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yuuagoClassy.
Today kind of sucked for no particular reason, except that it was just one of those days when things just kind of suck, but it got better after I got home. Cleared a couple of things off the to-do, which was nice. And then... well. Horror films with the gang + wine + trashy snacks = a very good time.
The movie we watched, The Innkeepers (2011), was... uh. Well. Needless to say, I don't think I would have enjoyed it much if I hadn't been watching it with my delightfully snarky group of mates. First half was an absolute tease and very slow-burn on the supernatural side of things, if you know what I mean, and the second half was disappointing. Plus, it was very much a... deus ex machina of stupid, basically. Dumb horror movie protagonists? You want 'em, we got 'em.
Though, the central protagonist, Claire, was a bit more... obnoxious and jokingly immature than I'm used to seeing female horror movie protagonists act, so that was kind of fun.
The thing about this movie is, the lore wasn't dealt with very well. If you've got yourself a haunting, there needs to be a reason for it, and there needs to be some kind of logic behind the ghost's actions. We don't need to necessarily know the reason for this and what the logic is, but there needs to be some kind of consistency and framework behind what's going on. And with this film, the framework was very flimsy.
A few spoilery things follow - note, contains discussion of suicide in the movie's context -
There was one thing that tied in at the end, but it was done in a very shaky way. Earlier in the movie, the medium, Lee, said that she can see into the future. She also said that she could sense the presence of three spirits. It's only at the end that it becomes clear that she was sensing the future - that the three spirits were Madeline O'Malley, and Claire, and the old man.
*After seeing one of my pals point something out, I thought about it some more and I'm going to redact... almost all of this. Whoops.
[begin redaction]
I'm a little bothered by Madeline as a ghost, because her actions are inconsistent - she sometimes seems like a very benign spirit - consider the piano scenes - but she's also obviously violent. Sometimes this works, but with her, I found it unconvincing, mostly because the piano scenes did not feel like a lure to me.
The old man also bothers me. There is no reason for him to haunt the place. It's very clear from the moment that he shows up that he came there to die. His suicide, unlike Madeline's, does not come from anger or revenge or vengeance or anything like that. While it isn't outright stated, it's... pretty clear, at least to me, that it's coming from a position of sadness and grief. This could result in a ghost, but I don't think it would be the kind of violent ghost that his ghost was, and it doesn't make sense for his ghost to be violent toward Claire, who helped him in life. The only way his actions as a ghost could make sense would be if 1. Madeline forced him into suicide (but again, it was clear when he was checking in that he had come to the inn to die) and 2. Suicide automatically = violent spirit. Possible, but the movie did not set this up, so it doesn't really work, considering what we see of the old man in life.
In addition to all that... If Madeline is such a violent ghost, one would think that the inn would have a much more thorough story of people dying there, considering. It seems like shit only hits the fan after Claire starts poking around in the basement. But she would hardly be the only one to go into the basement, I mean, the inn must have repair people in for furnace issues occasionally and so on, so...? Well, who knows.
[/end redaction]
Someone pointed out that Madeline (and the old man) aren't actually violent. They're just 1. fucking scary, and 2. appear out of nowhere, which 3. is terrifying. They don't actually seem to cause any harm or attempt to cause harm. They just appear - which, in fact, Claire had asked Madeline to do - which is terrifying. And which, in the end, triggers the asthma attack that kills Claire.
:|a
All good points. And I probably should have realized that.
So, essentially, it's the kind of film that makes the most sense when you know what's going to happen. I wonder how well it would go through on a second watch? Better than the first time, perhaps?
Still not a very good film, though. Hm.
...Anyway. It's not the worst horror film that I've ever seen, but it wasn't a good one, either. And I will mention - if you can't handle horrible things happening to old people, I recommend against watching this movie. (I probably shouldn't have watched this movie. :c But I didn't know that one sub-plot would be in it, so....)
Today kind of sucked for no particular reason, except that it was just one of those days when things just kind of suck, but it got better after I got home. Cleared a couple of things off the to-do, which was nice. And then... well. Horror films with the gang + wine + trashy snacks = a very good time.
The movie we watched, The Innkeepers (2011), was... uh. Well. Needless to say, I don't think I would have enjoyed it much if I hadn't been watching it with my delightfully snarky group of mates. First half was an absolute tease and very slow-burn on the supernatural side of things, if you know what I mean, and the second half was disappointing. Plus, it was very much a... deus ex machina of stupid, basically. Dumb horror movie protagonists? You want 'em, we got 'em.
Though, the central protagonist, Claire, was a bit more... obnoxious and jokingly immature than I'm used to seeing female horror movie protagonists act, so that was kind of fun.
The thing about this movie is, the lore wasn't dealt with very well. If you've got yourself a haunting, there needs to be a reason for it, and there needs to be some kind of logic behind the ghost's actions. We don't need to necessarily know the reason for this and what the logic is, but there needs to be some kind of consistency and framework behind what's going on. And with this film, the framework was very flimsy.
A few spoilery things follow - note, contains discussion of suicide in the movie's context -
There was one thing that tied in at the end, but it was done in a very shaky way. Earlier in the movie, the medium, Lee, said that she can see into the future. She also said that she could sense the presence of three spirits. It's only at the end that it becomes clear that she was sensing the future - that the three spirits were Madeline O'Malley, and Claire, and the old man.
*After seeing one of my pals point something out, I thought about it some more and I'm going to redact... almost all of this. Whoops.
[begin redaction]
I'm a little bothered by Madeline as a ghost, because her actions are inconsistent - she sometimes seems like a very benign spirit - consider the piano scenes - but she's also obviously violent. Sometimes this works, but with her, I found it unconvincing, mostly because the piano scenes did not feel like a lure to me.
The old man also bothers me. There is no reason for him to haunt the place. It's very clear from the moment that he shows up that he came there to die. His suicide, unlike Madeline's, does not come from anger or revenge or vengeance or anything like that. While it isn't outright stated, it's... pretty clear, at least to me, that it's coming from a position of sadness and grief. This could result in a ghost, but I don't think it would be the kind of violent ghost that his ghost was, and it doesn't make sense for his ghost to be violent toward Claire, who helped him in life. The only way his actions as a ghost could make sense would be if 1. Madeline forced him into suicide (but again, it was clear when he was checking in that he had come to the inn to die) and 2. Suicide automatically = violent spirit. Possible, but the movie did not set this up, so it doesn't really work, considering what we see of the old man in life.
In addition to all that... If Madeline is such a violent ghost, one would think that the inn would have a much more thorough story of people dying there, considering. It seems like shit only hits the fan after Claire starts poking around in the basement. But she would hardly be the only one to go into the basement, I mean, the inn must have repair people in for furnace issues occasionally and so on, so...? Well, who knows.
[/end redaction]
Someone pointed out that Madeline (and the old man) aren't actually violent. They're just 1. fucking scary, and 2. appear out of nowhere, which 3. is terrifying. They don't actually seem to cause any harm or attempt to cause harm. They just appear - which, in fact, Claire had asked Madeline to do - which is terrifying. And which, in the end, triggers the asthma attack that kills Claire.
:|a
All good points. And I probably should have realized that.
So, essentially, it's the kind of film that makes the most sense when you know what's going to happen. I wonder how well it would go through on a second watch? Better than the first time, perhaps?
Still not a very good film, though. Hm.
...Anyway. It's not the worst horror film that I've ever seen, but it wasn't a good one, either. And I will mention - if you can't handle horrible things happening to old people, I recommend against watching this movie. (I probably shouldn't have watched this movie. :c But I didn't know that one sub-plot would be in it, so....)
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.
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Date: 2016-03-05 04:13 pm (UTC)I like putting them into soup :)
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Date: 2016-03-05 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-05 04:47 pm (UTC)