THE INNKEEPERS (2011)
Label: Second Sight Films
Region Code: Region-Free (UHD), B (Blu-ray)
Rating: Cert. 15
Duration: 101 Minutes 35 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160 Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:11), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Ti West
Cast: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis
Ti West's The Innkeepers (2011) was the follow-up to his satanic babysitter flick The House of the Devil, this time a slow-burn ghost story set in the Yankee Pedlar Inn, which is on its last legs, the owner has sold it, and they are only open for three more days. While the owner is away on vacation in Barbados a skeleton crew of minimum wage-slaves, Claire (Sara Paxton, Cheap Thrills) and Luke (Pat Healy, Carnage Park), hold down the hotel, a pair of college dropouts/slackers with ill-defined future prospects. Claire is a jittery, asthmatic 20-something that is constantly sucking on her inhaler, and Luke seems to be a slightly older, who runs a website dedicated the the hotel's haunted past, in particular that of a jilted bride, Madeline O'Malley, who hung herself in the hotel after being stood-up at the altar, the hotel's owners having hidden her body away in the basement afterward so as to not sully their reputation. With hotel just days away from shuttering forever Claire and Luke set about attempting to chronicle the the haunted happenings, wandering the nearly empty corridors and rooms of the hotel with EVP ghost-hunting equipment to record any voices from beyond.
The hotel is nearly empty, the only guests are a woman named Gale (Alison Bartlett, TV's Sesame Street) and her young son (Jake Ryan, Moonrise Kingdom), who are staying at the hotel during a domestic dispute, former actress Leanne Rease-Jones (Kelly McGillis, Witness) who is now a spirit medium and in town to attend a psychic-convention, causing Claire to become a bit starstruck, and a lonely older widow (George Riddle, Arthur) looking to nostalgically relive his honeymoon he spent in there decades earlier.
As the night wears on Claire detects the sounds of a piano and a woman's voice, leading her to the lobby of the hotel where she sees the piano play itself. Luke after hearing er startled tale of ghostly happenings seems unconvinced, puzzling Claire somewhat. Later when she takes a nap she awakens tot he terrifying sight of Madeline O'Malley at her bedside, terrorfied she seeks the help of psychic medium Leanne, who gives her a reading warning her to stay out of the basement.
Afterward Claire and Luke drink some beers and get a bit drunk, venturing into the basement to record some EVP, against the advice of Leanne, which leads to a frightening encounter that sends Luke fleeing from the building in fear, while Claire, scared but driven to experience the unknown, pursues the phantasm, perhaps to her doom.
Like a lot of Ti West's films this is a slow-burn by design, it spends the first two thirds of the film establishing Luke and Claire, fleshing out their friendship, how they like to prank and scare each other, establishing the hotel location, the film opening with historical images of the hotel during its earlier glory days, we walk the hallways, and just get the vibe of the place. It certainly feels like it could be haunted. I connected with our wage-slave leads, their somewhat depressed young people lacking direction, but I love their slightly acerbic and playfully adversarial rapport. I understood their fascination with the hotel's haunting, I would be too in their shoes, and I liked spending time with them. Slowly we are introduced to a small cast of characters who spend the night at the hotel, particularly the former actress turned spirit medium Leanne, who is met with somewhat annoying awe by Claire and derisive skepticism by the more jaded Luke. I also love how the film explores Luke and Claire's relationship, revealing in a low-key way that Luke is totally smitten by his co-worker, which he reveals while drunk, and I love how she is well-aware of ut but plays it off, it has this sense of realism that I adore, people are always falling for their co-workers, and much of the time it's known thing, and the other party has to rebuff it in a way that keepos thinghs copacetic and doesn't spoil the friendship. It's not a toxic #metoo moment, it's just an innocuous workplace hang-out thing, but it also reveals Luke's true motivation for running the paranormal website even though he turns out to be rather jaded about the supernatural.
The deliberate pace is slowly building, the score by Jeff Grace is accenting the initial errieness and ghostly encounters, and as the spirit situation heats up and become more pointed so to does the score, its building and building, and eventually Claire gets the proof she so desperately seeks, sort of.
I remember when I first watched this at the cinema, I like it quite a bit, but I did think that the pay-off was, well, not enough, it was intentionally ambiguous, and I was not completely down with it. Now, re-watching it again for the first time in a few years, I think I have a deeper appreciation of the methodical slow-burn of it all, and while the finale is a bit of a pull-back, I don't thick it's nearly as ambiguous as I first thought it was, I think it's quite deliberate in what is to be interpreted, it's just subtle about it, and I think that ability to pull-back and go for the subtle finale that has kept this indie scare flick in the conversation for so long.
Audio/Video: The Innkeepers debuts on region-free 4K Ultra HD from Second Sight Films in 2160p Ultra HD, frame din the original 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio, with Dolby Vision color-grade. The film was originally shot on 35mm and Second Sight's transfer represents a newly restored 4K version, approved by the director. The source looks immaculate, film grain is present and nicely resolved, and clothing and furniture texture, facial features and fine detail in the close-ups are very pleasing. The WCG color-grade of the 4K gives it a leg up on the accompanying Blu-ray (also Region-Free), it's not a wild or revisionist uptick in splashy color but the color are deeper imbued and saturated, though the biggest improvement is the improved black which are deeper, offering better contrast and depth, especially in the darker scenes.
Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, it's an effective track, the quieter moments, the creepier tension building, and more visceral scenes are handled with discreet assurance by the track, dialogue is always given proper emphasis and the the tension ratcheting orchestral score by Jeff Grace (The House of the Devil) sound terrific.
this Limited Edition release is a dual format edition, we also get a 1080p Blu-ray minus the Dolby Vision/HDR, sourced from the same new restoration, with both the UHD and Blu-ray featuring the same set of extras.
Onto the extras, let's look at the archival stuff first, beginning with carry-overs from the 2012 Dark Sky Films Blu-ray including the Audio commentary with writer/director/Editor Ti West, producers Larry Fessenden and Peter Phok, and Sound Designer Graham Reznick, a second Audio commentary with Ti West and actors Sara Paxton and Pat Healy, plus the 4-min The Innkeepers: Behind the Scenes, and the 2-min Trailer.
The archival stuff is still terrific, especially the commentaries which are a lot of fun. Second Sight however do this release up right and offer a brand new set of extras, allowing for some hindsight from the participants to recollect the making of the film, and their careers since. We start off with the 15-min A Lasting Memory: a new interview with Ti West, the director discusses staying at the hotel where they shot this film, Yankee Pedlar, which has since been closed, during the shoot for House of the devil, noting it was the cheapest and nicest place the production could afford. Touching on writing the script the hotel as a location before securing permission to shoot there, the choice to shooting 35mm film, the casting, sound design, editing in his head while shooting, and how this is the film that put him on Martin Scorsese's radar.
Up next is the 30-min Let's Make This Good a new interview with Pat Heal, who starts off talking about seeing House of the Devil and how it blew his mind, well before he knew Ti West, getting word that West wanted him for The Innkeepers during a time when he was more focused on writing screenplays than acting. He recalls forging great friendships during the making of it, the humor in the script, and how people amuse themselves at work, how the shoot was very feeling relaxed for him, because the character was very close to himself. He also gets into the look of his character, really connecting with co-star Sara Paxton, what the most difficult scene to shoot was, and how this was the first horror film he acted in. He recalls watching it for the first time, and reflecting on how in his experience making good movie doesn't necessarily translate into box office success, but that eventually grow legs or go onto become cult classics, and he too notesthat Scorsese loved the film,
The 31-min Our Dysfunctional World: a new interview with Larry Fessenden features the Glass Eye Pix impresario and indie film making legend/mentor recalling how he met Ti West at film school during a speaking engagement, West becoming his intern, making several features with a West at Scareflix/Glass Eye Pix, recounting Glass Eye's dogma and early productions, including West's Roost, House of the Devil, and The Innkeepers, Triggerman. He also touches on the hotel and what it was like shooting there, and how much he enjoys working with young hungry artists before they become more commercial, noting that if there's no money there's always imagination to draw upon, and his philosophy on shooting film vs digital. He also gets into how West often has a female lead, the casting of the movie, how it's a bit of muted rom-com, and the leads having a great vibe. Getting into post-production he speaks about West editing his own films, the intricate sound design, the films reception at SXSW, the original Dude Designs poster artwork (which sadly is not represented here), and of course, Scorsese's love of the film.
Next, the 10-min Living in the Process: a new interview with cinematographer Eliot Rockett who speaks about the Yankee Pedlar ghost stories being the foundation of The Innkeepers, living in the location while shooting, and conversations with West about the visual format, and how each shot was planned out in advance with precision and thought. Cast a Wide Net: a new interview with composer Jeff Grace, features the composer speaking about his collaboration with West, developing the opening theme, stacking of different musical elements, the different themes and motifs, and creating mood, as well as working with Larry Fessenden on a number of Glass Eye Pic productions. The last of the new interviews is the 14-min A Validating Moment: a new interview with line producer Jacob Jaffke . he gets into his career path, his love of film, being a production manager on West's The House of the Devil, learning on the job, clicking with West, finding the Yankee Pedlar during HOTD, wild dreams at the hotel, becoming a line producer on The Innkeepers, being young and insecure, working on his next film The Sacrament, dealing with challenges, and being able to accepting new challenges as they emerge.
The 2-disc limited edition release comes packaged in a handsome Rigid Slipcase with new artwork by Nick Charge that captures the vibe of the flick quite well, I love the deep shades of green, and the spine adorned with that cool The Innkeepers logo. Inside there's a digibook containing the two discs, plus 6 Collector Art Cards with more Nick Charge, and a 120-page Perfect Bound Book with a wealth of new essays new essays by Becky Darke, Barry Forshaw, Prince Jackson, Craig Ian Mann, Rebecca Sayce and Heather Wixson that explore the film from a couple of interesting facets, from an examination of wage-slave slackers, mental illness, inspirations ranging from Shirley Jackson to Ghost Hunters, and an appreciation of Larry Fessenden and Glass Eye Pix, plus we get cast and crew credits and production credits.
Special Features
▪ New Second Sight Films 4K restoration approved by director Ti West
▪ Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features
on both discs
▪ UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
▪ Audio commentary with writer/director/Editor Ti West, producers Larry Fessenden and
Peter Phok, and Sound Designer Graham Reznick
▪ Audio commentary with Ti West and actors Sara Paxton and Pat Healy
▪ A Lasting Memory: a new interview with Ti West (15:05)
▪ Let's Make This Good a new interview with Pat Healy (30:18)
▪ Our Dysfunctional World: a new interview with Larry Fessenden (31:26)
▪ Living in the Process: a new interview with cinematographer Eliot Rockett (9:36)
▪ Cast a Wide Net: a new interview with composer Jeff Grace (8:17)
▪ A Validating Moment: a new interview with line producer Jacob Jaffke (14:22)
▪ The Innkeepers: Behind the Scenes (7:27)
▪ Trailer (2:09)
Limited Edition Contents
▪ Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Nick Charge
▪ 120-page book with new essays by Becky Darke, Barry Forshaw, Prince Jackson, Craig Ian
Mann, Rebecca Sayce and Heather Wixson
▪ Six collectors' art cards
Second Sight's deluxe limited edition, dual-format release of looks and sounds phenomenal, it feels good in your hands, it looks great on the shelf, and it's jam-packed with new and archival extras, including some terrific packaging ephemera that collectors are sure to love. This release would seem to be the definitive word on The Innkeepers, offering the best viewing experience to date on home video, all wrapped up in a premium package with plenty shelf-appeal, highly recommended.
