THE INNKEEPERS (Ti West, 2011)
The
Yankee Pedlar Inn, first opened in 1891, prepares to shutter its doors
for good after one final weekend of accommodating guests in THE
INNKEEPERS. For these last days Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat
Healy), the two remaining employees, have moved in to keep each other
company while working twelve-hour shifts at the front desk and hunting
for ghosts rumored to walk the hotel’s halls. With a mother and child
and washed up actress Leanne Rease-Jones (Kelly McGillis) the only ones
checked in, they have plenty of time to search for the supernatural.
Luke
maintains a primitive website about The Yankee Pedlar Inn, which is
purported to be one of the most haunted hotels in New England. Its
notorious reputation stems from a story long ago of Madeline O’Malley, a
guest who hung herself after her fiancé stood her up on her wedding
day. Wishing to avoid bad publicity, the owners hid her body in the
wood cellar for three days. The scandal eventually came to light,
forcing the sale and long-term closure of the property and leading to
talk of Madeline haunting the inn.
Although
not up to the high standard of writer-director Ti West’s previous film
THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, THE INNKEEPERS is another often chilling
exercise in building mood and atmosphere. In contrast to many of his
contemporaries, West favors something that might be dubbed slow horror,
which relies on spinning spooky tales and employing long takes and wide
shots. West isn’t concerned so much with what he shows to raise the
tension but instead builds suggestibility. The pleasure is found in the
anticipation of something awful happening, not being jarred by specters
popping out of unsuspected places. Compared to films with more
aggressive jolt delivery systems, West wrings greater suspense out of
otherwise banal scenes of Claire inspecting a noise coming from the
cellar and sitting in an empty room while listening over headphones to
the shotgun microphone connected to a tape recorder.
When
THE INNKEEPERS does include jump moments, they’re usually played for
laughs. It is an uncommonly funny film within the framework of
traditional horror, but it feels appropriate considering the
lighthearted tone foregrounded in Claire and Luke’s complementary work
relationship and easygoing friendship. Paxton and Healy exhibit
pleasing chemistry as their characters try to pass the uneventful hours
on the job. While Claire is the one sensed to be in the most danger,
Paxton turns in a delightful comedic performance rooted in her posture
and overall comportment. Her awkwardness witnessed in interactions with
guests and hilariously dragging trash to the dumpster is what makes her
so endearing and the most vulnerable to whatever malevolent forces may
be present.
At
the core of THE INNKEEPERS is the question of if it is preferable to be
haunted by ghosts or the prospect of a dead end future. Both fears are
potentially magnified within one’s mind rather than being tangible
threats and are likely to become overwhelming if fixated on. The damage
these worries cause are proportional to how suggestible one is to
accepting them as fate. It’s easy to be frightened of the invisible or
interpret random events as menacing if uncertainty is automatically
assigned negative attributes.
Reflecting
on the thematic thrust of THE INNKEEPERS helps to compensate for a
generally lackluster ending that satisfies more as a metaphor than a
conclusion to the story. The apprehension that sends a surge of nervous
energy through the lengthy build-up dissipates when an answer, no
matter how terrible it might be, can’t meet expectations. That minor
disappointment aside, West again shows that he’s one of the more
exciting filmmakers working in the genre.
Grade: B
THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (Ti West, 2009)
College
sophomore Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) has tired of living in the dorm
with a slovenly, inconsiderate roommate and decides to look for her own
place. She finds a perfect apartment but needs to round up the funds to
secure it. On campus she spots a flyer requesting a babysitter and
arranges to take the job on the night of a lunar eclipse.
Soon
after arriving at the stately house deep in the countryside Samantha
learns that she’s been brought there under false pretenses. Mr. Ulman
(Tom Noonan), an exceedingly polite older man, explains that it is not a
child she is to oversee but an elderly woman who will probably stay
holed up in her room. He apologizes for misrepresenting the situation
and makes up for it by agreeing to pay $400 for four hours of work. Samantha
is aware that something is amiss in this arrangement, but the money
will more than cover her first month’s rent. How can she turn that
down? Her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) pleads for her to leave, as
surely this offer is too good to be true, but Samantha is steadfast and
settles in as her friend and the couple who hired her depart.Media
reports and urban legends of Satanism and Satanic ritual abuse were
widespread in the 1980s. That’s one of the reasons why writer-director
Ti West has chosen that decade as the setting for THE HOUSE OF THE
DEVIL. The film opens with presumably spurious numbers for the high
percentage of people who believed that devil worship and Satanic rituals
were a problem at the time. Whether or not Samantha puts stock in such
reports, they’re likely to be in the back of her mind while alone in a
creepy house. Having been less than upfront about the job, Mr. Ulman
suggests as much when making an oblique reference to those rumors and
for his prospective hire’s need to be careful while he tries to put
Samantha at ease.
The
time period is also important because West is interested in exploring
that era’s horror film style. Although the camerawork and longer takes
are not techniques exclusive to ‘80s fright fests--HALLOWEEN and
ROSEMARY’S BABY seem like reference points too--a distinctly retro
approach marks THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL as quite different from its
contemporaries. First and foremost, West masterfully sustains suspense
as Samantha explores the home and gradually becomes worried that she is
in danger. The unsettling tone lingers heavily in the air and is all
the more potent because the payoff is withheld until very late.Donahue
is effective as a stressed out coed who makes a regrettable but
understandable decision. The casualness of her performance, most
visible as she dances around the house listening to The Fixx, grounds
the film and keeps it stabilized even when what transpires becomes more
unhinged from a typical night of caretaking. The restraint in
performance extends to the others as well. Gerwig’s amusing turn as the
more rebellious friend turned voice of reason reflects how someone
might respond in these circumstances than how a horror movie character
would behave. Like a spider spinning a trap, Noonan’s meek and eerie
portrayal chills because of how he effortlessly he captures his prey. THE
HOUSE OF THE DEVIL mimics the aesthetics of ‘80s horror films, but this
is no mere case of imitative homage. Laden with dread and executed
with a musician’s sense of timing, THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is better than
a substantial number of the films it resembles.Grade: A-
