The Innkeepers (Ti West)

[Raiders]

THE INNKEEPERS
Director: Ti West

imdb page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1594562/)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tyVnLp6GtHk/TwKSVzKbyeI/AAAAAAAABvA/LtWZFsLvAms/s640/innkeepers_poster_01.jpg

[Watashi]

Maybe the creator of the thread should post the poster and a link to the trailer in the original post?

Or is that too much work?

[transmogrifier]

I just really want to use the "Rate Film" tool at the top, even though I haven't seen it yet.

[Derek]

Maybe the creator of the thread should post the poster and a link to the trailer in the original post?

Or is that too much work?

It'd be nice for sure, but shouldn't be mandatory.

Where do we put the PRO-CON votes? Maybe I'm just missing it, but I don't see that anywhere.

[Raiders]

It'd be nice for sure, but shouldn't be mandatory.

Where do we put the PRO-CON votes? Maybe I'm just missing it, but I don't see that anywhere.

The "Rate Film" drop-down at the top of the thread.

[Derek]

The "Rate Film" drop-down at the top of the thread.

Derp. Gotcha, thanks.

[Raiders]

Maybe the creator of the thread should post the poster and a link to the trailer in the original post?

Or is that too much work?

Not too much work for the poster and imdb link. Not sure about requiring a trailer.

[Henry Gale]

I liked it. Just as with House of the Devil, West spends a massive amount of time illustrating the one setting, finding a unique mood and atmosphere, but thankfully this time he decided to have more than one person roaming around silently, allowing him to showcase his talents with simple character scenes, devloping a nice relationship and realistic back and forth dialogue between Paxton and Healy.

The major thing is that I think West is a pretty good writer/director whose crutch seems to be in satisfyingly mapping out his ideas and building them into something consistently compelling with a an intense momentum to it, using long drawn out scenes to falsely build up a lot of tension towards very little now and then. But with some genuinely, stunningly creepy moments to be found along the way, the good ultimately outweighed whatever problems I had with it.

[Rowland]

A fabulous review for this was just posted over at Slant (http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-innkeepers/6028), easily the most comprehensive and persuasive I've read so far. While I noted a good deal of the writer's observations while watching the film, and made further connections myself that the review doesn't touch upon (I suspect due in large part to length constraints), its manner of articulation and illumination may have just convinced me to bump my already very strong three-star rating up by half a star. The writer, Jesse Caltaldo, is one of the upstarts at the publication who I'll admit to not having paid much mind in the past, but I'll notice him/her now.

[Bosco B Thug]

Had an enjoyable but somewhat disappointing ghost movie night tonight.

This was a... frustrating film. Essentially, West just doesn't seem to be pushing himself. His love of horror is rather quaint, and it shows in his films that are alternately fascinating and self-realized, and complacent and middling. The best scene in this film is the utterly fascinating scene where

Claire sees the ghost behind Luke and West never shows it to us

but it's this great height of symbolically evocative film-making in a film where the rest is lockstep marching along stock-creepy painted lines, a resistance to any bold statements in favor of almost indulgent subtlety (problematic even in West's investment in buoyant character touches/humor, which is lovely but excessive and diluting), and the aforementioned horror geekness that is lulling instead of demanding.

Most damning, though, is an epilogue that should feel absolutely necessary and somehow manages to force feed us pointlessness. That last shot is maddening in its throat-shoving insistence on West's debilitating love of modesty.

[Dillard]

My question is: How can I watch this film??? I don't have on demand and I live in Minneapolis and the film didn't release last weekend and as far as I can tell with a brisk search online isn't getting a release here!

[EyesWideOpen]

My question is: How can I watch this film??? I don't have on demand and I live in Minneapolis and the film didn't release last weekend and as far as I can tell with a brisk search online isn't getting a release here!

It's available on amazon for $9.99

http://www.amazon.com/The-Innkeepers/dp/B006RED4GA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328597415&sr=8-1

[dreamdead]

I enjoyed this. Quite a bit actually. I think I'll end up always favoring House of the Devil for its all-encompassing mise-en-scene, which this film doesn't have to quite the same extent. But I find banter between Claire and Luke so much stronger than any of the dialogue in the former film; it has an odd but endearing rhythm to it all.

And while the coda is a bit much, there's a good 10-15 minutes of absolutely awesome horror. All built by West's expressive restraint for the first hour and ten minutes. Pretty good start to the year, this one is...

[Ezee E]

Ti West has potential. House of the Devil has a fascinating first 80%, and then hits a wall. Tom Noonan was fascinating in his role.

The Innkeepers seems to be the opposite. The buildup is simply okay. The hotel is never as interesting as that house in West's earlier movie. The idea of a banned third floor was appealing, but misused. It isn't until the scene in the basement can calling out for the ghost that things get interesting. And, while I wish Luke wasn't backed up against a wall, it remained an effective scary scene. The third floor reveal, while pretty obvious, was effective. And the final showdown in the basement remained just as good.

The epilogue leaves a little to be desired. Especially in that final shot.

West is working on a sci-fi movie with Liv Tyler, so he's finally gotten access to some legitimate actors (a flaw in both movies in my opinion). So we'll see where he takes it. I fully think he has a great movie in the near future.

[Dillard]

Really good horror allows the viewer to fill in the blanks. Which is why the scene with Claire and Luke in the basement trying to make contact is so effective. I appreciated West's refusal to rely on the jump-scare, even as he makes note of it in a couple humorous moments. The emotional core for me is the relationship between Luke and Claire. West effectively builds our connection to the two as he builds the suspense. It's all in the banter back and forth. The high point of the film for me is when Luke shares his "like" and says he'll do anything for Claire and Claire uses his statement to redirect the energy away from any romance and towards the horror of the basement. It's this subtle letdown of our expectations for romance that piques our concern for the characters going forward.

[Rowland]

FFC's Walter Chaw interviewing (http://filmfreakcentral.net/notes/twestinterview.htm) Ti West.

I want Larry Fessenden to produce a movie for me. Drop that Stake Land dude Larry, he's a dud. Also, direct another movie, I can't believe it's already been six years since The Last Winter, and over a decade since Wendigo.

[Dukefrukem]

I always get really bummed out with ghost movies because ghosts hardly everkill anyone. Ever. They're either trying to get a message through about how they were killed or trying to accomplish a task that will put them at rest.

I am assuming the girl died of not using her inhaler rather than the ghost killing her.

I also think the Haunting and House on Haunted Hill and 13 Ghosts remakes had a lot of potential since those are two examples where the ghosts really did kill people.

House of the Devil was much better than this.

[megladon8]

I give it a "yay", however it's a mild one.

I think both Ti West's House of the Devil and The Roost were more accomplished in his use of meticulous pacing and psychological horror.

However...

That being said, this film contained a few of his very best, most effective horror scenes.

It was an interesting commentary on horror films (ghost films in particular), and his use of the jump scare viral video at the beginning provided a neat meta-moment (paraphrasing, but the guy says "every time! It gets them every time!").

While I do give it a mild yay, I would almost chalk this one up as an interesting failure.

There was another Ti West masterpiece in there somewhere, but it got fuddled a bit in the first 50-60 minutes before finding its footing.

[EyesWideOpen]

When the focus of your movie is on two characters and they are completely uninteresting and have bad dialogue you have a big obstacle to overcome no matter how good the scares are.

[megladon8]

When the focus of your movie is on two characters and they are completely uninteresting and have bad dialogue you have a big obstacle to overcome no matter how good the scares are.


I guess I just disagree here, because I really liked the two characters and the dialogue.

That is, outside of the girl's horrible stupidity in the final third of the movie.

[Pop Trash]

I really liked this. Or at least I really liked the ending. But I liked the rest of it too, despite some intermittent boringness, which in a weird way, like House of the Devil, makes the movie more effective overall and more effective in retrospect.

I don't get the hate on the coda. I found it almost tragically humanist and I like the clean way West ends the thing. Nothing superfluous. I thought the final shot was quite evocative. I wasn't sure where he was taking us or what he was showing us, but he just holds that empty room for so long, that it just creeps out more than any image of a ghost would. Negative space.

The main guy did look like Simon Pegg though. Almost to a distracting degree.

Also that was Lena "Girls" Dunham as the TMI barista.

[EyesWideOpen]

I don't get the hate on the coda. I found it almost tragically humanist and I like the clean way West ends the thing. Nothing superfluous. I thought the final shot was quite evocative. I wasn't sure where he was taking us or what he was showing us, but he just holds that empty room for so long, that it just creeps out more than any image of a ghost would. Negative space.



You do know that there is an image of a ghost in that final shot, right?

[Dukefrukem]

I didn't.

[Raiders]

You do know that there is an image of a ghost in that final shot, right?

There is?

I thought it was just her ghost closing the door.

[EyesWideOpen]

You can just barely see her near the curtains, but when you pause it you can see her clearly.

[Pop Trash]

You can just barely see her near the curtains, but when you pause it you can see her clearly.

Screen grabs or I call bullshit.

[Ezee E]

Screen grabs or I call bullshit.
Yeah, I don't remember this.

[Dukefrukem]

Wow. It's there. But fucking barely. You can't really see it in a screen grab because the image is so light but when it's moving it's clear. I didn't see it my first time though. Nice pick up EWO.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s36/Dukefrukem/Movie%20%20Misc/innkeeperghost1.png
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s36/Dukefrukem/Movie%20%20Misc/innkeeperghost2.png
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s36/Dukefrukem/Movie%20%20Misc/innkeeperghost3.png

[EyesWideOpen]

I barely saw it while watching it but West makes a big mention of it in the commentary.

[megladon8]

I see nothing in those screen grabs.

[Raiders]

I see what may indeed be a changing profile against the curtain, but sheesh. He needed to commit to either showing her more clearly or doing what I thought he did and not show her at all except the door.

[EyesWideOpen]

I see nothing in those screen grabs.

You can easily see her face in the bottom screen grab on the top of the right curtain. She then looks at the camera and the door slams.

Let me clarify it's easier to see during the actual movie when you know where she is. It is kind of hard in those screen grabs.

[Dukefrukem]

I see nothing in those screen grabs.

On the right curtain you can see a faint outline. I took three shots in sequence of her turning her head from a profile view, to looking straight at the camera.

[EyesWideOpen]

I see what may indeed be a changing profile against the curtain, but sheesh. He needed to commit to either showing her more clearly or doing what I thought he did and not show her at all except the door.

In the commentary he says he wanted to make it "subtle".

[Pop Trash]

In the commentary he says he wanted to make it "subtle".

If that's the case, I still think 98% of people seeing this would simply view it as a looooong take of an empty room, then the door slams. Which works just fine for me.

I still have the DVD so I'll watch that scene again tonight.

[Pop Trash]

On the right curtain you can see a faint outline. I took three shots in sequence of her turning her head from a profile view, to looking straight at the camera.

Yeah that's seriously like "Where's Waldo"...I hope West knows that this is more of a subliminal Easter egg and not something most people would catch in the context of narrative.

[EyesWideOpen]

I love how people just assumed I was making this up like it's something I'm known for.

[Boner M]

"We ran overbudget. This was the clearest ghost figure we could afford"

[Raiders]

I love how people just assumed I was making this up like it's something I'm known for.

I like how you assume our disbelief is somehow linked to your posting history. You could have started with stating you heard it on the director's commentary.

[EyesWideOpen]

I like how you assume our disbelief is somehow linked to your posting history. You could have started with stating you heard it on the director's commentary.

Or I could have just said I saw the ghost and told you exactly where which is what I did. If someone here posted that they noticed something I didn't I definitely wouldn't respond with "screen grabs or I call bullshit".

[Pop Trash]

If someone here posted that they noticed something I didn't I definitely wouldn't respond with "screen grabs or I call bullshit".

Srsly. What an asshole.

[Pop Trash]

Oooohhh I saw it I saw it! But you seriously have to be staring right at that curtain. If your eyes are on the phone or the bed, you won't see it. I actually like the ending even more now. That more subtle than subtle effect is very Westian (yeah I know).

[Bosco B Thug]

Glad it's there. Its imperceptibility is an annoying idea at first, but it actually really lines up with the film's themes, the fact that we have to go back and really look for her in order to see her (and get that inkling of consequence I criticize the film for not having).

[transmogrifier]

Wow, that was incredibly dull.

[Boner M]

Wow, that was incredibly dull.
Did you like/see House of the Devil?

[transmogrifier]

Did you like/see House of the Devil?

Haven't seen it. The direction here is fine, some nice sequences from time to time, but the main problem is that narratively, nothing really happens. McGillis' character is a complete plot contrivance to generate fake tension.

[Rowland]

Oh well, can't win them all. I'm glad you gave The Pact a chance and liked it, you should respond in my thread so other people may be encouraged that it's worthwhile.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I really enjoyed this. West is 3 for 3 in my book. May discuss more tomorrow when I am not tired. In short, funny and freaky in about equal measure, and continues West's love for second acts and general distaste for overextending climaxes - his are always curt and tidy. There were a couple scenes with me actually gasping:

The old guy being right fucking behind her. Ugh. Her telling the guy the ghost is right behind him. It's a fun example of withholding the monster, but it also puts us in his perspective, since he's unable to look at the ghost.

Didn't notice the ghost first time round. Had to go back and watch for it. Subtler than the skull at the end of Psycho.

[Sycophant]

I really need to see West's other work, because he's directed two of my favorite horror movies period, though I'm admittedly not a "fan" of the genre. He really understands those things I consider important in both film and horror.

I loved the hell out of this film. Have thought about it a lot since seeing it about 2 months ago, too.

[transmogrifier]

Really? This was deathly dull, one of my least favorites of the year.

[Dukefrukem]

Didn't notice the ghost first time round. Had to go back and watch for it. Subtler than the skull at the end of Psycho.

I didn't either until it was discussed in this thread.

[Dukefrukem]

Really? This was deathly dull, one of my least favorites of the year.

:|

[Pop Trash]

I still find that end scene

with the main guy exiting the hotel as the paramedics drag out the body of his coworker pretty powerful. He has a look on his face of both confusion and existential dread. Even if there were no ghosts, it would still be a tragic accident where one day he is hanging out and being bored at work with his quirky coworker, the next day she is a lifeless corpse.

[Bosco B Thug]

Re-watched this recently, and it sits better knowing where it's headed. And for about half of its running time, it becomes about

a girl who really needs sex. Not to be chauvinist or anything, it really seems to tilt that way.

[ciaoelor]

That is, outside of the girl's horrible stupidity in the final third of the movie.

Based on the conversation she had with Pat Healy and the actress, both focusing on her cluelessness regarding her future beyond working at the hotel, I'd hazard a guess that she was too fascinated by the presence of a ghost to avoid it, even though she was clearly frightened by it. Finally she was experiencing something beyond the banal. Sort of the same thing can be said of Pat Healy's character, who is trying to create a paranormal website despite the fact that he doesn't believes in them, has never seen one, and would be too frightened by an encounter with one if he did. But in a feminist twist, I guess, the seemingly fragile heroine happens to be the bravest (albeit the most naive) character between the two. I don't think it was stupidity that lead to her downfall. If anything, I'd say her dimmest moment happened as she was trying to dump the trash bag.

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong... The Haunting sort of told a similar story, didn't it?

I re-watched this last night and enjoyed it more than I did the first time. I love the first two-thirds of Ti West's last two movies. I love hanging out with the characters (or character in House of the Devil's case). Pat Healy stole the show for me. His affection for Sara Paxon shines through the smart-ass sarcasm without coming across as too sentimental.

[ciaoelor]

Re-watched this recently, and it sits better knowing where it's headed. And for about half of its running time, it becomes about

a girl who really needs sex. Not to be chauvinist or anything, it really seems to tilt that way.

Care to explain why/how...

[Bosco B Thug]

Care to explain why/how... Well, I was intending to be a bit glib... but basically, it's a portrait of arrested development, suggested in the character's entire passive being, but then being qualified with moments such as

her noticing Luke's internet porn and using it to snark him (which suggests a complete romantic disconnect on her part), the moment where she brushes off Luke's company because she sneaks a peek at his underoos, and the barista bit where she's troubled by a boyfriend story.

[ciaoelor]

Well, I was intending to be a bit glib... but basically, it's a portrait of arrested development, suggested in the character's entire passive being, but then being qualified with moments such as

her noticing Luke's internet porn and using it to snark him (which suggests a complete romantic disconnect on her part), the moment where she brushes off Luke's company because she sneaks a peek at his underoos, and the barista bit where she's troubled by a boyfriend story.

OK now that's interesting. I guess she wasn't made to look like a "tom boy" for nothing.

So what do you think about her fascination with the supernatural as an escape from her mundane life?

[Bosco B Thug]

OK now that's interesting. I guess she wasn't made to look like a "tom boy" for nothing.

So what do you think about her fascination with the supernatural as an escape from her mundane life?

Oh, I agree with everyone that it's a very striking subtext. But I'd even put it in alternate ways, like it's not really a fascination, but it's actually as mundane as everything else. Ghost hunting in this movie is as unrewarding as Luke's website designing, which is as unrewarding as their job, which is as unrewarding as being a ghost scaring people for no reason.

[Rowland]

A very positive piece is up for this over at Reverse Shot (http://www.reverseshot.com/article/few_great_pumpkins_vii), as a segment of their yearly tradition of horror write-ups leading up to Halloween. This ought to reinforce trans' dislike for the film. :)

[MadMan]

My thoughts: http://madman731.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/horrorfest-2013-presents-the-innkeepers-2012-ti-west/

And I really dug this a lot. Too bad The Roost is not on Netflix at all in any form.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Recommended this to my sister last night. Hope she cottons to it, but she's a huge fan of House of the Devil, so I figure she can't blame me if it sucks.

[megladon8]

Has Ti West's sci fi project starring Liv Tyler been cancelled?

I thought it sounded really interesting, but looking at his IMDb now it shows his next project as being another low-budget horror.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I don't know if it's been canned, but I'm pretty sure The Sacrament is his next feature, and hopefully it brings his The tetralogy to a satisfying close.

[Irish]

Had an enjoyable but somewhat disappointing ghost movie night tonight.

This was a... frustrating film. Essentially, West just doesn't seem to be pushing himself. His love of horror is rather quaint, and it shows in his films that are alternately fascinating and self-realized, and complacent and middling. The best scene in this film is the utterly fascinating scene where

Claire sees the ghost behind Luke and West never shows it to us

but it's this great height of symbolically evocative film-making in a film where the rest is lockstep marching along stock-creepy painted lines, a resistance to any bold statements in favor of almost indulgent subtlety (problematic even in West's investment in buoyant character touches/humor, which is lovely but excessive and diluting), and the aforementioned horror geekness that is lulling instead of demanding.

Most damning, though, is an epilogue that should feel absolutely necessary and somehow manages to force feed us pointlessness. That last shot is maddening in its throat-shoving insistence on West's debilitating love of modesty.

^ This!

I wish I could split my vote on this one. A huge yay to the first half, big nay to the second. Liked the character, the premise, all the interactions.

West's "direction" kept getting in the way. He wants so badly to "play the audience like a violin," but he does this through a neverending stream of cheap jumpscares & zero atmosphere.

There are moments of sharp brilliance here. Others that seem wildly inept. Frustrasting in the extreme.

[Spun Lepton]

Been a little tough to nail down an overall opinion for this one. Pretty damn solid from a technical aspect. Good acting, good characterizations, good pacing, good dialogue, it looks and sounds good. But, ugh, there is so much time spent on minutiae that by the end I just didn't care. The shining moments ("she's behind you") are sullied by stretches of boredom.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I never felt bored, and the positive elements you cite (West's skill at pacing, dialogue/character, acting) are elements very few horror films try to accomplish. The characters especially are distinct, vivid, personalities. Glad you sorta-maybe liked it.

[Skitch]

Finally got around to seeing this after the fantastic House of the Devil and the pretty good The Sacrament. The first 3/4ths of this was a chore to get through. Snore city. The last 15-20 finally starts getting on with it, then its over. I felt none of the emotional build up I did with HotD or Sacrament. Its shot well, I didn't hate it...maybe I'm just really damn sick of same old same old ghost movies.

For all the time spent building the characters, there being no resolve or answers at the end is maddening. Why were the ghosts pissed off? Why did they kill her? Why HER over anyone else?

I've watched this end room shot five times and I don't see shit. Are you guys fucking with me? :D

Edit: watched end five more times. I still see nothing. :|