Hotel Dunsmuir

I am not much into horror, but have seen so many psychological thrillers. This one tops the list. The acting was superb. Jet Jandreau and Jose Rosete did tremendously well at the start of the film setting up the plot line throughout the entire movie. There were some elements I never expected. Much of the movie was shot in Siskiyou County, California, where I am from. This has become a great place to film movies, like Climb An Angry Mountain from 1970 and Baby Blue Marine in 1976. I look for more great movies to come from Jet Jandreau and others as Hollywood may now be in the shadow of Mount Shasta!

All of the actors in this film deserve a HUGE pat on the back in making it real suspenseful! Tell your friends about it!

First off, there's some great scenery on display in this movie. Scenery I haven't seen in another film before. The actors are pretty darn good too, given that it's a small indie. You can feel the budgetary constraints in the post-production, and there's some pacing issues. But all that aside I think it's a rather well made little supernatural movie. I would be inclined to recommend it as a October spooky watch, for those that enjoy low budget outings with their own character. Jet Jandreau and Amber Gaston are good as two young ladies fleeing some angry men. Does it all come together at the end? Not really, but I still enjoyed the ride.

This is not my genre, but found this title when recalling the motel I stayed in DUNSMUIR, CA in 2019. Startled to find this. Dunsmuir is a nice underrated town well above Sacramento. It's not remote as it appears, but just off the I-5 freeway. Great location choice.

Anyway, the story is a complete mess with holes. Yet I feel it's worth recommending. This is atmosphere horror, not very 'slashy'. A road picture, with ghosts and David Lynch ORBS in tow. Thinking about it, this could fall into the "Manos: The Hands of Fate" universe mixed with a "Twin Peaks: The 2017 Return" episode, yet not too derivative.

What stood out was the fantastic cinematography on such a low budget. The director and DP are from contemporary A-list title visual FX crews, and this must be their pet project. For once I could not tell if it was film stock or digital. Great depth and compositions. It was leagues ahead of many A-list shot movies, which have all gotten dark & flat looking to me. I'm an 80s kid who won't let film stock go. If this was digital, I'm blown away.

The lead actress is quite good, and the supporting cast has their moments. Everyone involved seems enthusiastic about what they are doing. Some of the sound editing choices are weak, in addition to handfuls of other flaws, but was never taken out of this film. Accomplishment is a missed opportunity at greatness. Go in expecting a mood piece, not a horror classic. Video cover art makes it look like disposable streaming content, but it's way better than that.

Look up the crazy history of the actual hotel. It's one of many underground architectural anomalies of the distant past that aren't talked about enough. These submerged structures are everywhere. Honestly they could have done more with the underground setting like Joran Peele's "US" had attempted.

While they clearly made this on a shoestring, there is some nice work on display here. The photography is often rich. The sets and backdrops are nice. The actors do a good job overall. There is a quirky factor which I liked. It's not all heavy and brooding. At times the film is playful. There are a few jumps which were nicely done. It created a mood, and felt like a throwback. There was a time I remember when horror movies were slower and not "that" intense. I'm fine with a slower paced spooky movie, in fact I prefer it to so many loud jumps. This scratched that itch.

I'd recommend Hotel Dunsmuir to someone looking for a slow spooky indie. For those that prefer modern studio horror, this might not be appealing. Definitely for fans of indies that are rough around the edges.

What a great line. And one worthy of a entire movie just in itself.

But the line is part of a larger whole. This is an interesting one. Much like Psycho, the story starts out as one thing, then part way through the movie, becomes something very different. Toward the end, almost something different again.

But like all great horrors this one starts out creepy and never lets up.

In the closing scenes several plot lines intersect and not all of them land, but overall I thought this was a really interesting mash up.

Well worth viewing. I'll be interested to see what this writer/director does next.