SXSW Movie Review: The Innkeepers

The career of Ti West has been an interesting one so far. He’s a director who has never made anything resembling a hit movie yet has managed to churn out five films in almost as many years. His movies garner a fair amount of buzz at festivals and he’s earned the respect of many film journalists, yet he hasn’t broken into the mainstream, or even really made a great movie.

I think the love Ti West receives is due to the fact that you can feel the love of genre film in his flicks. This dude is knowledgeable and passionate about horror and that can be infectious. He also has always shown a great deal of promise despite, in my opinion, falling short of his aspirations.

I was there for the premiere of his first film, The Roost, at SXSW years ago and while I thought the movie was a fun but insubstantial romp filled with meta narratives and fourth wall breaking stunts, it was Ti himself that won me over. Here was a kid who just loved what he was doing and was completely unpretentious about it. I’ve followed him ever since and enjoyed watching him grow but have been waiting for him to truly wow me. Even his recent House of the Devil, which earned him the most critical respect of his career, was a close but no cigar experience for me. He certainly nailed the aesthetic and feel of a late 70’s/early 80’s straight to video horror film, but he didn’t deliver a story worth caring about.

So it was with great excitement and trepidation that I stepped into the gorgeous Paramount theater in Austin to check out his latest, The Innkeepers, at SXSW. What’s the verdict?

He fucking nailed it.

The Innkeepers, so far, is my favorite film out of what has been a surprisingly strong lineup here. In this ghost story about two friends manning a mostly empty, and reportedly haunted, hotel during its last days of operation, Ti has managed to retain the slow burn classic feel of House of Devil while adding the levity of The Roost. His love for the horror genre oozes out of every pore here, evoking films like Poltergeist and The Shining without ever feeling like he’s winking at the audience too much. Every set-up has a wonderful payoff. Every moment, whether they be comedic or horrific, lands perfectly and had the audience of 1000+ laughing and screaming at all the right moments.

I particularly admire the fact that the film never devolves into simple jump scares or frenetic editing. It takes its time and builds up an almost unbearable amount of tension which is far more effective than a loud music jolt will ever be. The only jump scares in the movie come during a wonderful joke and callback that I won’t ruin here.

Another wonderful thing West has brought over from House of the Devil is an incredibly well realized female lead, played perfectly by Sara Paxton. This girl feels real. She’s your best friend that you’ve always secretly had a crush on. She’s also incredibly vulnerable without ever being made out to be an idiot. Instead of reacting to the situation with the screams and cries of modern torture porn she reacts with wide eyed wonder of early Steven Spielberg films. And when she is put in danger, you really feel for her. You genuinely don’t want harm to befall her, which is a wonderful breath of fresh air in a genre where most the joy is usually derived from watching your horrible protagonists suffer and die.

Pat Healy also turns in a great performance as her older cynical workmate/friend. Their relationship is the backbone of this film and their playful interaction gives the film the heart and comic relief it desperately needs.

I’ve gone on about this enough, so I’ll just say this is the kind of film that makes you remember why you love the genre. It’s a shining beacon in the dark horrible landscape of shitty modern horror. I can’t wait to see what Ti West does next, and I hope he inspires other filmmakers to follow in his footsteps.