The Innkeepers (2011)

"If you expect nothing from people, then you go through life being pleasantly surprised.", 17 July 2015

An old, formerly grand hotel is in its last weekend of operation. With few guests, two employees decide to take this opportunity to do a little ghost hunting to determine whether or not the hotel is haunted.

Please don't think my rating for The Innkeepers is the result of liking only quick paced, jump-scare filled horror. It's not. I love slow burn horror. I'm over 50 years old and cut my teeth on films like The Haunting (1963), Onibaba (1964), and The Innocents (1961). Those movies took their sweet time building the most delicious atmosphere and tension. The anticipation of what you knew was coming made your heart race and your pulse quicken. And when the payoff finally came, it was simply amazing. It was worth the wait.

But with the Innkeepers, this isn't slow burn horror - this is no burn horror. The movie has almost an hour and a half to build atmosphere and tension, but wastes that time on ridiculous dialogue and character development that only made me hate the two main characters more and more with each scene. I just wanted these people to shut up and die already. These two have to be among the most annoying characters I've had the misfortune to watch. There conversation consist of some of the most inane dialogue imaginable. What a waste - because when the horror does finally come, those scenes are actually pretty good. But the wait is excruciating.

3/10