Hello everyone. Ti West is a director that I'm not exactly one hundred percent sure of. I haven't really seen much of his work. I think part of it is because he's a director that has gone a bit under the radar. It feels like he hasn't been able to get some good luck just yet. Hopefully that'll change next month when his new film, X, is released. That's a film that I'm a bit interested in seeing because I feel like it's going to be absolutely off the wall. I watched the first trailer for it and it looked fantastic.
When I sat down to look through West's films, I first came across House of the Devil. House of the Devil is very much a throwback to 70s horror. I remember when I first seen it I didn't like it. I hadn't seen many 70s horror films at the time. So I had a hard time understanding exactly what they were going for with the film. Now, I dig the film a bit. And then I came across Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. I had to let out a big sigh. I won't dive into my thoughts on that one just yet but stay tuned. Maybe we'll get a Cabin Fever retrospective.
All of this then brought me to The Innkeepers. I remember seeing the film when it first came out. Then I realized that it was hitting its ten year anniversary - what the hell? Where did the time go? It's absolutely mindboggling at how quickly time went by.
Now when I first watched this film, I was completely unaware that The Yankee Pedlar Inn was an actual hotel. I thought it was something that had just been made for the film. Through taking some time to research it, holy crap. Now there will be some that believe in ghosts and some that will roll their eyes at the whole possibility. After moving into our current house, I'm tending to gravitate more towards believing. Lots of weird things happen round here for sure. Knowing that the hotel is real, it adds a whole new layer to the film. It grounds the film and story being told in such a fantastic way. Hell, I'd rank this up higher than the original Conjuring.
For those that haven't heard of The Innkeepers, the synopsis is as follows: "After over one hundred years of service, The Yankee Pedlar Inn is shutting its doors for good. The last remaining employees -Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) – 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."
One of the large reasons that the film works so incredibly well for me is its cast. This film really rests on Pat Healy and Sara Paxton's performances as we spend almost the entire film with them. There's definitely a solid friendship that can be seen between the two of them. And with Luke, there is the fact that maybe he wishes for more than just friends. There are a few others here and there who all deliver great performances as well. But ultimately, this is Luke and Claire's story. Another reason it works so well is because this is a solid old fashioned ghost story. Revisiting this now, it still feels like a breath of fresh air. It takes its time to build up an atmosphere before delivering the spooks. It doesn't just go all willy nilly with jump scares in your face for the sake of it like other films have done. When there are spooks, there's a reason for them. I found myself just a little unnerved by the creeping atmosphere and whenever the shots begin to linger. It's all handled so very well.
I feel like when this film was released it wasn't as talked about as it should have been. It feels very much like an underrated film. If you've come across it over the years and decided eh, it may not be for me. Do yourself a favor and give it a shot. You'll get one of the, in my opinion, best ghost stories in years. It still has left me in chills and looking over my shoulder every now and again in my house. I cannot recommend this enough as I found it very effective.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
It can be found over on The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Peacock to stream.
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