Review of The Innkeepers (2011) by Greg T — 28 Dec 2012

Something like CLERKS meets THE SHINING, but without the hammer-blow dialogue of the former or the psychological chills of the latter, THE INNKEEPERS is a strange beast - not quite funny and not quite horrifying, but always threatening to be one or the other and constantly intriguing because of it.

In a faded and soon-to-close small hotel, two receptionists are presiding over the dying embers of their job and the handful of residents and their constant need for towels, while really focusing on finding evidence that the inn is haunted by the ghost of a murdered bride.

Over the course of a couple of days the manifestations increase, seemingly buoyed by the interest of the innkeepers and the appearance of two creepy new guests. But who will check out, and what will be left of them? Ti West, the up-and-coming horror director teetering on respected status, directs with a laconic style, focusing on the idiosyncrasies of his characters and allowing the haunting to develop almost in the background.

He conjures up one good scare though, more unusually, imbues the film with a vague sense of disappointment and failure that's more akin to American indie dramas that haunted house horrors, and elevates what could be a fairly standard haunted hotel shocker into something memorable and unusual.

Recommended.