Directed by:
Ti WestScreenplay:
Ti WestCinematography:
Eliot RockettComposer:
Jeff GraceCast:
Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis, Lena Dunham, Brenda Cooney, John Speredakos, Alison Bartlett, Jake RyanPlots(1)
Ti West writes and directs this horror film set in a haunted hotel. The run-down Yankee Pedlar Inn is about to close owing to lack of business, and two slacker 20-something employees, Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy), have been left in charge for its final weekend. Eager to prove the rumours of hauntings and paranormal phenomena, the pair decided to set a camera rolling. Disturbing events soon begin to unfold as the hotel's less-than-desirable former residents check in for one last stay. (Metrodome Distribution)
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Reviews (2)
My cup of tea. Ti West dropped the distinctive look of the 70's and 80's from his previous, and excellent, film The House of the Devil, but The Innkeepers still feels like a manifestation from the "good old days". In a film made and performed with real panache, West sticks to the basic rules of the genre (that only apply to some people, which will result in different ratings) and what you fear the most is what remains unseen, and this is where this film differs from last year’s gem Insidious. West doesn’t show anything unnecessarily (most of the ghosts’ appearances can be seen in the trailer) and doesn’t explain anything unnecessarily, he simply builds a terrifying atmosphere, patiently and slowly (the slow and atmospheric wandering through an empty building can already be considered the director's trademark, the discipline where he’s the master). And that works on me, at least as effectively as the aggressive approach of James Wan in the aforementioned Insidious. And even though the film never strays from the category of “serious horror”, there are still plenty of scenes that made me laugh. They aren’t an attempt at “horror comedy”, though, it’s just that the characters (BTW, Sara Paxton is almost too likeable) sometimes behave funny (the scene with the garbage, for instance). I’m totally satisfied, and I can put The Innkeepers together with The Shining and Psycho among the TOP 3 hotel horror flicks. But not everyone will like it.
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Based on the reactions, I expected something truly groundbreaking, but it's just well-made with peculiar characters that will either captivate you or completely bore you. I was quite taken with the characters, but the film as a whole didn't entertain me that much. There were some good moments, but the originality of West's concept didn't sit well with me.
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