The Innkeepers (2011) dir Ti West

You're better than this, Ti! Come on!

You know when you're a kid and you do something really, really stupid and your parents find out and give you the 'ol, "Now, I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed." That's pretty much how I feel after watching "The Innkeepers."

With his debut flick, "House of The Devil," Ti West really impressed the shit out of a lot of horror nerds with his super tense and straight forward approach to a story about a college chick who has a run-in with a satanic cult. Anyone who watches that movie, myself included, would conclude that West has a good handle on what's scary, how to pace things well and also how to surprise your audience without coming across as cheap. Well, it's like he literally forgot how to do every single one of these things with "The Innkeepers." I mean, this movie is so unredeeming and shitty that it makes me question how "House of The Devil" turned out like it did. This is a huge step backwards for him.

First of all, making a compelling movie about ghosts and hauntings is pretty difficult. There aren't very many good ones out there and certainly not any recent ones. And there was nothing compelling about the source material here: an awkward asthmatic 20-something girl and an utter bridge troll of a ginger dude both working at an old ass hotel, half-assedly trying to capture its ghosts on film before the place closes. Who gives a shit?

I mean, god dammit, there's even a scene in the beginning where the ginger asshole tricks the girl into watching one of those pop-up scary videos that you used to trick your roommates into watching in like 2002 because it was "hilarious." If West was trying to call out filmmakers for using cheap pop-up scares, well, he fucking failed hard because he pretty much does the same thing for the movie's big moments. Also, he egregiously overuses dutch angles throughout movie to try and convey that "things are getting weird, dude! Whoa!" When shit finally starts happening, it's just so unremarkable because of the lack of investment into the characters and it's not in the least bit scary or creepy. Bummer.

Despite multiple warnings from trusted horror buds, I still had semi-high hopes for this flick. Even paid to watch it OnDemand like a chump. I hope West can bounce back, but it's gonna have to really be something special to wash out the taste of this one.

Sigh.

"Shame" (2011) dir Steve McQueen

Dude, seriously, you need to wash those sheets. Gross.

I had been wanting to see "Shame" for a while now because the trailer was very intriguing, Michael Fassbender is a cool dude actor and the thrill of seeing a NC-17 flick in theaters was definitely a factor. It takes a lot of hype and balls, I guess, to market and distribute an NC-17 film these days. It hardly ever happens anymore because of how the rating effects box office returns. But, I get the feeling the makers of "Shame" weren't really concerned about making big bucks off this super weird and dark flick about a really angry sex addict living out his sad life in New York.

Normally, I'd want nothing to do with a movie like this. Super arty director, white people doing shitty things to other white people, lots of woe is me bullshit, etc. There are definitely a few scenes in "Shame" that choke on their own artiness, but overall I thought it kept things moving pretty well and I appreciate how little it spelled things out for the audience. There's a fine line between obtuse just to be arty and weird and making a subtle, challenging and attention-holding movie. This one mostly veers on that latter, good side of that line. Nothing much is revealed as to why Fassbender is such an angry sex addict and very little is said up front as to why things are strained and weird between him and his sister, played by British cutie Carey Mulligan. You just kinda have to go with it and watch Fassbender go through a variety of daily gross sex stuff.

The downside to there not being a whole lot of answers in this movie is that it gives you few reasons to care much about the characters. I didn't quite feel like I was being punished for being a viewer like I tend to feel during a shitty Von Trier flick or something, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. The title certainly fits the movie. I'd say Fassbender deserves a nomination for best actor, but he was also in like 50 other movies this year so I guess it's a toss-up for which one he ends up getting props for.