The Innkeepers (2011)

Directed by: Ti West
Written by: Ti West
Starring: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy
Rated: R
A few years ago I watched a movie by Ti West titled "The House of the Devil" about a young, pretty babysitter who finds herself hunted by satanists who plan to use her in a sacrificial ceremony. A total throwback to campy, babysitter slasher films from the 80's, West stood out for making something funny and witty, and also really atmospheric and frightening. It was a really good film and it made me excited for his future work.

"The Innkeepers" flows along that same vein, blending horror and humor while paying respect to the cliches that continue to make scary movies scary. This time it's the ghosts in the creeky old inn, and the two employees with a fondness for the paranormal who try and find the spirit of Madeline O'Malley before the inn shuts down forever. This one was a bit of a let down, however, as West maybe focused too much on the laughs and not enough on the gotcha moments. Never thought I'd say that.

But this particular inn (and by that I mean the movie) is built on a really solid foundation. Sara Paxton and Pat Healy play Claire and Luke, two rather buffoonish characters played terrifically in a very funny script. Paxton stars as the asthmatic, socially stunted cutie with a tomboy streak. She calls Luke "dude" and really doesn't seem to care too much about customer service. One night she scares the shit out of small boy when she tells him about how Madeline O'Malley was murdered and buried in the cellar, much to the displeasure of the boy's divorced, down-on-her-luck mother. Claire is goofy and steals the show.

Luke plays the smaller role. Played as the ever-single, beer drinkin', porn watchin' tech guy who avidly follows ghosts, he seems to be there as the explanation for the ghost-busting gadgetry that he and Claire use in hunting O'Malley. I sat there a while pondering how two people who actually believe in ghosts enough to try and summon one just happened to end up working together to begin with and just happened to be the last two people left working in an old, creepy hotel. But I found that that was counterproductive, so I stopped thinking.

A whole lot of setup leads to a very small payoff when Luke and Claire venture into the cellar where O'Malley was buried, breaking the one instruction given to them by the very convenient psychic (Kelly McGillis) who is one of only two guests at the inn. There is no real explanation for why this ghost is violent or why she decided to wait until that very last week to emerge, but those are just a couple of many openended questions left for you to brood over should you care to.

I think that this film stayed the middle course between comedy and horror too much for it to be particularly effective as either. There are some very spooky moments with some great pacing, but they are too far and few in between, and it's difficult for the suspense to mount when Claire and Luke are constantly setting off jokes. The climax was one of the more disappointing ones I've seen in a while. Had West taken an earlier page from his own book and looked back at what made "The House of the Devil" so successful, I think he would have had a really solid film on his hands. Nothing new, nothing special, but solid.

1.5/4