11/02/2012: The Innkeepers [2011]

So I watched this the night after my first film by Ti West, The House of the Devil, which I loved. It was through The Innkeepers that I first heard about West and so it was the second movie of his I picked up. So while THOTD still remains my favourite The Innkeepers continues to show that Ti West is definitely a filmmaker to keep an eye on and with his next film moving out of the horror genre I am excited to see him succeed.

I've debated a few times what is scarier. Ghosts or Gore? My opinion has always been slanted towards ghosts, not for the scariness of ghosts themselves but the way good ghost movies build, not needing to reveal themselves or even be real to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.  Ti West has already proved that he can do this with THOTD, which not ghosts was supernatural(?), and by no means about gore. The question mark shows that the film had enough mystery to keep me questioning exactly what happened.

The Innkeepers continues to show that Ti West understands how to make a scary movie and while this time it's clear the movie is about ghosts from the get go we still have no idea what was real and what wasn't at the end of the movie.

That poor old man just wanted fresh towels. Unfortunately room service was off their rocker at the time.

So while The Innkeepers does present us with the idea and the images of some rather creepy ghosts, it does not reveal them instantly and instead waits for the last third of the film to play that card. The first part is where West really shows his talent, and like THOTD first creates a set of characters, giving them some depth and purpose, then starting to shake things things up a bit, sometimes with things as shocking as a bullet to the head.

The Innkeepers gives us a duo of want to be ghost hunters, who coincidentally work at a hotel, that they at least, have dreamed up a good haunting story for. The cast is decent, consisting of only six real characters, with only three of them of any importance or focus. Sara Paxton plays the lead and does a good job, I'm always surprised by how much she changes around her roles, jumping from horror, to movies directed more towards teenage girls.

I think tin-foil hats would'a been right up this guys alley.

The set is very nice, and as with THOTD really consists of one real life building, with the decor and design to fit the movie. The actual inn (is it really an inn, I mean clearly it's not a motel 6 or a Sheraton, but does it classify as an Inn?) fits the movie well, and is in Connecticut. The special effects are by no means grand, but are well done and not overused.

As for the actual story, well it wasn't anything grand, nor to detailed but it suited it's purpose. I think it is probably the films weakest point however. But in the end, when you watch the epilogue, that's not really much of an epilogue in the questions answering department, you're not sure what was reality and that's a good way to make a ghost story feel.

I'm sorry, but if you're ever trapped in a cellar, banging on the door will in no way encourage me to open it.

 As a scary ghost movie I think The Innkeepers was successful, the slow build sets you questioning things, while when it really ramps things up in the end you start tingling. My favourite part was most definitely the hallways, where some kinda stop motion light flickering effects really worked. As it stands I will still say I find ghost movies scarier than most blood and guts movies, but they both have their merits.

The Innkeepers is a good sign from Ti West and I will be looking forward to V/H/S and seeing him act in You're Next. If you enjoy ghost stories The Innkeepers should satisfy you.




Link:
The Innkeepers IMDB