The Innkeepers (2011):

Starring:

Sara Paxton - Claire

Pat Healy - Luke

Alison Bartlett - Gayle

Jake Ryan - Boy

Kelly McGillis - Leanne Rease-Jones

Lena Dunham - Barista

George Riddle - Old Man

Brenda Cooney - Madeline O'Malley

John Speredakos - Officer Mitchell

Director:
Ti West (The House Of The Devil; V/H/S)

Synopsis:

After over one hundred years of service, The Yankee Pedlar Inn is shutting its doors for good. The last remaining employees -Claire and Luke - are determined to uncover proof of what many believe to be one of New England's most haunted hotels. As the Inn's final days draw near, odd guests check in as the pair of minimum wage "ghost hunters" begin to experience strange and alarming events that may ultimately cause them to be mere footnotes in the hotel's long unexplained history.

Review:

Ti West. Everything that is correct with 80's fanboys. Following up on his first film "The House Of The Devil" he again brings a classic twist to a modern over used & over done genre. Haunting films have become incredibly stale & very boring in this movie fans eyes. I'm very critical of the horror genre as a whole because once you see an incredible film that really does a good job of bringing you into the story, the characters & the aura of the whole horror experience it's very hard to look at something else & be positive because you will forever compare it to that one great film. There was nothing about this film that I did not like. You obviously have to expect that it's a dance that starts out nice & slow & gradually builds to more with suspense & twists & all of what you know & most love about the horror genre. With a film that has a very small cast of characters sometimes it's hard to keep yourself involved in all of them or find yourself caring about some or all of them. Not a problem with Innkeepers. Former child star Sara Paxton, now all grown up, does a great job of bringing innocence & a child like wonder mixed with the enthusiasm of a mystery solver. Stepping in beside her is Pat Healy, who I know very little about & after reading his IMDb page realized I have seen him in a lot of movies, but I guess never noticed him. But this is definentely his coming out party as such. He adds a great comedic aspect to the film which just makes it all that much more of a great movie. The story moves along perfectly without doing anything unintentionally stupid or cliche. Sure maybe it does take an incredibly long time to build to the climax like most haunting/ghost films but once you get to it, it's fucking incredible!!! If your looking for a great throw back to classic haunting movies of the past done by a director who gives a shit about the genre then this movie is for you. I highly suggest that everyone see it. The scares were good, I've seen a lot of horror movie's so it's quite hard to scare me but it was a good scare for someone who's not immune to them like I am.

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%

Flixster: 42%

84%

Lead Acting: 13/15

Supporting Cast: 10/15

Plot: 10/10

Compared To The Genre: 10/10

Cinematography: 16/20

Intrigue: 17/20

Extra: 8/10