The Reluctant Innkeepers

<p> A hotel dating from the Victorian Age is closing and a pair of GenY employees, Claire and Luke, is left to turn out the lights on the final weekend. Luke, an Internet nerd, and Clair, a perky girl with asthma, are half-seriously conducting paranormal research, “hoping” to record the inconsolable ghost of the 19th century woman who hung herself in the hotel after being jilted on her wedding day. Naturally, their irony quest is upset when strange things really start to occur. </p> <p>Writer-director Ti West's <em>The Innkeepers</em> (out on DVD) is beautifully filmed and composed, drawing influences from Hitchcock and Kubrick and inspiration from the raft of B-minus/C-plus horror teen horror flicks of the '80swhere there was always a frightened girl willing to step nervously into a dark room of horror. The story is more clever than chilling, but is put forth believably by West's bright young cast (Sara Paxton, Pat Healy) and a smart, amusing screenplay. </p>