Movie Info
Movie Name: The Innkeepers
Studio: Dark Sky Films
Genre(s): Horror/Mystery/Suspense
Release Date(s): March 12, 2011 (SXSW)/February 3, 2012 (US)
MPAA Rating: R
Supernatural investigators…on duty!
The Yankee Pedlar Inn is closing and the last guests are trickling out. The employees Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) find themselves bored and having to entertain themselves as the days tick by. With stories of hauntings, Claire and Pat are out to prove that the Yankee Pedlar Inn is haunted by the ghost of Madeline O’Malley (Brenda Cooney). A guest named Leanne Rease-Jones (Kelly McGillis) and Luke encourage Claire not to be taken in by the situation, but the ghosts are getting stronger and now Claire is starting to see the truth.
A beautiful bride…
Directed by Ti West, The Innkeepers was a small word-of-mouth release that quickly gained a small following. The film was initially released at SXSW (South by Southwest film festival) then had a small theatrical release. The film received relatively positive reviews.
I had heard really mixed reports about The Innkeepers. Some said the movie was scary and others said the movie was dumb. I do enjoy a good ghost story and The Innkeepers promises to tell one…it is a promise that is not quite kept.
She said not to go into the basement…we should really check it out!
The story of The Innkeepers is almost in two parts. The first (and longer) part is almost a goofy comedy in which the two goofus characters bumble their way into researching ghosts. It would be good if this was almost a Ghostbusters or The Frighteners situation, but the film’s tone falls somewhere short of this type of comedy. The second part of the film is a horror film. The crossover isn’t great and it takes too long to get to a true horror film to be enjoyable as a horror film.
The horror doesn’t take it far enough. Ghost stories need to be filled with at least forced jumps…I have qualms with the Paranormal Activity franchise, but at least they understand this. This doesn’t build enough suspense to be terror filled, and it doesn’t have nearly enough jumps to really be scary. There are a few nice moments near the end, but it is too little, too late.
Nothing like a nice, relaxing blood bath after a long day of work
My big problem with the movie was with Sara Paxton who is essentially in the lead. She doesn’t know what she’s doing with the character and she’s more obnoxious than fun or cute. I really wanted her to die a horrible death…even more horrible than what happened.
The Innkeepers is a last resort type movie. The movie isn’t awful but there are better older movies and scarier newer movies that could be more entertaining. Films like The Others provide the same type of building horror, and movies like Poltergeist provide the jumps and chills far superior to this film.
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