The Innkeepers

My cup of tea. Ti West dropped the distinctive look of the 70's and 80's from his previous, and excellent, film The House of the Devil, but The Innkeepers still feels like a manifestation from the "good old days". In a film made and performed with real panache, West sticks to the basic rules of the genre (that only apply to some people, which will result in different ratings) and what you fear the most is what remains unseen, and this is where this film differs from last year’s gem Insidious. West doesn’t show anything unnecessarily (most of the ghosts’ appearances can be seen in the trailer) and doesn’t explain anything unnecessarily, he simply builds a terrifying atmosphere, patiently and slowly (the slow and atmospheric wandering through an empty building can already be considered the director's trademark, the discipline where he’s the master). And that works on me, at least as effectively as the aggressive approach of James Wan in the aforementioned Insidious. And even though the film never strays from the category of “serious horror”, there are still plenty of scenes that made me laugh. They aren’t an attempt at “horror comedy”, though, it’s just that the characters (BTW, Sara Paxton is almost too likeable) sometimes behave funny (the scene with the garbage, for instance). I’m totally satisfied, and I can put The Innkeepers together with The Shining and Psycho among the TOP 3 hotel horror flicks. But not everyone will like it. (02.01.2012)

Diese erwartete Neuigkeit hat mehr gemeinsam mit dem vorherigen Film The House of the Devil als nur den Namen des Regisseurs. Hier haben wir wieder eine Hauptfigur, die durch die Korridore eines geheimnisvollen Hauses irrt, eine minimale Anzahl von Charakteren und vor allem - die endlose Spannung, die den Zuschauer auf die Folter spannt. Und gerade an diesem Punkt versagt The Innkeepers leider. Wo West beim letzten Mal mit unablässiger Erwartung auf den Wendepunkt bedrohte, wird die meiste Spannung hier mit humoristischen Einschüben abgefedert, die zwar wirklich lustig sind (der Kampf der Heldin mit dem Container), aber der leicht aufgebaute Atmosphäre hier eher im Wege stehen. Erst in der zweiten Hälfte treten visuell beeindruckende Geister und die ganze klassische Soße auf, um den Zuschauer in einigen Momenten zum Atemanhalten zu zwingen. Insbesondere die Kellerszene hat die schlagkräftige Wirkung eines Dampfwalzens. Ach ja, und die Musik zaubert an einigen Stellen wirklich. Für mich also eine leichte Enttäuschung, aber es wird seine Zuschauer finden. 7/10 (02.01.2012)

Based on the reactions, I expected it to be something truly groundbreaking, but it's just well-directed with peculiar characters that either captivate you or simply won't entertain you at all. The characters did captivate me to some extent, but the film as a whole didn't interest me as much. There are good moments, but West's originality doesn't quite resonate with me. (21.07.2015)