I’m sure most lifelong horror fans know what I’m talkin’ about when I mention ‘the chase’ – A shared mission we’re all continuously carrying out in which we attempt to recapture those deeply unsettling feelings we experienced upon our first introductions to the genre. For me, it was The Exorcist (1973). I was five years old, and having already consumed the likes of Arachnophobia (1990) and Ghostbusters (1984), I wanted to take things to the next level. I begged my mom to let me watch it so incessantly that she finally caved. I truly believed I was ready for it. Yeah… I was wrong.

I recall not being able to close my eyes without seeing Regan’s gnarled face emerging out of the darkness. For those not into horror, this is the kind of shit that would keep ’em away forever – Not me, I was hooked. Adrenaline is one hell of a drug, man! What I hadn’t realized then, as the little horror loving tater tot that I was, was that one day I’d grow old and develop what I like to call ‘horror fatigue’. Now, I’m not tired of the genre, not even close… It just seldom feels like it used to. Shit is seriously like drugs. You hear junkies all the time talking about how they’re always chasing that initial high… Same shit, different pile.

All of this being said, I’ll be honest – I was born in the mid ’90s, and I love a lot of that early 2000s horror that some of my senior horror fans give me shit for. I dug the hell out of The Grudge (2004), so much so that I’d legit keep that shit playing on loop for literal hours. It scared the hell out of me, and I loved every single minute of it. Attempting to tap into that nostalgia, and praying this could be the one to bring back those old feelings of bone-chilling fright, I went and saw The Grudge (2020) reboot/sequel/whatever a couple of nights ago. I ignore reviews, y’all know this… But eh, this time they were right. I wasn’t necessarily surprised, but my horror blue balls were very real and aching.

Y’all know how folks have a habit of saying that your true love finds you, not the other way around? I’m gonna apply that cheeseball theory here, too. Last night I was just perusing the virtual movie aisles of my various streaming services when I happened upon The Innkeepers (2011). I am way into hotel horror given that I’ve worked in one for the past seven years, plus I had heard mostly good things about it. Peeped the Rotten Tomatoes score – 42% from critics. Okay, now I gotta see this for myself.

I’ll skip my usual spiel about my grievances with most critics, but I’ll say y’all complaining about this one are dead ass wrong. Sure, the story may be a little basic – I mean, who hasn’t seen a horror flick about a haunted hotel before? We’ve all seen The Shining (1980), I get it. But man, oh man, does this baby build up the suspense. I’ve seen a few folks complain about how little stuff actually happens within its runtime, and they couldn’t be further off the mark. Y’all, the atmosphere here is thick as hell. Just because you’re not getting pummelled with cheap jump scares every two minutes doesn’t mean nothing is happening, otherwise I wouldn’t have been hiding behind a goddamn throw pillow the entire time I was watching this shit. I became accustomed to the subtle spookiness, and it allowed me to put my guard down. Yeah, I had a lot of fun with that come the third act… Heart attack city. I mean, come on!

I don’t think casual horror fans realize how difficult it is to tap into moody horror. I’d take this over any Paranormal Activity cash grab any day. This felt like a throwback to traditional (and terrifying) ghost stories like The Changeling (1980) and The Sentinel (1977). I am no wimp, but this had me stressing so bad at times that I actually considered turning it off. Hello, my old childlike fright! I missed the hell outta you!

Another factor working in this film’s favor were the leads. Both Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) were extremely authentic and likeable, I truly felt emerged in the story as if I had actually been present. Being a part of a motion picture is especially fun when shit begins hitting the fan, hence my desire to stress slam my TV right off. Even the way it was filmed, all the odd angles… Oof. Yeah.

In summation, this is one of the best horror films I’ve seen in a long ass time and I’m really looking forward to stressing out my pals with it. For those of y’all that complain about the pacing, allow me to introduce you to something called ‘delayed gratification’ – It is where you put off an immediate reward (in this case, a cheap scare) in exchange for a later, greater reward (an extremely haunting pay-off that your whole body has unsuccessfully been attempting to prepare for in the last hour and a half).