Every day for the month of October, Coming Soon is making a new horror movie recommendation for those eager to find a new frightening flick for Halloween. From the creepy goodness of a classy ghost story to a blood-spattered gorefest and everything in between, we’ll have something for every taste of horror. And today’s pick is…
The Innkeepers
What’s The Innkeepers about: We’ve all wandered around the halls of our hotels at night wondering if we will run into any wayward spirits lingering from a devastating tragedy in the past, but imagine those who have to work in a place such as that. In The Innkeepers, audiences follow the story of Claire (Sara Paxton, The Front Runner) and Luke (Pat Healy, The Post), the only remaining employees of the historic Yankee Pedlar Inn and part-time ghost-hunting enthusiasts. As the hotel enters its final week of operation, the two set out to try and finally uncover evidence that their place of work is in reality haunted by a bride who committed suicide in the hotel in the 1800s after being left at the altar. When the evidence begins to pile up quickly and events start to escalate, the duo realize they may have bit off more than they can chew with the dark secrets lingering around every ancient corner.
Why The Innkeepers rules: In a genre becoming dominated by jump scares and exploitative gore and creature designs, there’s a quieter and more chilling nature to The Innkeepers that has sat with me for almost a decade now. Writer/director Ti West, known for his similarly slow-building chillers The House of the Devil and The Sacrament, knows how to get audiences to care about his lead characters as they begin winding themselves down a dark and horrifying path, while also knowing how to slowly build the tension and moody atmosphere of the story and location.
How scary is The Innkeepers: Very. It’s a slow burn in the Ti West tradition, but it will gradually work its way under your skin.
Be on the lookout for: Unlike most horror films set in a reportedly haunted hotel, The Innkeepers not only used an actually reportedly haunted location for shooting, but in fact shot at the real Yankee Pedlar Inn in Torrington, CT, shooting numerous scenes in rooms that supposedly see the most paranormal activity in the location. Several production crew members have even claimed to have seen and heard unexplainable phenomena while setting up equipment in the rooms.
Where to watch The Innkeepers: The film can be streamed for free on Amazon for Prime users, or is available to rent digitally for $2.99 and purchased for $9.99.
Pick up your copy of the Blu-ray edition here or a copy of the DVD edition here!
CS October Horror Movie Recommendations:
October 1 – Session 9
October 2 – Bubba Ho-Tep
October 3 – City of the Dead
October 4 – Drag Me to Hell
October 5 – Opera
October 6 – It Follows
October 7 – Chopping Mall
October 8 — The Descent
October 9 — The Vampire Doll
October 10 — Poltergeist
October 11 — Jennifer’s Body
October 12 — Grave Encounters
October 13 — Dolls
October 14 — High Tension
October 15 — The Ranger
October 16 — Sleepy Hollow
October 17 — Paranormal Activity 3
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