So the ancient Inn is supposedly haunted, and as luck would have it, Luke is an aspiring Ghost Hunter, with his own website and all. He has his little ghost busting equipment that he carries around the hotel, and he and Claire are always on the lookout for signs of a haunting. He also has a haunted boner in his pants for Claire. That's a pretty important story element.
A couple of odd guests check in for the Hotel's final weekend, and strange things start to happen; pianos begin to play by themselves, whispers and strange static fill the air, Kelly McGillis drinks a few quarts of vodka, Luke repeatedly scares the living crap out of Claire, thus sealing his doom as far as ever getting some action from her goes... It's all a creepy nightmare!
Will the restless spirits of the fabled Inn ever rear their ugly heads? Will Luke ever get some of that hot, Claire loving? Will Kelly McGillis drink herself into a drunken stupor and die? Far be it from us to spoil anything here, but suffice it to say that Nothing ends well.
 |
| "Yeah, let's go down there, great idea." |
The Good- Ti West has crafted another great movie here. Like him and his films or not, the guy knows how to make a movie. It was a great time sitting and watching The Innkeepers; several times throughout the movie we were both amused and creeped out. The characters were very likable and we cared about their fates. We even cared about their interaction with each other.
***Skip this next SPOILERY section until after you've seen the movie. It's all conjecture anyhow, so don't spoil yourselves.***
It almost seems like TI West made a movie about a persons impending doom. A giant tale of foreshadowing, if you will. Throughout the movie, Claire is warned off of things in a variety of ways; she's told not to go in the basement, told to keep thoughts of spirits out of her head lest they never leave, the ghost bride moaning what sounds like "run",the dead old man's ghost looked as if he were warning her, trying to stop her from doing something.... now we could be making all of this up in our heads, but it makes sense. All of this mixed with her own sens of never having accomplished anything important with her life, and her need to solve they mysteries of the hotel and its ghosts before they shut it down for good, adds up to her doom being a foregone conclusion. We think Ti West is sneaky like that.
***Alright, it's safe to read on now...***
 |
| Lazy ghost hunting. |
The Bad- At one point towards the end of the film, during a scene filled with rising tension, I said out loud "This movie has to start paying off, right now." And that is essentially the main issue with The Innkeepers; It's a very slow and uneventful build horror-wise, filled with great visuals and likeable characters that never really goes much of anywhere. Horror-wise.
Now don't take that as the movie sucks and doesn't deliver anything, because it truly does. I hesitate to say that The Innkeepers is more of comedy than anything else, because that will totally give the wrong impression to anyone who hasn't seen it. The movie is filled with genuine moments of levity and sweet humor, that serves to illustrate the chemistry and relationship between the two leads... great, now it sounds like a romantic comedy. It's not. See what I mean, it's a bit confusing.
 |
| Apparently, dead people can still stare at you like a creeper. |
The Downright Horrendous- After everything that's happened, why would you go in the basement, you dumb, dumb, moron?
The Gory- There's a scant tad of blood in the movie, but The Innkeepers is not about the kill scenes and blood flow.
The Naked- Aside from a quick shot of Sara Paxton in the shower from the shoulders up, then in a towel and in her panties, there's no naughtiness in this movie. Boo!
 |
| Oopsy! |
Best Scene- The scene in which Sara Paxton decides to go to bed and finds out she isn't alone...
What did we learn?- Ti West is one hell of a filmmaker. Also, stay out of the effing basement!
The Master Says- B For being such a great film, Ti West's new venture is going to confound some fans, and downright lose others. The horror is there, but it feels as if it wasn't the true point of the movie, which all well and good, as we love good movies of all types. It's supposed to be a haunted house flick though, and in the end it's kitschy characters and unrequited love that haunts this house more so than evil spirits. Good stuff, none the less. Definitely catch it.Final Thoughts- While adorable and innocent in The Innkeepers, let us not forget that Sara Paxton is in fact, quite a minx.
0 comments:
Post a Comment