slaps
Overall : 4/5 Schizo Slaps

NB: The above Review is for the single disc version of the Directors Cut of the movie. The 'Santastic' Double Disc , with all the Extras along with a pretty Cool looking Neighbor Thirteen Action Figure , of THE NEIGHBOR No.13 Director's Cut Edition SANTASTIC! BOX (Limited Edition) (Japan Version - English Subtitles) can be obtained from our friends over at YesAsia. Check out the link below and tell 'em Cinema Nocturna sent you.

Purchase this at Yesasia

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