THE PARANORMAL PASTOR Number 6: The Innkeepers (2011)

Jared explains how The Innkeepers is extremely realistic when it comes to the process of investigating and the phenomena encountered, but the finale picks cinematic flair over accuracy.

If I’m being honest, I’m not a huge fan of this movie. It’s really slow and boring, and the final reveal isn’t worth the payoff to me. This film would never make it into any other top 10 list I have other than this one. Yet what the film lacks in flair, it makes up for with accuracy. What sets the film apart is how things are carried out and how they unfold. For this reason, the movie gets a big round of applause from me. So, while evaluating The Innkeepers from an entertainment perspective bombs for me, it passes with flying colors when it comes to a realistic paranormal movie.

Directed by Ti West, the film follows two employees during the final days of the Yankee Peddler Inn. Convinced the inn is haunted, they are hell bent on trying to prove it indeed has a haunted past. As the movie progresses, our two innkeepers start to investigate and experience paranormal phenomena. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a few creepy moments in the film, just not enough for me to rank this as a “must see” paranormal fiick. But as I have said before, this list isn’t about entertainment but accuracy. And for that, The Innkeepers has a lot going for it.

The film does a great job at portraying our two innkeepers as amateur paranormal investigators who are trying to figure out what is happening at the inn. The recording equipment and the way it is used is accurate, especially the slow discovery of EVP sounds. The self-doubt our characters show during the investigation is also a real thing and quite convincing. It portrays their boredom in an honest light, because as those of us who have done investigating know, there is tons of down time where nothing at all happens. But when it does? And the excitement it creates? The film captures that gusto. The other thing it shows the audience is the slow dread that settles onto the two innkeepers as they begin to realize that what they are experiencing is real.

And this is where we get into their paranormal encounters. Unlike more visualized and over dramatic paranormal movies, The Innkeepers gives us ghostly encounters that are understated and ambiguous with no over-designed entities. The way this is presented in the film is quite accurate to what real paranormal investigators experience. The EVP attempts, cold spots, faint apparitions, weird sounds, shadow impressions, and sleep paralysis can all be common things investigators undergo during investigations. The escalation in this film happens quietly and later on, giving it another depth of reality. 

Can you guess where the movie trips over itself? Yep, the ending. This film does so great right up until the end, which is why it doesn’t find itself ranked higher on the list. Our finale is definitely more cinematic than it is accurate. That’s all I’ll say to avoid major spoilers. I get why it was done, since the film is a slow burn. My guess is they wanted some sort of visual payoff in closing out this one. All in all, The Innkeepers, while not an exciting movie, is extremely realistic when it comes to the process of investigating and the phenomena encountered. Overall score 4/5

Known by his fans as “The Paranormal Pastor,” JD Hill brings a unique and original touch to the dark fiction genre. His twenty plus years in ministry have afforded him the opportunity to encounter people from all walks of life and in a myriad of situations. These experiences have leaked into his stories in numerous ways. He is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and has four children.

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