The Complex

The Complex

Year: 2013

Runtime: 106 mins

Language: Japanese

Director: Hideo Nakata

Horror

Nursing student Asuka moves into a new apartment complex with her family, but unsettling events quickly unfold. Awakened by strange scratching noises, she investigates her neighbor’s apartment and discovers an elderly man dead from malnutrition. Disturbingly, it appears he was desperately trying to break into her room. The handyman, Shinobu, reveals a history of mysterious deaths within the building, fueling rumors of a haunting and raising questions about the complex's dark secrets.

The Complex (2013) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

Get a spoiler-free look at The Complex (2013) with a clear plot overview that covers the setting, main characters, and story premise—without revealing key twists or the ending. Perfect for deciding if this film is your next watch.

In a crumbling apartment complex that seems to breathe with the sighs of its long‑standing residents, a young nursing student arrives with her family, hoping for a fresh start. Asuka Ninomiya quickly senses that the walls hold more than just stale paint; faint scratching sounds and distant alarms echo through the corridors, hinting at secrets that have lingered far longer than the building’s peeling façade. The atmosphere is thick with a quiet unease, as everyday routines feel oddly repetitive, almost as if time itself is looping around the inhabitants.

The complex is a tapestry of muted lives, each door hiding its own whispers. Shinozaki, the elderly neighbor next door, offers a brief, tentative greeting before retreating into his own obscured world, while his shy ward, Minoru Kinoshita, lingers at the periphery, a quiet presence that seems to understand the building’s hidden pulse better than anyone else. Their interactions with Asuka hint at unspoken connections and a shared feeling that something unseen watches from the shadows.

Adding to the intrigue is the building’s handyman, Shinobu Sasahara, a pragmatic figure who has spent enough time among the cracked plaster and dim hallways to develop his own theories about the strange phenomena. He speaks of rumors that the complex has a history of inexplicable events, suggesting that the line between the living and the lingering past is thinner here than elsewhere. His calm demeanor and subtle hints of experience with the supernatural lend a grounded counterpoint to the mounting tension.

Together, these characters navigate a world where ordinary domestic life intertwines with an undercurrent of mystery. The tone sways between the mundane and the uncanny, inviting the audience to wonder what lies beneath the surface of a place that feels both familiar and eerily otherworldly, and whether the building itself might be the keeper of stories yet untold.

Last Updated: October 07, 2025 at 13:28

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The Complex Summary

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