‘Room 203’ Movie Review – In a frightening flat, roommates discover a passage to the other side, but they spend too much time on it. When closest friends move into a dark and strange apartment, they believe it is haunted by demonic spirits. They uncover a horrific history of disappearances, demonic rituals, and possesses as they examine the tumultuous past.
Kim (Francesca Zuereb), a freshman college journalism student, and Izzy (Viktoria Vinyarska), an aspiring actress and dissolute party girl still traumatised by her mother’s death-by-overdose, locate an apartment together in an eccentric old converted business building in “Room 203.”
- Air date: 15 April 2022 (USA)
- Director: Ben Jagger
- Writers: Ben Jagger, Nanami Kamon(novel), John Poliquin
- Stars: Francesca Xuereb, Viktoria Vinyarska, Eric Wiegand
- Editor: J. Colby Doler
- Production design: Hanna May Roark
There is a hole in the wall in Ben Jagger’s horror movie ‘Room 203,’ and mythical ghosts may look through it into your soul. If you look hard enough, you could even locate a possessed necklace. Kim and Izzy, long-time friends, are at the centre of the plot. They seek out low-cost antique lodging in Quincy, Massachusetts, in order to pursue their various job ambitions. However, they had no idea that the room may have a shady past.
Despite having several well-crafted horror tropes, the film avoids cheap jump scares in favour of thoughtful and engaging character studies. Instead of a conventional (graphic) demon-infested haunted home adventure, the whole thing feels like a J-horror movie where the ghost never actually shows up. The concluding minutes, on the other hand, feel rushed, and you might want to go over them again. If that’s the case, please allow us to assist you.
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‘Room 203’ Horror Movie Plot Synopsis
Chad is rebuilding an apartment house where he wants to live, but there is a hole in the wall that he can’t fix. Chad discovers a necklace while probing the hole. His girlfriend brings a couple of beer bottles to his apartment, “Room 203,” late at night. Chad presents her with the chain, but she chokes on it and dies instantly. Kim and Izzy, best friends, later move into the same flat.
Ronan, the nasty and suffocating landlord, offers them a tour of the house. They like the retro vibes, especially the glass paintings, which give the room a high-end look. Izzy is a promising actress dealing with the death of her mother from an overdose, while Kim is a journalism student with a poisoned connection with her parents. They come two days prior to the start of college and spend their leisure time partying.
Kim is late for orientation as a result, but fellow senior Ian offers to give her an exclusive tour in exchange for an extra hot non-fat, sugar-free cappuccino. When Kim tells Ian of Izzy’s mother’s death, Ian suggests that she write an assignment for Dr. Phillip’s class on it. They also go on a date while Izzy goes to a pub to meet Sandy. Izzy’s affair with Sandy, which was supposed to bring her a television position, fails miserably.
However, when Izzy pokes around in the hole in the wall, she finds the same jewellery that Chad did before. At night, the broken music box plays, and Izzy takes it down to the forbidden basement. Kim pairs up with her new lover Ian to delve more into the home’s past while Izzy’s reality spins out of control.
Is Sandy a Demon in Room 203? Morrigu: Who Is She?
Izzy and Sandy exchange glances in a bar. Despite her reservations, Izzy decides to give it a shot. Kim invites Ian to her apartment at the same time to help her uncover the riddle of Izzy’s sleepwalking. Ian notices a ‘triskele,’ a Celtic symbol, grafted into the wall of the coloured glass mosaic.
It’s a pre-Christian Celtic emblem that’s been linked to post-World War II White Supremacy activities (since it looks like a three-armed version of the swastika). However, when Ian walks to a local church, the picture begins to take shape. The artwork depicts a monster, and Ian’s research points to an Irish mythological creature known as Morrigu.
Morrigu is the goddess of war and fate, and she is depicted as a crow in ancient art (Kim also sees a crow going into the wall as if pulled into it). In certain mythology texts, she is also referred to as King Arthur’s ghostly sister. She is frequently represented in mythology as a seductress and a foreteller of doom.
Izzy’s demeanour begins to become increasingly unpredictable soon after she meets Sandy. Sandy also seduces Izzy to some level, and may Sandy be a manifestation of an otherworldly being rather than a human? The triskele symbol appears to be the film’s most terrifying emblem.
Apart from the janitor Milton Briggs, it depicts white supremacy in today’s context. Sandy is the only non-white character in the film. As a result, the film may point us in that path. Finally, we can confidently argue that the film’s fear is as gendered as it is ethnic, two minor characters compare the pit to a Gloryhole early on.
Furthermore, all of the male characters perish in the end, whereas the female characters who appear to be on the periphery (the housekeeper gets the money beforehand from ‘people like them’) survive the tragedy. Then it takes two females to vanquish Morrigu’s ‘feminine’ terror, who appears frequently in patriarchal depictions of the feminine as unstable, violent, and lover abductor.
What Has Happened to L.M. and Karen’s Son? Is Kim still alive or dead?
Kim discovers the initials L.M. in the allegedly haunted music box, it was a gift from L.M. to Karen, his wife. Kim learns more about the house’s past through searching the internet. The property’s first occupants appear to be Liam McNally and his wife, Karen. It was a commercial property during the time, specifically a bank.
Ian discovers additional damaging facts about the ill-fated pair while searching through old newspaper archives on the internet. The bank manager on whose property the apartment is located was Liam McNally. He murdered Karen, his pregnant wife, and then committed suicide.
The structure was refurbished as an apartment complex after the disaster. All of the people that stayed in the doomed room 203 died, but one witness to Karen’s death survived. Kim contacts Milton Briggs with the information, and he gives a graphic description of Karen’s end.
The most crucial conclusion from the chat, though, is that Karen and Liam’s son could still be alive. Still, we’re in for a shock since we know Ronan, the housekeeper, is the missing son. Finally, Ronan captures Kim and proceeds to sacrifice her to Morrigu.
However, history would have the final say as Ian is seduced by a possessed Izzy. Ronan, on the other hand, blows his own head in front of a horrified and traumatised Kim, just like his father. She was still alive when she dashed over to Izzy and snatched the necklace from her neck.
As a result, Izzy is free of demonic possession, and the two of them smash the window to break Morrigu’s curse. Izzy hurries Kim to the hospital in the end, reflecting on the significance of family and friendship.
Is ‘Ian’ Alive or Dead in Room 203?
Ian is one of the film’s appealing male characters, and his interest in Kim’s rented residence uncovers a lot of terrible truth. Ian contacts Kim after learning of the fatalities in the house, but the call goes straight to voicemail. Ian advises Kim to stay away from the house, but Kim is held captive by Ronan throughout this time. As a result, Ian decides to pay Kim a visit to her apartment.
However, Ian is kidnapped by a possessed Izzy before he can meet Kim. Kim is finally able to let go after Ronan’s death. She returns to her room to find Ian dead, but she realises that Izzy has been possessed by some dark magical forces. Izzy and Kim work together to overcome the challenge of the haunted home, and Ian becomes a martyr in their fight for survival.