31 Days of Halloween October Horror Movie Challenge - Day 12: The Innkeepers (2012)

 

Day 12 - The Innkeepers (2012) 

Platform:

Borrowed from Hoopla.

Quote:

“Let’s go to the basement and find out what that f***ing ghost’s problem is.”

Synopsis:

The Yankee Pedlar Inn, rumored to be one of the most haunted inns in America, is about to close its doors forever. Its last guests begin to arrive with various eccentricities and objectives for their final stay, and Claire and Luke, the last two employees, are working their last shift. Claire and Luke are also would-be paranormal investigators, and they are determined to use this last night to finally make contact with the spirit that legend says haunts the hotel. It's the last night for the Yankee Pedlar, but when the sun rises, who will be left standing?

Review:

Ghost stories are definitely my sweet spot. I love a good slasher and can take endless enjoyment in watching reprehensible teens getting knocked off in ever more creative ways. But when I want to actually get a good spook on, ghost stories and haunted house movies are what do it for me. There’s something about the atmosphere they bring that I can really settle into that really gives me chills. I don’t jump-scare much, but I do get that little tingle running up my spine when we get that little glimpse of something that shouldn’t be there in the background. I love the slow burn of the ghost story as things slowly ramp up to the final showdown. However, this can be a difficult balance. If there’s not enough story being developed, not enough build to the spooks, and we spend too much time just watching people going about their usual day just waiting to see what will happen with no payoff, then the film gets boring. 

The Innkeepers does a good job of keeping that balance just right. Ti West keeps the characters building and throws in just enough paranormal occurrences to keep the fun going and keep us rooting for the ghost hunters to get to the bottom of the mystery. West even escalates things with just a bit of dramatic tension between the employees and the guests, and what each of the guests is bringing to the hotel (physical and emotional baggage are aplenty). 

This is a great one that I return to pretty frequently to enjoy the mood and setting of the old hotel. It’s also fun to see the amateur ghost hunters doing their thing. This is an easy recommendation.

Movie Count:

New: 8

Total: 12

Hoopla Breakdown: Hoopla is a digital borrowing service that many Ohio Libraries offer that allows patrons to borrow digital books, audiobooks, graphic novels, single issues of comic books, movies, and episodes of TV shows. You are provided with a set number of borrows each month. The amount varies by the library system. There are some limits on how many borrows that branch allows across its patrons each day, so it's better to try to get your borrows in early the morning of than it is the night before you plan to use them. This can also be an issue if you are looking to check out a TV Series because you have to borrow each episode individually. However, unlike other services, the items are always available. There is no hold system, waiting for other patrons to return their material before you get the title, or waiting for it to be delivered to your local branch for pick up. If you can find it, you can borrow it. Other benefits to this program are that you can stream directly over your data connection or wi-fi, or if you are concerned about saving data, you can download the material for offline access. The Hoopla app also has a casting feature so you can stream the title from your device to a larger screen using devices like Chromecast.