Review: Myself like most people did not really catch wind of director Ti West until the release of
House of the Devil which was a throwback horror film to those of the 80's. What Ti brings to us this time around is a ghost story that takes an old school approach to The Innkeeper like that of a classic "haunted house" film. For me that is like music to my ears which is a very good thing mainly because everyone nowadays makes them into boring ghost films with one after another jump scares. Instead of that craptastic formula what you get is a film that works more off of pure atmosphere and characters.
Trust me when I say this, this film has some of the creepiest atmosphere and some of the most believable characters to be put in a haunting film since the classic The Haunting (1963) in my eyes. Now that may sound like a bold statement to make but I stand by it 100%! Like I have stated in reviews before of films like this, I am not a big fan of ghost story films and I rarely find one that I like. Mainly due to most of them being generic and boring. I think one thing that helps this film out in making it flow well is that you have only really a main cast of 3 characters which are the 2 innkeepers and 1 former actress who is into contacting spirits. Those 3 characters are backed by some very fine acting that makes them seem that much more real.
Anyone who wants to see gore, well you may want to look elsewhere because there is only one scene with gore in it and it is very well done, but that is about it. Another thing I will mention that also made The Innkeepers work so well was the place where the film was shot. It was shot in a quite old hotel from the 1800's and it's never really changed interior helps add to the atmosphere of the place and film.The way the film is paced is very much like that of House of the Devil in which it kinda moves along slow to midpaced where you get to know the characters and then when things start to go wrong it gets moving and hits you like a ton bricks. Kinda like M. Night's films but in my eyes Ti West delivers the goods way better!
Overall this is a great film that takes classic ghost film themes and style and puts it in modern times and delivers a soon to be modern classic horror film! Keep up the amazing work Ti West!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Ti West
Genre: Horror/Supernatural
Blu-Ray Release Year: 2012
Theatrical Release Year: 2012
Time Length: 101 mins.
Company: Dark Sky Films
