Customer Reviews

The Neighbor No. Thirteen

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Taking a ichi the killeresque/fight club kind of story, mixed with a fantastic array of long takes and shots, this director who is used to doing music videos and commercials makes a fantastic debut into this kind of industry.

The start of the movie which is a mix of scenes shoots us into a very realistic movie. The characters are very easy to attach to and although a bit cartoony in the beggining begins to engage us into its loop.

Based on a manga by Santa Inuoe who is known for his Tokyo Tribes manga currently done by Tokyo pop, this was an adaption made from a manga done back in 1993. The style of art wasn't pleasing to my visual pallete but the movie itself was very good to its form.

The DVD is awesome, my 2 disk edition came with a Tshirt saying "Caution: May contain homicidal murderer" with the movies mascot on a white triangle. It includes some amusing previews but has a large making of, from manga to screen, and a bunch of MYV promotional things. I was a bit upset by the lack of deleted scenes (they involved Kaneda AKA takashi miike) but the quality of the other extras plus image gallery balanced it out.

The dubbing was also quite good, although not as good as the original cast in its original language, was not bad to the casual dubbed watcher.

I bought it because of the shirt, and was very happy at after watching the movie. You'll laugh a few times at the dark humor and be emersed in the suspense the movie has to offer.

Enjoy it! I know I did.

During his elementary school years Murasaki Juzo suffered the torments of a bully named Akai Juzo. If these torments had included only such things as having his money stolen or being given wedgies Murasaki might have been able to lead a normal life when he grew up. However, Murasaki was locked in a toilet and sprayed with water and forced to eat excrement, but these malicious acts are only the tip of the iceberg. One day two of Arai's friends hold Murasaki on the ground as their leader pours a bottle of acid on Murasaki's face.

After the depiction of this flashback in a sequence that would please Clive Barker, a grown Murasaki snaps out of a pretty severe hallucination and as he makes his way to his construction job Murasaki notices that he has new neighbors moving into room number 23. Because construction work is an occupation that is often linked to the Japanese underworld, it is not surprising that the business is filled with unsavory characters. Besides the afro sporting Seki, the rest of the crew look as if they could just as easily start a gang war as construct a building. It is also at this locale that Murasaki meets Arai once again and, as if no time has passed at all, Murasaki soon becomes the target for Arai's cruelties. Arai continuously picks at Murasaki, smashes him in the leg with a piece of wood, and presents him from exiting the porta-pottie. However, with his anger overflowing, Murasaki kicks open the door sending Arai sprawling back. It is at this point that Murasaki's appearance seems a bit different. He sports a scraggly beard, he is blind in his left eye, and his face is horribly scarred. This being is Murasaki's other self. A repressed core of rage that Arai has unleashed that Murasaki is having more and more difficulty keeping under control.

Arai continues to mock Murasaki, but he is unaware that the timid man lives in the same building as he and that Murasaki has quickly become an acquaintance of his wife and child.

I am normally not one for thrillers or horror films being that I tend to watch dramas, but I did enjoy watching Neighbor Number 13. Oguri Shun, Murasaki, does a good job portraying a young man who has spent his entire life being bullied and Arai Hirofumi, Akai, definitely portrays a character who his deserving of the protagonist's hate. However, Nakamura Shido, Murasaki's alternate personality, really takes the cake. His rendering of a scarred, mentally deranged man is both incredible and terrifying. Also Yoshimura Yumi, of Puffy, does a decent job of portraying Akai's wife. Maybe at thirty she is trying to move away from her saccharine pop star image.

While definitely not a great film, Neighbor Number 13 is a fun film to watch. I bet also that you will be rooting for the "bad guy" as well.

"The Neighbor No. Thirteen" ("Rinjin 13-go") is a film absolutely packed with talent. Shido Nakamura, who plays the title character of No. Thirteen, is an acclaimed Kabuki actor who made his stage debut at age nine. He made his transition to film work, and has appeared in great films such as "Ping Pong" and "Letters from Iwo Jima". Yumi Yoshimura, who plays Nozomi Akai, is probably best known as one half of the pop duo "Puffy Amiyumi", and a cartoon character on Cartoon Network's "Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi". And if the name Takashi Miike, playing the role of the angry neighbor Kaneda, doesn't ring any bells then you need to look a little deeper into the genre of Japanese horror.

But a lot of famous names doesn't always make a great flick, especially when among them are a pop princess and an avant-garde film director, and the plot of the movie is being adapted from a comic book. In this case, however, it works. All the pieces click together, and the result is an innovative and entertaining film. Not bad at all for first-time director Yasuo Inoue.

The story is very topical to modern Japan, taking on the subject of school yard bullying. More than one young child has murdered another in revenge for intolerable abuse, and even more have commited suicide rather than face another day as a constant target. "The Neighbor No. Thirteen" imagines a scenario where this revenge is repressed, and allowed to fester across the years, until it boils up to the surface taking on a life of its own.

Like most Japanese horror films, the pacing is slower and the story more subtle than a typical revenge flick. Of course, there is blood and plenty of it, but it isn't a case of trying to kill each victim in a new and more cruel way, or an attempt to shock and disgust the audience with gore. There is more psychology than psycho-killer.

"The Neighbor No. Thirteen," is a strange thriller that might not appeal to many tastes, however, I liked the film. The story centers on the character Murasaki Juzo (Oguri Shun). When Murasaki was a young elementary student he was constantly picked on by fellow classmates, and one in particular named Akai Juzo. In one of Akai's moments of bullying he even has his friends hold Murasaki down while he forces Murasaki to eat excrement. However, the most horrific bullying that Murasaki encounters is when Akai's friends hold him down one day while Akai pours acid onto his face.

Flashforward into the adulthood of Murasaki: and Murasaki's life has been permanently changed due to the trauma of his childhood experiences. One day, while working at his construction job, he noticies that new neighbors have moved into his building. And thus begins a spine-chilling thriller. At his construction job, Murasaki encounters his childhood nemesis. Akai has not matured into an adult, but is still the bully that Murasaki remembers as a young boy. When Akai locks Murasaki in the outdoor comode he is using, Murasaki crashes it open sending Akai to the ground. Only there is a change in Murasaki. Murasaki has a different appearance, and the alter-ego of Murasaki has emeged. After years of repressed and built up rage, the face the viewer sees is that of a blind and scar-faced man.

Akai continues to harass Murasaki, however, Akai does not know that Murasaki lives in the same building as he does. Akai neither knows that Murasaki knows his wife and child, nor does he know that the rage inside of Murasaki is about to explode. The viewer is unaware if what they are watching are the psychotic delusions of Murasaki, or if these are real events that Murasaki is going through. Especially how he is depicted physically. But it is the emotional trauma of Murasaki that has allowed his alter ego to finally take hold of him and now controls him. I will not spoil the film for you, however, it does have a strange twist. Especially concerning the acid spilled on his face. Recommended. Rent it first.

It you're a huge fan of Japanese horror movies you will probably appreciate this flick. If not the move is a mixed bag. There are some compelling and suspenseful scenes throughout. The director does a good job forcing the viewer to try and figure out if they are watching something real or the main character's psychotic fantasies. Some slow pacing here and there will probably limit the audience who will truly appreciate this film.

Of note to Puffy fan's is Yumi Yoshimura appearance as the wife of the bully. She does a respectable job playing the role of wife and mother.

If this is your genera of movie it's worth a watch.

This was quite a surreal head trip of a film about a guy who is bullied throughout his life, and as a result ends up creating another personality for himself as a defense mechanism. This other personality is the opposite of himself... a take no prisoners, morally inept, and cold hearted tough guy. Things get interesting as one of the protagonist's biggest bullies from his youth move in a floor above him at his apartment complex. This movie is the perfect example of why I love Asian films... stuff gets crazy and surreal pretty quick, and before you know it you'll realize this film isn't playing by the rules... it takes some real chances. I always appreciate it when a film doesn't seem confined by what it 'should' be... American films could stand to learn a lot from movies like this. I definitely recommend this one to any of you slightly more adventurous movie fans out there. 4.25/5 stars.

Ok check this..the Japanese know how to make films. This one along with Ichi the Killer(which I highly recommend)is a must have for horror fans, Hostel fans, Tarantino fans, Romero and last but not least Argento fans. If you are a real fan of any of the above-mentioned you will enjoy this movie..it is freakn awesome.

for me it was hard to follow at first. It took me some time to understand what was going on in the movie. The start and the end were confusing to me. I had bought it to see how Yumi Yoshimura was as an actress; I feel she did an excellent job in the movie. I'm a Puffy fan so I wanted to see her performance. The main theme of the movie was about bullying that was a problem in Japanese schools and revenge, etc. Some of the scenes were over the top by American standards but I tried to keep it in the Japanese prospective. I feel I would not have bothered with the movie if it wasn't for Yumi Yoshimura.

The violence was okay, seemed more like a bad Anime movie.Doesnt hold a candle to Fight Club, no real similarities other than the story point listed on the box.

First time director attempt to deliver a twisted tale of troubled young psychopath who was tormented by a bully who scars the boy both mentally and physically. This leads to him to create a split personality that brings out a violent side when angry and or bullied. Although the movie is violent, the scenes are rather spread out and far an few in between. It plays out more of a drama then a a revenge flick full of blood and gore. When it comes down to it , the movie had potential but falls flat due to horrible pacing.