Hotel (2004)

Hotel (2004). 1h 16m

“HOTEL is about a young girl who is hired as a receptionist in an isolated, apparently inaccessible hotel in the Austrian Alps. Her co- workers are not responsive to her arrival, and to make matters worse, the girl she replaced was said to have disappeared. This description reminded me of the only film to truly scared me, Stanley Kubricku0026#39;s The Shining. Second time director Jessica Hausner however, is no Kubrick.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe characters in this film are very one dimensional. Even the main character Irene, who finds herself in some situations that might scare a normal person, does not react at all. As a direct result, neither does the audience. The environment was also very bland. You would think the director would scout a location with some atmosphere for a psychodrama, but instead weu0026#39;re shown a very boring well kept hotel. This film is shot without any style whatsoever. The director must have thought a few of the scenes were terrifying (walking down a hallway, or looking into the woods), as she showed them over and over again. The conclusion was uninspired and predictable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNote to amateur filmmakers everywhere … If I canu0026#39;t put myself in the place of one of the films characters, and the situation isnu0026#39;t unusual or intense, and the environment does not seem unwelcoming, THERE IS NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF. Your psychodrama will not work. Geez, I thought that would be obvious. (3/10)”