Editorials
[31 Days of Halloween] Day Twenty-Two: Ti West’s Supernatural Haunter ‘The Innkeepers’
If you’ve been playing along with our 31 Days of Halloween, then you’re well aware that Tuesdays are dedicated to Supernatural Spooks. While director Ti West’s brand of slow burn horror tends to be divisive, as slow burn horror is in general, The Innkeepers presents itself as a worthy selection for being based around and shot in an actual haunted hotel; the Yankee Pedlar Inn.
A historic hotel located in Torrington, Connecticut, The Yankee Pedlar Inn was originally built by owners Frank and Alice Conley, in 1891. It was a family-owned and run business; Alice was the manager while Frank worked as the hotel’s operator. Eventually, Alice died on the hotel’s premises, in room 353. Rumors developed that the hotel is haunted, and most of the paranormal activity is reported from that room. The hotel closed in December 2015 for major renovations, but those plans stalled. As of now, the hotel still remains closed, making The Innkeepers feel all the more eerie.
Synopsis: The Yankee Pedlar Inn is in the process of closing. During its final weekend of operation, Claire and Luke are the only employees working. As avid ghost hunting enthusiasts, the pair toggle between checking in old guests and digging into the hotel’s haunted history to determine if the place is indeed haunted.
Key Players: Sara Paxton stars as Claire, and Pat Healy plays her ghost hunting partner in crime, Luke. The film rests mostly on their shoulders, but look for Kelly McGillis to play a crucial role as former actress Leanne Rease-Jones.
Why It’s on the List: While The House of the Devil was West’s throwback to ‘80s Satanic Panic, this movie is his throwback haunted house fare. It’s a mumblegore film, meaning that it’s a horror movie that places an emphasis on the dialogue and the relationship between Claire and Luke over narrative. In other words, it’s one that’s guaranteed to polarize. But Claire and Luke are highly likable, and the supernatural elements are great. The hotel atmosphere is effectively creepy. The thrilling conclusion injects adrenaline to an otherwise sleepy ghost story, and that final parting shot elicits chills.
“I Don’t Want to Scare You, But”: Everything you need to know to give you an idea of the spooky atmosphere, pace, humor, and characterization of The Innkeepers is contained in this clip. Alone at night, Claire hears weird banging somewhere in the hotel. Cautiously, she gets up from behind the front desk to investigate…
Where You Can Watch: The Innkeepers is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
You must be logged in to post a comment.