Pleasingly weird in the first half, but the shift from lightheartedness to macabre in the second one is anything but smooth. This could also have been turned to some advantage but sadly it was not. The film is fairly good at showing us how and explaining who but ultimately impotent in offering what. If it's a couple of folks in tacky Halloween makeup who pretend to be ghosts then the mission's failed. It was also far from prudent to waste the characters so pointlessly after taking so much time and care to introduce them. The Innkeepers could potentially be a powerful ghost story but ends up as a commonplace instead. If it's anywhere near The Shining, it's the guy who takes out the trash in Overlook Hotel... sometimes he even hits the bin, yep.
Pickman is spot on.
I wouldn't say I'm completely disappointed, but for how great the characters were and everything else was... It was all so beautifully set up, wonderfully paced - slow, 70/80s horror-style - but there just wasn't enough punch at the end.
It's so interesting reading how disappointed people were or how unsatisfied they felt at the end. I think West delivers a tight little movie with good scares keeping it simple. It's a great lesson in restraint. Actually, my only complaint is that I wish there was a touch more and he didn't show the SFX ghost woman till the very end, but it's a minor complaint as the film's pretty dang good.
was really hoping there would be a twist. a pretty interesting atmosphere but wish they had done more with the hotel. this movie really would have been better as a simple drama about the lives of the innkeepers. it had some great characters.
For a movie made on a minuscule budget, this was very entertaining. Even figuring out the plot twist half-way through the film didn't diminish how much fun I had watching this, and how creeped out I felt at the right moments.
Agreed. The characters and build-up were so great, but the ending was really lacking. The addition of the medium ruined it a little as well, I liked it when it was just two 'real' people going about their business and being spooked.
I kind of liked the way there was no 'point', although it would've been more effective without the medium and a tidier ending. It's annoying how ghost stories always have this massive explanation about why the ghost does this and that, and this was just random spooky stuff happening.
I would've preferred slightly more closure at the end and to know what exactly happened to Claire.
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Comments 1 - 10 of 10
moviewizguy
Satisfying payoff: Ti West's worst enemy.Pickman
Pleasingly weird in the first half, but the shift from lightheartedness to macabre in the second one is anything but smooth. This could also have been turned to some advantage but sadly it was not. The film is fairly good at showing us how and explaining who but ultimately impotent in offering what. If it's a couple of folks in tacky Halloween makeup who pretend to be ghosts then the mission's failed. It was also far from prudent to waste the characters so pointlessly after taking so much time and care to introduce them. The Innkeepers could potentially be a powerful ghost story but ends up as a commonplace instead. If it's anywhere near The Shining, it's the guy who takes out the trash in Overlook Hotel... sometimes he even hits the bin, yep.criscoJovan
Pickman is spot on.I wouldn't say I'm completely disappointed, but for how great the characters were and everything else was... It was all so beautifully set up, wonderfully paced - slow, 70/80s horror-style - but there just wasn't enough punch at the end.
CSSCHNEIDER
It's so interesting reading how disappointed people were or how unsatisfied they felt at the end. I think West delivers a tight little movie with good scares keeping it simple. It's a great lesson in restraint. Actually, my only complaint is that I wish there was a touch more and he didn't show the SFX ghost woman till the very end, but it's a minor complaint as the film's pretty dang good.nick121235
was really hoping there would be a twist. a pretty interesting atmosphere but wish they had done more with the hotel. this movie really would have been better as a simple drama about the lives of the innkeepers. it had some great characters.Borvaran
kind of slow, but it always got mexNigelx
I was pleasantly surprised by this movieDJPowWow
For a movie made on a minuscule budget, this was very entertaining. Even figuring out the plot twist half-way through the film didn't diminish how much fun I had watching this, and how creeped out I felt at the right moments.mightysparks
Agreed. The characters and build-up were so great, but the ending was really lacking. The addition of the medium ruined it a little as well, I liked it when it was just two 'real' people going about their business and being spooked.I would've preferred slightly more closure at the end and to know what exactly happened to Claire.
mysteryfan
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