The Innkeepers – Review

A good low budget creeper, The Innkeepers features some chills in a haunted setting. As an old hotel ages through the years from opening in 1891 till current day, it finally is getting ready to close its doors for good. The last few days of the Yankee Pedlar Inn in Connecticut will bring an end to the property.

Told in a series of chapters, the film introduces Claire (Paxton) who walks into her job and meets coworker Luke (Healy). They only have a couple days left as the spot goes out of business, without enough interest to stay alive. Good thing their shared hobby is hauntings, and both have seen some weird stuff on the premises.

The pair are even staying on-site while the hotel shutters, taking 7 to 7 shifts and closing things down. There is only one room currently in use, but at least they get another room taker by evening in Leanne Rease-Jones (McGillis), an actress from older TV shows. Claire is stoked. Luke is more focused on finally capturing some haunts on film now that the hotel is supremely empty. Too bad they need new jobs soon.

Will Luke get his wish of ghosts? Will superfan Claire bug miss Rease-Jones to death? Would that create a new haunting? If anyone finds ghosts, how will that end well?

The Innkeepers is a good time with a slow pace that is mostly fun until all of a sudden, it’s not anymore. It has solid enough dialogue and story, and the creeps definitely creep, however viewers may be split on the resolution bits. Mostly I am satisfied with this movie but I bet if the writer/director had an even larger budget he could have made it hit even harder.

The Yankee Pedlar Inn is a real hotel, which director Ti West’s crew stayed in, and had creepy happenings occur while filming another horror good movie, The House of the Devil. The Innkeepers was born from that experience.