Paxton does a great job of making this character fully-formed enough to act as an avatar for a generation of uncertain cynics that constitute much of the intended audience. She has moments of cleverness, moments of intelligence, and an abundance of awkwardness. It is important that we like her, because most of the events take place from her vantage.
She’s clumsy and uncertain of her place in the world, but one gets the impression that she has the potential to grow out of these traits. She is socially awkward, but such is the case for many of us in the “Internet Generation”. Sara Paxton does a fine job of combining youthful naiveté with earnest charm to create a realistic and likeable protagonist that we actually care about. They both have affable female protagonists that are charming in their earnestness, but slightly naive about the workings of the world. The House of the Devil and The Innkeepers are great companion pieces and they both mostly understand the basic elements that make a horror film work. This departure from modern horror’s tendency to cast vapid cesspools of silicone and anti-charm in the female lead shows an understanding that it is more important to sympathize with your protagonist than sexualize them if you want to achieve any measure of accessibility for the “thoughtful” viewer. The Innkeepers is the second film that I have watched from West, and I found it to be as satiating for my occasional escapism cravings as the first film from him that caught my attention, The House of the Devil. Ti West is one of the few currently working “genre auteurs” that has been able to sustain my interest enough to actively seek out his work. Cast: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis
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