West takes a similar approach to The Innkeepers, although the structure is a little more in-line with a classic horror movie. We meet Claire and Luke and we're introduced to the idea that they are in a practically empty hotel...one which has a supernatural past. We learn that Luke is an amateur ghost-hunter and that Claire has an interest in his hobby as well. The revelation that Leanne is a medium (who has a special crystal in her possession) introduces another level of supernatural to the story.

And then...in true Ti West fashion, not much happens. It's almost as if he expects us to do the work for him. He presents us with a creepy atmosphere and ideas and then we, being astute filmgoers, begin scanning the background for something, anything. We are waiting for a ghost to walk by or an object to move and we wait and wait. By my count, only five supernatural things happen in the entire movie. That may seem like a lot to some, but when spaced out over 100 minutes, that leaves a lot of dead time. (No pun intended.) This could be compensated by other scenes, but the characters here are uninteresting and in Luke's case, annoying.

The truly disappointing thing about The Innkeepers is the potential here. West does know a thing or two about building suspense and the empty hotel is a perfect place for something scary to happen. But, the lack of scares, combined with the unappealing characters makes for a movie seemingly goes nowhere. As if adding insult to injury, West delivers a decidedly depressing ending which doesn't gel at all with the rest of the film. The downer ending of The House of the Devil didn't rescue the movie, but it felt right and deliver a sinister exclamation point. But, where The House of the Devil felt very staged, The Innkeepers has a more organic feel which leads nowhere. I applaud West for sticking to his guns, but his slow movies aren't worth the effort. He clearly has the talent to create a creepy movie, now he just needs to go for the scare.

The Innkeepers makes you cherish the fact that you room has towels on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Dark Sky Films. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 17 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing no overt grain and only very, very minor defects from the source material. (I noticed a white speck here and there.) The colors look very good, although they are never bright, and while the film has a slightly dark look, the image is never overly dark. The level of detail is good, as we can make out textures on objects, and the image is never soft. The depth is good, as the image never looks flat. The Disc contains a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 3.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The film opens with a title card recommending that we play the movie loud (as opposed to loudly), and this does help to add oomph to the sudden sounds in what is otherwise a very quite film at times. The stereo and surround effects play an important role in conveying movement off-screen and they sound fine here. Unlike most modern horror films, there isn't an overuse of subwoofer effects during scare scenes.

The Innkeepers Blu-ray Disc contains a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY with Writer/Director/Editor Ti West, Producers Peter Phok & Larry Fessenden, and 2nd Unit Director/Sound Designer Graham Reznick. This is followed by a second COMMENTARY with West and actors Sara Paxton and Pat Healy. "The Innkeepers: Behind the Scenes" (7 minutes) contains spoilers, so definitely don't watch it first. This has comments from the cast and crew, and is made up totally of on-set footage. As the actors and filmmakers lived in the hotel where they were shooting, we see how they spent their time during production and between shots. There is some discussion about the real hotel, but no real details on how the staff has stayed there while making The House of the Devil. The extras are rounded out by a TRAILER for the film.