Hotel Dunsmuir

This is not my genre, but found this title when recalling the motel I stayed in DUNSMUIR, CA in 2019. Startled to find this. Dunsmuir is a nice underrated town well above Sacramento. It's not remote as it appears, but just off the I-5 freeway. Great location choice.

Anyway, the story is a complete mess with holes. Yet I feel it's worth recommending. This is atmosphere horror, not very 'slashy'. A road picture, with ghosts and David Lynch ORBS in tow. Thinking about it, this could fall into the "Manos: The Hands of Fate" universe mixed with a "Twin Peaks: The 2017 Return" episode, yet not too derivative.

What stood out was the fantastic cinematography on such a low budget. The director and DP are from contemporary A-list title visual FX crews, and this must be their pet project. For once I could not tell if it was film stock or digital. Great depth and compositions. It was leagues ahead of many A-list shot movies, which have all gotten dark & flat looking to me. I'm an 80s kid who won't let film stock go. If this was digital, I'm blown away.

The lead actress is quite good, and the supporting cast has their moments. Everyone involved seems enthusiastic about what they are doing. Some of the sound editing choices are weak, in addition to handfuls of other flaws, but was never taken out of this film. Accomplishment is a missed opportunity at greatness. Go in expecting a mood piece, not a horror classic. Video cover art makes it look like disposable streaming content, but it's way better than that.

Look up the crazy history of the actual hotel. It's one of many underground architectural anomalies of the distant past that aren't talked about enough. These submerged structures are everywhere. Honestly they could have done more with the underground setting like Joran Peele's "US" had attempted.

Here's a rather unusual micro budget outing. It can't really decide what genre it is, but maybe that's not a bad thing? The first part of the movie concerns itself with small town redneck life. What were the inspirations here? Maybe something like Coal Miner's daughter. It aims to show a day to day "white trash" life, with a few hints of the supernatural starting to sneak in. Perhaps the movie spends too much time on this at the start, but I didn't mind it.

It then changes into a different gear, when the Billie character steals her nasty husband's truck and drives to an old hotel that has a ghost in it. At this point the movie has some creepy parts and goes into a different direction. While not for everyone I enjoyed it.

While they clearly made this on a shoestring, there is some nice work on display here. The photography is often rich. The sets and backdrops are nice. The actors do a good job overall. There is a quirky factor which I liked. It's not all heavy and brooding. At times the film is playful. There are a few jumps which were nicely done. It created a mood, and felt like a throwback. There was a time I remember when horror movies were slower and not "that" intense. I'm fine with a slower paced spooky movie, in fact I prefer it to so many loud jumps. This scratched that itch.

I'd recommend Hotel Dunsmuir to someone looking for a slow spooky indie. For those that prefer modern studio horror, this might not be appealing. Definitely for fans of indies that are rough around the edges.

I had the pleasure of going and seeing the movie in the cos theater with some of the cast and director, an amazing movie and experience. The entire film was very well done and exciting. Was really neat getting to meat the cast and ask questions and interact with them. The entire crew was great. I absolutely can not wait to see what the director and cast come up with next. I enjoyed the jump scares and the way they utilized the lights and sound track to help portray the moods through the movie. The way they used local attractions and sights was also really amazing. Again I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

First off, there's some great scenery on display in this movie. Scenery I haven't seen in another film before. The actors are pretty darn good too, given that it's a small indie. You can feel the budgetary constraints in the post-production, and there's some pacing issues. But all that aside I think it's a rather well made little supernatural movie. I would be inclined to recommend it as a October spooky watch, for those that enjoy low budget outings with their own character. Jet Jandreau and Amber Gaston are good as two young ladies fleeing some angry men. Does it all come together at the end? Not really, but I still enjoyed the ride.