Unlike other ghost stories recently released on the silver screen (ahem “The Woman in Black”), filmmaker Ti West's new chiller “The Innkeepers” is enormously entertaining.
That is because the writer/director, whose credits include “The House of the Devil” and “Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever,” crafts his project in such a way that the viewer actually cares about its characters. Having said that, like most horror flicks that subscribe to the rules of the genre, there is an awfully lot of build-up before a relatively brief but satisfying climax.
In “The Innkeepers,” which is now playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art, Sara Paxton and Pat Healy play Claire and Luke, respectively, the last remaining employees of the venerable Yankee Pedlar Inn, which is about to shut its doors for good after over a century of service. As the inn is believed by many to be one of New England’s most haunted hotels, Claire and Luke set out to uncover proof before it shuts down for good.
Needless to say, they have quite the challenge ahead of them, therefore the majority of “The Innkeepers's” runtime is devoted to light comedy as we get to know these characters well enough to actually care once their lives are threatened by the inevitable evil forces that rear their ugly heads. In other words, our patience and West's persistence pay off.
Granted, “The Innkeepers” is unlikely to give you nightmares as the slow-burn beginning is meant more for character development than it is for setting the spooky stage. However, the movie will afford you a fairly fun time, which is at least a little more than some other horror flicks now in theaters have to offer (again, ahem “The Woman in Black”).
“The Innkeepers” (R – 100 minutes) is now playing exclusively at Harkins Valley Art. Visit FirstLook.com for specific showtimes.
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