The Innkeepers (2011) – Film Review

Director: Ti West
Cast: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

There are so many low-budget horror movies around, it’s difficult for their creators to make them stand out in an over-saturated market.

Did writer-director Ti West manage it with The Innkeepers? Well, not quite, although he certainly makes a decent stab at it.

Apart from a handful of shots, the entire tale takes place within the Yankee Pedlar Inn, a once grand hotel which has fallen into disrepair in recent years and is about to be closed down.

During its final weekend, only two members of staff remain – Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) as well as a smattering of guests, including retired actress-turned-paranormal expert Leanne Rease-Jones (Kelly McGillis).

“Chilling events”

Odd incidents have supposedly taken place on the premises, so Claire and Luke decide to investigate, paying particular attention to Room 353, which is said to host a supernatural visitor. Although Luke is seriously freaked out, Claire regards it all as a bit of a lark – until she begins to hear mysterious noises coming from the basement.

She asks Leanne for help, and after the former star is clearly freaked out by something and demands that they leave the building, a series of chilling events mean that anyone who survives will be very lucky indeed.

Paxton makes a likeable heroine, but Healy is slightly creepy as Luke, her hapless co-worker with a crush. McGillis, who was a huge star in the 1980s thanks to Witness and Top Gun, has little to do here, which is a bit of a shame. Look out too for a brief appearance by Lena Dunham as a barista, just a year before her TV series Girls made her a media darling.

“Strange experiences”

What is particularly intriguing about The Innkeepers is the backstory to its production. While shooting his movie The House of the Devil, West and his cast and crew stayed at the Yankee Pedlar Inn in Torrington, Connecticut, and reported various strange experiences. This inspired West to write a screenplay set there – and the rest, as they say, is history.

The film is worth a look for fans of the horror genre, just don’t expect to see anything particularly new or original.

The release does, however, benefit from a wealth of special features, including audio commentaries and interviews with those both behind and in front of the camera.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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