Ti West is a talented filmmaker. His satanic 1970s throwback The House of the Devil was a great little modest piece of horror movie-making. Unfortunately, he doesn't conjure the same success with the Innkeepers. Much like House of the Devil, West goes for a slow burn here and casts a good lead, Sara Paxton this time around as the asthmatic slacker/ghosthunter Claire, working in a supposedly-haunted hotel with fellow slacker Luke. The problem is that this time, the film is all build and by the time the payoff comes in, it's far too late into the movie. The first two and a half acts feel like a Kevin Smith-inspired comedy, with quirky characters and everyday conversation. Even here there are problems with unneeded characters such as a woman and her child and moments where the comedy and suspense don't mix. Once the film decides to get to the payoff in the sudden build toward the climax, the shift in genre is jarring and unfortunately not in a way that would throw you into a sense of unease that might enhance the scares. The acting is decent from all involved and the individual sections of the film are good on their own, but they just don't add up to much once put together.