From SXSW: The Innkeepers (2011)

SXSW brought forth the world premiere of the horror/thriller film, The Innkeepers, written and directed by Ti West, and starring Aquamarine mermaid Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, and the hot chick from Top Gun, Kelly McGillis, only she’s a bit older now. Claire (Paxton) and Luke (Healy) are the only two workers left at a haunted hotel that that is closing down. They decide to stay at the hotel themselves, split the shifts working at the front desk, and try to prove that the hotel is haunted and which leads to them getting in a deep pile of crap.

The acting was good, the directing was good, but the story wasn’t all that original. The Innkeepers would be a good guide of what not to do when you find yourself in a haunted house situation! It was also be a guide on how to hit as many typical horror movies tropes as possible. The story was very clichéd by having people go down in the dark basement even though they were warned against it, and going to investigate strange noises by themselves in dark places. I could keep going, but you all know the kind of stuff I’m talking about.

The Innkeepers first and foremost is not an action film, so there was little to nil action. It is however, a horror film, and there was little to some horror. It felt like the film couldn’t quite make up its mind what it wanted to be. West screws with your mind by telling you it’s a horror film and then making you wait and wait (and wait) for the horror to begin. While you wait though, West throws you curve balls by adding comedy and prolonged character development. It was 20 minutes scary, 20 minutes comedy-ish, and the rest was just…scenes. I will say that those last 20 minutes of horror got to me. Before then, I was halfway paying attention to the film. Then the horror really started and I was invested and found myself mighty tense.

You might give this one a try if you’re curious. It’s not a film I would repeatedly watch. There wasn’t enough going on in the film that I was interested in. You know, the second time around you don’t need to get to know the characters again, so that 45 minutes of character development would really be boring. However, if you like the slower films that gradually get to the good stuff, go for it. I’m an adrenaline junkie so The Innkeepers was too slow for my taste.

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!