The Innkeepers

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Jordan

Ti West's House of the Devil was the most authentic homage to 80's slasher films I've ever seen. Complete with the flaws those films had as well. Here's he crafted a film that has a very similar sense of brooding, a very slow and steady pace and doesn't resort to much trickery or gimmicks, instead opting for a very old school approach to build tension and scares. 

Sara Paxton, who is typically cast as the air head blonde, is plying a very unique leading lady. There's something very odd and playfull about her performance, like she's meant to be the innocent comedic sidekick to some hipster heroine but instead found herself as the unexpected lead in a ghost story. 

Lena Dunham from HBO's Girls also shows up briefly playing what could be the same character from that series. 

There are moments of suspense that work really well. The sound design is made quite prominent in the story and they've done a great job with it. That really what I found the scariest part. The more they keep their spooks in the dark the better I think. Unfortunately there's nothing much new to offer in the way of scary looking ghosts and when they were revealed it lost a little tension for me. But these are very brief punctuating moments, the emphasis is kept firmly of the slow build up.

Oldschool style ghost story. A lot of fun and something to talk about once it's over. It's getting an extremely limited release in Australia but you'll have a better chance finding it soon in a home release, so seek it out.