The Innkeepers

At the soon to be closed Yankee Pedlar Inn, the last remaining employees consisting of college dropout Claire (Sara Paxton) and amateur paranormalist Luke (Pat Healy) while away the hours tending to the limited assortment of guests or hunting for ghost activity to post on Luke's website detailing the Inn's hauntings. With the arrival of former actress turned spiritualist Lee (Kelly McGillis), Claire uses Lee's guidance to push her amateur paranormal hunts to greater extremes.

The Innkeepers is the third major film from writer/director Ti West following his two 2009 films The House of the Devil and Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. Although West had been slated to The Haunting in Georgia (better known as The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia), West dropped out early on presumably to avoid a repeat experience of producer interference that befell Cabin Fever 2. Centered around the real life haunting hot spot the Yankee Pedlar Inn in Torrington, Connecticut the movie was filmed on location with many scenes shot at the actual Inn. Much like West's House of the Devil, The Innkeepers is undeniably influenced by past genre staples, but also like House of the Devil, West showcases a strong understanding of character and atmosphere.

A big part of what appealed to me with The Innkeepers was the performances and dynamics between the two leads Sara Paxton and Pat Healy. Both of them feel like well rounded everyday people who are underemployed and their interactions where they play silly games or pranks reminded me of the interactions seen in Kevin Smith's Clerks where he explored minimum wage tedium. The movie does a solid job of making the Yankee Pedlar a character unto itself and we get some moments between Claire, Luke, and the guests with Kelly McGillis quite good as the obligatory psychic expert who adds some solid humor and humanity to her performance. Much like House of the Devil, The Innkeepers is a slow burn with most of the scares situated in the back half as we build character and atmosphere in the first. Granted there were times where maybe I began to wander a little bit, but there'd always be something around the corner that would pull me back in.

Ti West continues to show his penchant for mining familiar territory and making it feel knew with solid characters and atmosphere. Definitely well worth a viewing.

If you consider this a Ti West film starring Sara Paxton, then it is merely a clinic on how to get the most (as a Director) from the least (minimal cast, set, SFX). And West does an impressive job of setting a mood and maintaining production quality. But It is still a so-so result. If however you consider this a Sara Paxton film directed by West, it will have a special appeal for her fans. Playing younger than her actual age at the time, with no makeup, she holds the attention. In many ways, one of her best roles.

I don't usually write reviews but after watching this film and then looking at the latest reviews posted on here i felt compelled to give this a serious review.

If you like Slasher movies where girls who fall down a lot are being chased by a maniac with a weapon. THIS FILM IS NOT FOR YOU.

If you like Zombie movies with lots of blood and gore. THIS FILM IS NOT FOR YOU.

If you've got the attention span of a goldfish and like to chat to your mates all the way through a movie. (Guess What).

Right now the rantings out the way.

If you like sitting in a dark cinema/room, late at night with no distractions and you like ghost stories, then watch this film. I thought the acting, directing and sound score of this movie all worked really well and that with ghost stories less is more. The odd noise here and there, was that a ghost? or wasn't it? The uncertainty of whether this is real or not is what a ghost story should be all about, yes it's slow but that builds up the atmosphere, which i thought was great and there's some genuinely jumpy parts in the film. Sat here on my own in the dark watching this film had me gripped from start to finish. It's been a long time since i've seen a film this good and i recommend this to anyone who's into ghost stories.

After seeing brilliant "House of Devil" I decided to check out other movies of Ti West, who seems to be a very talented and promising film director. Even lots of negative reviews on IMDb did not dissuade me to watch this film. "Innkeeprers" turned out to be a very well made horror film which will be truly appreciated by more mature horror movie fans looking forward for suspense rather than lots of gore and high bodycount. Tension builds up slowly, gradually reaching the climax. Actors are doing a great job and director is a true master of the genre attempting to produce a small masterpiece in a minimalistic premise, only a few actors and almost no special effects. Watch this movie at night, alone, with lights off and I promise you that you are going to be scared.

This movie had a lot of potential with an interesting hook and great location but failed to deliver all around.

A horror movie relies on tension and atmosphere to build fear. This movie takes a very long and tedious time establishing characterization instead of mood. Unfortunately, the two main characters and in fact all the characters in the very small cast are so two-dimensional and stereotypical that all that time was thoroughly wasted. To add insult to injury, there is even a cheap jump scene at the beginning that breaks what little mood is established by the opening credits and pans of the set. When the movie finally reaches its climax, it still is not scary or horrific. It just falls flat. The ending was unsatisfying as well with no real resolution or twist.

It's just good enough to keep you watching and waiting for something to happen, but it never does.