The Innkeepers

My cup of tea. Ti West dropped the distinctive look of the 70's and 80's from his previous, and excellent, film The House of the Devil, but The Innkeepers still feels like a manifestation from the "good old days". In a film made and performed with real panache, West sticks to the basic rules of the genre (that only apply to some people, which will result in different ratings) and what you fear the most is what remains unseen, and this is where this film differs from last year’s gem Insidious. West doesn’t show anything unnecessarily (most of the ghosts’ appearances can be seen in the trailer) and doesn’t explain anything unnecessarily, he simply builds a terrifying atmosphere, patiently and slowly (the slow and atmospheric wandering through an empty building can already be considered the director's trademark, the discipline where he’s the master). And that works on me, at least as effectively as the aggressive approach of James Wan in the aforementioned Insidious. And even though the film never strays from the category of “serious horror”, there are still plenty of scenes that made me laugh. They aren’t an attempt at “horror comedy”, though, it’s just that the characters (BTW, Sara Paxton is almost too likeable) sometimes behave funny (the scene with the garbage, for instance). I’m totally satisfied, and I can put The Innkeepers together with The Shining and Psycho among the TOP 3 hotel horror flicks. But not everyone will like it. (02/01/2012)

Based on the reactions, I expected it to be something truly groundbreaking, but it's just well-directed with peculiar characters that either captivate you or simply won't entertain you at all. The characters did captivate me to some extent, but the film as a whole didn't interest me as much. There are good moments, but West's originality doesn't quite resonate with me. (21/07/2015)