RATING-R
RUN TIME-101 MINS
WRITERS-TI WEST
STARRING-SARA PAXTON, PAT HEALY AND KELLY McGILLIS
DIRECTOR-TI WEST
Synopsis taken from IMDb
During the final days at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, two employees determined to reveal the hotel's haunted past begin to experience disturbing events as old guests check in for a stay.
The Innkeepers was a film that I've been looking forward to for a long time. After seeing Ti West's The House Of The Devil I became an instant fan of this guy. In my eyes Ti West is horror's new hope. He has a good vision and has outstanding execution. He alongside Adam Green (Hatchet) are the people keeping horror alive and in it's roots. Ti West does great buildup and suspense, and The Innkeepers was no different.
I read some internet reviews that said this movie dragged on too long and blah blah blah. I guess I see things differently. I'd rather be chilled by the suspense in a movie and scared of what's to come than to just see alot of gore. The suspense in this movie was top notch and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I jumped a few times and was even truly frozen to my seat at some points. By far my favorite part was about 3 quarters through the movie, when our lead characters are in the basement and they encounter the ghost in the building. It isn't done with cheap thrills and it isn't predictable. You actually don't see a thing. You just see the reactions on their faces as they realize the ghost is with them, leaving you to imagine what it is that they're seeing. And in my eyes making it scarier.
What you imagine is so much worse than what they could have shown and Ti West used that method and played it off brilliantly. But don't fret, this isn't a Blair Witch Project film where you see absolutely nothing, you see plenty. Ti West just picks and chooses what you see that way not only do you avoid becoming not scared by being shown the horrific stuff too much, but are also waiting for something to pop up because you know something's eventually going to happen.
To people like me this movie struck a chord in me and brought a big smile to my face. I felt like I was watching a movie that I grew up with. A truly chilling movie that makes you paranoid and excited for what's to come at the same time. I like all kinds of horror. Everything from Universal Monsters to 70's exploitation horror to 80's slasher horror. I even like some modern "torture porn" flicks, but nothing compares to the feeling of watching a movie that takes you on a journey like this one- where suspense is the terror and the fear of what's to happen to our lead characters.
And another thing that I loved about this movie was not only was the acting very well done but they were very real and believable characters. Good casting is key when making a horror film or else you end up being a cheap thrills movie that gets forgotten quickly. When you have great characters you have a believable movie. I genuinely liked the characters and thought that they'd probably be people I'd hang with if they weren't fictional.
This movie comes together perfectly and it has made me an even bigger Ti West fan. Movies like this are why us horror fans are horror fans. I made my girlfriend, mom, sister and best friend watch this film and they all loved it. We need more TRUE horror films like this. Original, funny, scary and not a remake.
3 1/2 stars for me
Good review, Grimm! I agree with your comments completely! I'm not sure why this film was overlooked. Good low-key fun. Can't wait to see West's future projects.
ReplyDeleteOh hell yeah. V/H/S looks like it's going to be friggin' awesome!
ReplyDeleteI got this movie last week , along with Juan of the dead and Inkubus , i'm still yet to see it,but ,judging by your review , i'm gonna love it.Keep up the awesome work dude , I'm now following your blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the nice comment Doctorcarnage! I'm sure you'll enjoy the movie!!
ReplyDeleteTi West has the potential to be a great horror director, though I've yet to see him make a truly great film. I haven't seen "The Innkeepers" yet but It is on my list. I have seen "The Roost", "Cabin Fever 2", and "House Of The Devil", but have felt nothing but bitter dissapointment by them. Not because they're bad, but because they had the potential to be fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI love his late 70's, early 80's vibe. "Cabin Fever 2" really did remind me of an 80's splatter film and I enjoyed it (especially the opening credits), but I really hated the humour. Especially the cop douchebag that I hated from the original.
"House Of The Devil" was a lot better, and looked like a genuine 80's movie (the opening credits were again, fantastic). I just found the part when the actress is alone in the house, incredibly boring. I know it's supposed to be tense, but it really wasn't. Like the long scene with her oredering pizza, and the 80's montage of her jumping about the house (which was funny I suppose), but a lot of it seemed to be just to kill time until it started to get interesting again.
With each film Ti West gets better, so I look forward to seeing "The Innkeepers". Also
V/H/S looks great and I'm looking forward to his contribution!
Sorry I went on a bit there. Please don't see this as a rant against Ti West, because I think given time he could be one of the great horror revivalists!
Thanks for the great page!
Michael.
Don't apologize bro, that was a good descriptive and elaborate post. Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteAs far as Ti West goes, I agree that he hasn't had a "great" film yet but I do love The Innkeepers and The House Of The Devil. I think that as good as these films are they're still just the building blocks that are building Ti's skill and giving us a bigger teaser every time of what this guy is capable of.
I don't think either of these will be the films Ti West is remembered for. I think people will remember them but he'll be known for greater things. But if he did just fade out I wouldn't complain about the films he did. Cabin Fever 2 is awful though (laugh).
And I actually haven't seen The Roost yet but that's at the top of my list!
I'll also add that his films look far more real and authentic than these so called new grindhouse films! That even goes for the Rodriguez/Tarantino contribution.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying those films are terrible, they just don't feel right and none of them look like the real grindhouse movies! Most are shot on digital camera with fake scratchy effects, and I hate how they try and make the films look old but show modern day things like mobile phones and crap like that.
Ti West's films look legitimately genuine. Though "Cabin Fever 2" is set in present day, the credits are authentically 80's, and you could tell that was the vibe he was going for. Even though it was bad, the gore was really good!
"House Of The Devil" really does feel like it's in the 80's too. The hair, the clothes, the technology are all authentic. Even down to the walkman she listens to.
"The Roost" may not be fantastic, but it really captures the late night tv feel all the same.
Also he has to be commended for his movie posters. They all look really authentic and remind you of a time when movie posters were fantastic looking and made you want to watch the films, even if they were really bad! If only film posters were this good now instead of computer generated crap!
The poster for "The Innkeepers" is great and the style of the title is really keeping in line with authentic 70's ghost stories!
I think if V/H/S is as good as it looks, the directors are going to go onto bigger things. Also the old VHS style really suits Ti West vibe!
Michael.
Yeah you gotta love the posters. The House Of The Devil one looks like an 80's poster no doubt. I'm sure people who haven't heard of the movie would think it was from the 80's!
ReplyDeleteAnd the opening credits in The House Of The Devil are absolutely brilliant!
I think V/H/S is going to rock and I'm ready to order it OnDemand in August. And I'm sure I'll be reviewing that one.
Grimm