Paxton is energetically perky as the heroine, while Healy has the deadpan slacker thing down pat. Yet that last third is superb, and even though the outcome is never in doubt (you’ll have it pegged within the first ten minutes) getting there is still a great deal of sweaty-brow fun. The early portions of the film are frustratingly herky-jerky, and if not for a moderately sensational last third I’m not altogether sure I’d be bothering to write a review for this one at all.
I get that the director wants to build suspense slowly, wants to evoke the greats like Robert Wise ( The Haunting) or Stanley Kubrick ( The Shining), but where they knew when to pull back and when to step on the accelerator West still seems unable to fully comprehend how to work the clutch. Even at a brisk 100-minutes The Innkeepers noticeably drags.
Like The House of the Devil the director shows a flair for ambience and mood, a delectable air of gothic malevolence hovering over the proceedings even during the sillier sequences where the two Yankee Peddler clerks banter back and forth.Īlso like his previous effort West’s ability to pace his movie leaves something to be desired. There are some great moments, especially during sequences when Claire finds herself alone inside the expansive New England hotel trying to record paranormal noises while at the same time doing her best to keep her fear in check. It’s the usual hokum, and anyone expecting otherwise better be prepared for disappointment.įor those willing to let the film’s modest charms work on them, however, West’s latest can be one heck of an enjoyable pulse-pounding ride. Things go bump in the night, lights flicker, pianos play by themselves, weird old men check in and insist on being given access to a room where history suggests a sad newlywed hung herself and a former child star ( Kelly McGillis) presents herself as a practicing psychic.
Things don’t entirely go as planned in writer/director Ti West’s follow-up to his minor independent horror sensation The House of the Devil, the eerie if all-to-familiar The Innkeepers not exactly filling the haunted house rule book with any new entries.
Claire and Luke, amateur ghost hunters, are going to prove these phenomena are indeed taking place, using the hotel’s final remaining hours to uncover the ethereal secrets the venue has been ominously hiding for untold generations. The Yankee Peddler is haunted, guests and staff noticing strange paranormal events for going on a century. That’s perfectly fine as far as they’re concerned.