75 - The Innkeepers

    Damn, it's a creepy movie.
    Two hotel clerks are working the last weekend that the hotel will be open.  There are very few guests, and a whole lot of free time.  So they work on trying to document the haunted-ness of the hotel.
    This movie works well on many levels.  First, the characters are handled really well.  The two leads are very well defined.  They have a clear relationship with each other, and it's a relationship that's nuanced.  The hotel itself is very nicely done.  It's not as massive and forbidding as The Overlook is in The Shining, but this one has a quaint charm.  It doesn't have ostentatious decoration that calls attention to how weird the place is.  It's not packed with dark corners or eerie carvings.  It actually looks like a slightly older, independent hotel.  All of the creepiness of the location is an effect of the direction.
    The sound is great.  It's a lot like seeing something out of the corner of your eye; the sound design masks a variety of effects and elements that create this great sense of unease.  You aren't quite sure what you hear.

    When I saw Ti West's prior feature, The House of the Devil, I admired the faithful re-creation of the 70's.  While I enjoyed the movie, I felt like the tension and the development didn't pay off with the ending.  I've read similar complaints about this movie.  On the contrary, I felt like the ending was much more fitting.

    I'm very curious about how this movie will age.  While the tension is incredible, I wonder how well that will stand up to repeated viewings.
    There's one movie that came to mind during this viewing, and after it - the original The Haunting.  I had a similar sense of being creeped out after that movie, but repeated viewings changed my perspective.  Plus, no matter what people might say, the pacing on this movie is lightning fast compared to The Haunting.

    I have one complaint, and that regards the last shot.  I had to do some research before I found someone explaining what happens in the last shot.  The problem is that it's subtle, too subtle to be seen without altering the speed a bit.  And even then, it's barely perceptible.  I understand that is probably the point, but it's not much fun it you can't share the scare with others.

    I also really loved the opening theme for the movie.  I wish I could find a link, but I can't.