Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Innkeepers [Blu-ray]

I can see why some people didn't like it. It's not for the fan base that ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2018

Not sure if I'd classify this one in the horror genre. I can see why some people didn't like it. It's not for the fan base that likes graphic gore, psycho killers and predictable sex scenes. It's just an old fashioned ghost story that leaves some things to the imagination. There were no fancy props or setting. Yes, it was a little slow in the beginning and the acting was nothing to get excited about but, the suspenseful music and scattered jump scares kept me watching. I was hesitant to watch because of the reviews. I was actually surprised that I didn't hate it, considering I'm not a fan of horror mixed with humor. It was limited and therefore, tolerable. I'm glad I watched it on Amazon Prime so that I wouldn't feel ripped off if I didn't watch all the way through. It kept me entertained and that's why I'm giving it 4 stars. Watch it if you like the old fashioned stuff.

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Peter Olafson

The ghost story is forgettable. But stay for the acting.

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2017

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Don’t see this for the ghost story. As a ghost story, The Innkeepers is just so-so. The background is half-baked. (Why is Claire so taken with the story of Madeline O'Malley?) The plot is unlikely. (For starters, isn’t it convenient that an actress-turned-spiritualist is initially the only guest staying at the hotel?) The continuity can be iffy: Claire seems to know more about the ghost when she and Luke visit the cellar than Lee has told her. The scares are from the "he's right behind you" school. The ending doesn’t answer key questions — who are the other two spirits? — and seems about to borrow from The Shining before it settles on Rose Red instead.

But as a movie, it nevertheless has a certain charm, thanks not a little to the chemistry between stars Paxton and Healy (not to mention a funny cameo by Lena Dunham) and director’s West’s sometimes-lively script.

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Fairly decent ghost story, great setting, wonderful acting and chemistry between the two leads

Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2019

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This was an enjoyable film, more for atmosphere and my enjoyment of the two main characters then the actual ghost story itself, but all around it was a more than decent film. The setting is an old hotel, The Yankee Peddler, which after over a hundred years of service as an inn in New England is finally closing its doors (one character made an offhand reference to the old hotel being turned into a parking lot). The owner is on vacation at Barbados with strict instructions to not be disturbed, and the only employees present are the two main characters, Claire (played by Sara Paxton, who impressed me in _Enter Nowhere_ which I also recommend) and Luke (played by Pat Healy). Barely anyone is staying in the hotel, just what are identified as Angry Mom and Young Boy (you barely see them) and a bit later on two other guests, one a former TV star named Leanne Rease-Jones (played by Kelly McGillis, been a long time since I have seen her) and another guest towards the end of the film.

With the top floor already stripped of most of the furnishings, just a handful of guests, the hotel no longer a functioning restaurant (and located in a very sleepy town), Claire and Luke (staying at the hotel in its final week as there are plenty of rooms available) when they are not manning the front desk indulge (often alone) their pastime of looking for paranormal phenomenon in the hotel (several times a legend of a woman who was stood up on her wedding day I believe, hanged herself in the hotel, her body hid in the hotel for several days before being disposed of, is mentioned). At first their search for paranormal events are either a lark (something to do on boring nights at a front desk with absolutely zero traffic), maybe a way to make some money off of a website they are putting together, or just a way to even maybe mock ghost hunting.

Of course, they start to discover things as the movie progresses (mostly Claire does at first, but what she sees ropes in Luke and Leanne as well), with events going from subtle, tiny, was-that-really-there sorts of occurrences to things that are much, much worse. Even at their very worst for the most part the ghost aspects were a bit understated, just brief glimpses, but the atmosphere that was built up was so good that was all that was needed.

The pros were far and away the two main characters and the hotel itself. Claire and Luke were hilarious without being campy or comedic or spoofing anything. They had a droll sense of humor, a well-played almost hipsterish vibe of feeling a little embarrassed to actually be seen believing in ghosts while they investigate, cracking jokes to relieve tension, droll, sarcastic jokes that clearly show a long history of friendship and being close coworkers. They were two people I could have watched interact for hours in just about any film and were just all around well written, directed, and acted.

The hotel itself, I understand a real hotel, was also great. It wasn’t Gothic or Addams Family Creepy, it looked like what it was, an old, creaky, historic New England Inn with lots of hallways and parlors and old furniture and dimly lit rooms and not a lot of windows. One had to turn a corner and see if the front desk or main lobby were empty or not as there were not long sight lines or open vistas available. There were two floors above but again no great views of lower floors or the lobby, just long, antique looking hallways. The building looked quaint, historic, very of a place and time during the day, while at night it was dark and mysterious, not a place screaming it was haunted but one that you could believe the tiny sounds or creaks you hear could just maybe be a ghost (or spirit, as Leanne insisted on calling them).

My only big complaint of the film is spoilerish, but it involved one of the characters going back into an environment she knew was dangerous and it wasn’t made clear to me why she went there. It was definitely creepy and well done as far as scenes go, I just question a bit the motivation. Overall I really liked the film, loved the two main characters, the setting, it was a good solid haunted house (haunted hotel?) movie. Again the biggest strengths were the great hotel and two well written and well-acted characters I genuinely cared about, in contrast to the somewhat undercooked but never bad ghost story.

2 people found this helpful

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Kurt C. Piepenburg

Excellent and chilling ghost story movie!

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2017

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This is a highly effective and chilling ghost story. Paced in a deliberate and somewhat hypnotizing manner to create and sustain a strong feeling of dread, it hooks the viewer with believable characters, realistic dialogue, expert use of lighting (read: not overdone!) and delivers some genuinely scary moments that will stay with you for quite some time after viewing. I particularly liked the dialogue interaction between Claire and LeAnn, the latter delivering some understated, yet very powerful statements about spirits, both alive and dead, natural and supernatural. It is not a spoof, by any stretch, of the ghost hunting craze; instead, it takes those fake "real life" TV shows we are all so overly familiar with, upends them and dumps them into the trash bin. People who make some of those shows sporting faked evidence, incredulous spirit communication technique utilizing useless equipment and horrible story-telling/narration should watch this movie to see a prime example of how to make a good ghost story even better through a nice mix of legend, fact and fiction. I rank this movie right up there with the 1963 Robert Wise movie, The Haunting, as two of the most chilling of all ghost story movies. Don't watch it alone!

7 people found this helpful

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James C Girasa

Entertaining lower budget horror

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2018

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This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of "The Innkeepers" released in 2011.

'The Innkeepers' is a pretty good lower budget horror movie. I enjoyed it and recommend it if you haven't seen it. I'm not sure if you need to own it for your collection but it is definitely worth a viewing if you can borrow it or see it on television.

PLOT/SUMMARY: Claire and Luke are two employees of 'The Yankee Pedlar' a hotel that is about to go out of business. Luke is an amateur 'ghost hunter' and runs a website. He believes that 'The Yankee Pedlar' might be haunted and is looking for evidence. Claire, most of the time, seems to be more enthusiastic about 'ghost hunting' than Luke. Strange things happen at the hotel and we find out that Luke wants no part of it. Likely, he has been a lot more enthusiastic toward 'ghost hunting' because of his attraction to Claire. As Luke shies away from the strange events, Claire delves deeper into the mystery.

RECOMMENDATIONS: It's good, but not necessarily the type of movie I would want to watch multiple times. Like many horror/suspense movies, once you know what is going on, the movie is pretty much over. In this movie, you won't find out till the very end. But having seen it, I don't need to see it again. There isn't a whole lot you will miss and need to see again to get the full picture.

If extra's make the difference, there are a couple of commentary tracks.

I'm giving it 4 stars because I liked the story.

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Forest Nymph

Perception is Everything

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2019

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I saw this movie once maybe six years ago and remembered it being excellent, like five stars. I decided to watch it again. It's realistic, relatable, funny and now nostalgic too..Instant messenger? No smart phones? Then again maybe it always had a late 90s-00s vibe. Also I think the main female lead is intentionally timeless, like a 1960s gamine or ingenue, an 80/90s cool nerd chick, with a 00s hairstyle and soy latte.

***SPOILER ALERT***

But it's not as great as I remember it being. It's good, still really solid but it's not exactly The Shining either. My main take away from this film is how generally light hearted it is, how laugh out loud funny some parts are....then BOOM the main character is dead, which is a crime. You never kill the likeable, smart, young good girl. She's the Last Girl Standing amirite? I think that may have been why I found it so impressive in 2012. At any rate, I love the last line "There was nothing anyone could do." Dude that happens. I BELIEVE THIS. Haunted places "call" to certain individuals and they just walk right into it after being warned not to twenty times or otherwise knowing they shouldn't. The pull was just as intense on her as the other two suicides in the hotel. Notice how she had no life goals "I just work at the hotel" which was closing in four days, and she was obsessed with the hauntings. "There's three of them.... Don't go into the basement." And by the end there's three and she died in the basement after being told to leave the dang building. You're like, why doesn't she go outside. But if you have ever been drawn to an old creepy place, just admit you know why.

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John L

There is a great blend of humor and horror here

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2017

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I'm a fan of Ti West, his brand of horror is fresh and effective, and I had been wanting to see The Innkeepers but had never gotten around to it until I found it on Prime a few weeks back. There is a great blend of humor and horror here, so much so that at times it really feels more like a dark comedy. In some ways, the film is reminiscent of The Shining - a slim cast of characters banded together at a hotel that has a life of its own. Mr. West makes effective use out of long silences and dark spaces, and also uses the audience's own imagination to fill in the blanks for what some of the characters are seeing. I would love to see Mr. West do more work like this.

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I'veScenemAll

BOOOOO!! and Kelly McGillis!

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2020

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Ok...This is the second time I'm writing about plot which I don't normally do. It's either good or it's not. But, the film looks promising at first. There were some scenes that made me made giggle at the beginning. Kelly McGillis is actually in this movie. However, there is absolutely no plot to work with whatsoever. It is not about not enough Gore, not enough boobs, the problem is there's nothing to save it. It's not scary, it's not funny, it's full of filler. It's a bunch of b-roll. If you could take out the middle and slap the beginning and ending together you may have a good 20-minute picture, but whatever else should be thrown in the garbage. That being said the actors certainly did a fine job. I really like the girl. She responds to jump-scares excellently. Kelly McGillis is Kelly McGillis. She can act. But she has no script! This could have been good somehow, but I don't know how. Some more writing? You can't have two people in a haunted hotel and not see a lot of haunting?

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JIMI

No Depth Critics

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2020

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The film sneaks up on you as you go along with Claire. Who has this wide eyed obsession with the paranormal. She believes there is nothing she can't handle in life that comes at her including the spirit world. It reminds me of my other favorite "It Follows" . Where you know it's coming and it can't be avoided and your helpless. Claire continues to push past paranormal barriers without hesitation or fear. The fear is with you for her recklessness as she goes. Each time you can just barely see something in the dark. But she has no idea wants coming. She's young and she's fearless. I watch this movie a couple times a year on VHS. And it still makes me cringe. Now I have the DVD which is fantastic for my collection. But I also Highly recommend "It Follows" for any collection in the paranormal genre. Which will make you look over your shoulders or behind you on hearing any noise. Thanks - JIMI

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Amazon Customer

Ghost story

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2020

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I like the film. It's not a blood and guts slasher film, it's a low budget, slow burning ghost film. The acting was good and I like the characters. Not going to lie though, some times it was a bit boring an all talk, but I like the characters, so I stayed with it. Had some good spooky parts and the story was interesting enough. The film is about two employees of an old hotel that is about to close down, who are want to be ghost hunters. They are determined to get evidence that the hotel is haunted before the last day. In the hotel it is just them and about 3 guests, so very quiet and a little spooky already. Then weird stuff begins to happen. I will leave at that. I like a good ghost story, so this was good to me. Very little blood and no guts.

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5 star		49%
4 star		21%
3 star		13%
2 star		7%
1 star		10%

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