The Innkeepers

Ti West has officially joined the ranks of directors to watch, as far as I'm concerned! Wests previous film, The House of the Devil is currently available on DVD and I urge any horror fan to check it out! The cover for The House of the Devil caught my eye long ago - it's a terrific 70's style image, evocative of the(horror) films of that time. The film itself didn't disappoint - and consequently led me to his imdb page! I've since seen his Cabin Fever sequel(loses it's way towards the end, but hugely entertaining none the less) and was hotly anticipating The Innkeepers.
The Innkeepers stars Sara Paxton(as Claire) and Pat Healy(as Luke) - two employees of The Yankee Pedlar Inn. The Inn is on the verge of closure and Claire and Luke have been left in charge for it's last weekend of business.
An opening credit sequence shows the Pedlar Inn through the ages(it is in fact a real hotel). The Inn is supposedly haunted and this historical sequence gives credence to the spiritual visitations of Madeline O'Malley - a woman who was supposedly murdered at the hotel many years ago. The affiliation with anything supernatural has obviously rubbed off on Claire and Luke, as they spend much of their time at the Inn trying to find evidence to legitimise this particular ghost story.
Save for his Cabin Fever sequel, West has forgone the use of gore in his movies in favour of old-fashioned scares. West builds tension by putting relatable characters in jeopardy - leaving his audience sunken in their chairs and clinging to the armrests, come the third act.
Claire and Luke are two such characters - bored, horny(Luke) and disillusioned with their place in the world. Both Paxton and Healy play their parts to perfection. For a start they're playing characters the same age as themselves. Paxton is pretty, but neither actor is there for their looks alone. There are some knowing exchanges between the two leads, but never a forth-dimensional wink to the audience, a la Scream or I know what you did last summer.
West lulls us into a false sense of security by having us engage with his leads and their jovial antics - before slapping us across the proverbial face, as proceedings take on a more sinister tone. It's a tried and tested technic, but West is bringing it back - both The Innkeepers and The House of the Devil are stunning examples of this!
There is some fine support from the Inns limited clientèle also - notably Kelly McGillis, as a washed up actress with an interest in energies and healing. 
Congratulations must finally go to West again, for producing another great horror film, which is as entertaining as it is agonising to watch - exceeding audience expectation rather than pandering to it - 4/5!