Then there's a decrepit old man (George Riddle) who insists on staying in one particular room - the Honeymoon Suite - saying it brings back memories. The first is Leanne Rease-Jones (Kelly McGillis) a psychic healer who is able to tap into the non-corporeal goings-on at the Yankee Pedlar Inn. There are two notable secondary characters, both of whom are hotel guests that fall into classic ghost story types. So, when not manning the front desk or catering to the needs of their three customers, they roam through the mostly deserted halls and rooms with a special listening device, hoping to detect ghostly sounds. Both amateur paranormal sleuths, they plan to spend their last weekend at the inn "ghost hunting." Luke has already seen one mysterious spirit Claire is eager to get a chance to see or hear something. The Yankee Pedlar Inn is supposedly haunted, and this is of more interest to the two final employees, Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy), than the few remaining guests. Once a stand-alone spot for wayfarers to find a comfortable room for the night, it is now surrounded by the clutter of a modern-day New England town and has become irrelevant. The setting is the Yankee Pedlar Inn, an old time hotel that has lost its luster (and customer base) over the years and is set to close down. But it's a lot smarter than many horror films and doesn't not rely on gimmicks. Things are less ambiguous than this might make them sound The Innkeepers is very concrete. Here, it's all about how the viewer chooses to construe certain scenes and elements. No one ever wonders whether Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers exists, no matter how improbable their presences might be. This is fairly unique in the horror genre, which tends to deal in absolutes. It's not exactly Rashomon, but there's an element of that kind of storytelling here. The narrative is projected through the eyes of one character and there are two ways to interpret the manner in which events unfold. Sometimes, he diffuses this with a gentle cut to something else, essentially saying "gotcha!" Other times, the payoff is sudden, brief, and brutal. The longer he holds it, the more anxious we become.
If he keeps the camera on an inanimate object or an open space for a little longer than we expect, the tension starts to mount. For the most part, however, he generates tension by camera placement and varying take lengths. He toys with the concept of the "boo!" moment but is unafraid to employ it later. West is a student of the genre, and he knowingly includes enough clichés that we recognize he's playing with us. In fact, the film is so focused on them in the early-going that it's easy to forget something paranormal is going on. They exist not as fodder for demons or ghosts but as people we grow to care about. Ti West's basic story does little that's unusual except taking the time to develop the characters. The Innkeepers puts many of those high budget endeavors to shame while also illustrating that it's not necessary to be a member of the already-too-crowded "found footage" sub-genre to keep an audience enthralled with apprehension.
The apprehension and dread one feels while watching a good horror film cannot easily be manufactured and some filmmakers incorrectly believe that gore and special effects pave the path. Sometimes with horror movies, it's all about tone.