The Innkeepers

THE INNKEEPERS

Director : Ti West

Year : 2012

Genre : Horror

Rating : **1/2



Once again, I find myself exceedingly disappointed at a horror movie, which is now becoming an unfortunately regular emotion. Just like movies such as 'The Last Exorcism', 'The Innkeepers' has a really interesting premise and characters, but soon veers off into the realms of stupidity and by the end credits you really can't believe what you have just seen. Unfortunately I feel that horror as a genre is dead, there are no original ideas anymore, just a treadmill of uninspired re-imaginings and lazy sequels and unfortunately while 'The Innkeepers' may seem original at first, it soon becomes clear that the film is a jigsaw puzzle of other movie ideas loosely stuck together in an incoherent mess. As a horror fan, it is deeply depressing to realise that modern horror film makers are all the same and likes of Tobe Hooper, David Cronenberg, John Carpenter and Wes Craven; filmmakers who excelled at revolutionising and reinventing the genre, will never be seen again.

'The Innkeepers' tells the story of two young people who are receptionists at an American hotel, using their spare time searching for a legendary ghost which haunts the basement of the inn. Due to financial losses, the hotel is about to shut and the movie is set during the final weekend of business. The only guests at the inn are a young mother and son who have recently left the father figure and an actress who is actually a psychic investigator (played by 'Top Gun's Kelly McGillis). The central male character who is the head receptionist has set up a website which showcases the supposed paranormal activity caught on video in the inn. The characters soon realise that the legendary ghost may exist and they all band together to try and find proof.

While the acting and atmosphere is effective and the two main characters are entertaining, the main problem with 'The Innkeepers' is the terrible pacing of the movie, in which nothing much happens in the first hour of the movie. There are numerous lazy jump scares, scenes of doors slowly opening and suggestive camera zooms which suggest that something is about to happen to a character, but then evidently doesn't. Unfortunately, this has now become a very boring convention and I now dread watching any modern horror movie released today. All horror movies now seem to be mostly the same and really proves the point that the genre is essentially cannibalistic, with every movie released taking ideas from older movies to form a gruesome Frankenstein's monster of a film, that lumbers along in a lifeless drawl, lacking any energy, enthusiasm, interest or originality. This is surprising due to the reputation of the movies director, Ti West, who made the hugely entertaining but flawed 'House Of The Devil' and has just released the Amicus anthology tribute 'VHS' which has garnered high critical acclaim, but which I have still yet to see. While 'House Of The Devil' is genuinely scary in places, I have seen more frightening episodes of 'Top Cat' compared to the bland 'The Innkeepers'.

The cast is well chosen, with actors and actresses who may not be that well known to blockbuster audiences, but can act well and hold our attention for the duration of the movie. The most famous face in 'The Innkeepers' is Kelly McGillis, who is most famous as Top Cruise's object of love in 'Top Gun' and as Jodie Foster's lawyer in 'The Accused'.  She is interesting as a psychic investigator who helps the lead actress try to search for the legendary ghost of the hotel. The lead actors have not been in many big movies, Pat Healy who plays Luke, the head receptionist has not been in anything of note and Sara Paxton has been in such low key hits like 'Aquamarine', 'Sydney White' and the god-awful 'Shark Night 3D'. She is really the main character of' 'The Innkeepers' who inadvertently discovers the truth about the ghost in the inn.

The execution of the horror is very, very poor as all frights and scares are so clearly set up that intensity is ever felt at all, leading me to believe that the movie is actually aimed at a much lower target audience than the rating system gave it. This makes the movie seem very tame for a 15 rating movie, but I have a feeling that with help of a foreboding poster campaign, distributors could attract a much older target audience with the use of Stephen King -esque style design.

If you are a die - hard horror fan who loves to be scared, grossed out or simply entertained, 'The Innkeepers' will not be for you. It is awfully slow, almost to the point where you want to give up all together and watch something much more riveting. The ending is very unsatisfying and you leave feeling very cheated and that you have wasted nearly two hours. However, if you are interested in introducing horror to a younger audience member, this movie may be a good starting point. It is not too intense, not at all gory and just like 'The Others', it will give them a few good cheap scares. For me unfortunately, 'The Innkeepers' is just another generic horror movie, offering nothing new and certainly nothing exciting. I am still waiting for the day when I can watch another 'REC' or 'The Cabin In The Woods', movies which subverted the genre and took it to strange, new unexplored places. However, I am highly dubious that a movie like these will come again, but who knows? Only time will time.

You'll like this if you liked : The Others, The Sixth Sense