This movie had a lot of potential with an interesting hook and great location but failed to deliver all around.

A horror movie relies on tension and atmosphere to build fear. This movie takes a very long and tedious time establishing characterization instead of mood. Unfortunately, the two main characters and in fact all the characters in the very small cast are so two-dimensional and stereotypical that all that time was thoroughly wasted. To add insult to injury, there is even a cheap jump scene at the beginning that breaks what little mood is established by the opening credits and pans of the set. When the movie finally reaches its climax, it still is not scary or horrific. It just falls flat. The ending was unsatisfying as well with no real resolution or twist.

It's just good enough to keep you watching and waiting for something to happen, but it never does.

If something had actually happened. for a movie of 1 hour and 35 minutes, there's surprisingly little in the way of story or plot. Now, at first I was actually excited, as I think most good horror movies are masters of building up the anticipation - 30 to 45 minutes of build up isn't inappropriate, but this movie felt like it was straight up 1 hours and 35 minutes of build up.

It almost felt like they had too much time to show the characters (pranking and having fun with each other, mostly, which became old real quick) and their relationships and too little time to resolve the ghost plot. It had the makings of a (bit cliché, but hey) storyline that, with careful execution, could have made for a nice horror flick with more subtle horror compared to all the splatters that are out these days. Instead, we got almost nothing.

This movie left me with so many questions and just kind of a "huh?" feeling - I like when everything isn't answered or when things aren't stated directly on screen - when you have to think a little bit - but this is seriously taking it way, way, WAY too far.

Instead of feeling like the movie set up some expectations and rules and then satisfied these, it just felt...

Inadequate. Very, very inadequate. And confused, and kinda hollow. Terrible disappointment.

"The Innkeepers" is … well, first and foremost a very difficult movie to rate and review! I can't deny feeling a bit disappointed after my viewing, but on the other hand I realize I can't possibly claim that this is a bad movie. Quite the contrary, in fact… In a relatively short time, the still very young writer/director Ti West distinguished himself as a respectable narrator with a versatile imagination and a vastly profound knowledge of the genre classics. Horror buffs' expectations naturally increase with every new movie, so after West's creative and playful zombie debut "The Roost" and the captivating throwback to 70's satanic horror "The House of the Devil", a whole lot of people – including myself – were highly anticipating his homage to atmosphere driven haunted house effort. And "The Innkeepers" is largely a praiseworthy accomplishment, for sure. Particularly the tone, atmosphere and the decors/set pieces are downright stupendous and the hotel filming location ideally lends itself for a good old-fashioned and nostalgic ghost tale. Dreamy Claire and sarcastic Luke work as reception clerks at the classy old Yankee Peddlar Inn. The hotel exists since many decades but has filed for bankruptcy now, so during the last boring weekend with minimum capacity, Claire and Luke occupy themselves with trying to find evidence of the hotel's legendary ghost story from the past. Many years ago, the abandoned bride Madeline O'Malley hung herself in the honeymoon suite, and according to the local folklore legends her restless spirits still meanders around the corridors of the Yankee Peddlar Inn. Claire seems the most receptive for the ghostly vibes, even to a point where a spiritual medium strongly advises her to leave the hotel. If it were all exclusively about style & atmosphere, "The Innkeepers" would deserve a solid 10/10 rating. Not since "The Shining" we have seen such an efficient usage of a guest house in horror films and Ti West (very) patiently takes his time to introduce the main characters, as well as to illustrate the background of the hotel and generate the ominous mood-setting. This inevitably results in very long suggestive horror tableaux (slow moving camera through the hallways, doors slowly closing by themselves, etc…) and false scares, but it's all very stylish and eerily crafted. But slow building ups do eventually have to lead somewhere and this is where the film falls short in my humble opinion. The whole denouement is too confusing and leaves too many elements open for personal interpretation. There are some truly powerful "jump" sequences in the last fifteen minutes of the film, but the horror always remains oppressed in favor of the mystery of it all. I wasn't looking for gore and filth, but a bit more excitement would have been welcome. Too bad. Purely talking in terms of "new" atmospheric ghost stories, the James Wan/Leigh Whannell film "Insidious" is slightly more satisfying.