‘The Occupant Of The Room’ Review – A Ghost Story Lacking Chills Or Fright

The elements are there. A sweeping snowy landscape, a creepy old hotel, and a score that conjures images of last year’s gothic horror delight, Nosferatu. Yet, despite all the necessary components for a chilling ghost story, The Occupant of the Room from The Haunted Season anthology series is unlikely to elicit any gasps, and perhaps more boos, and not the type one might associate with a ghost story.

There’ll be scary ghost stories…as the song goes, and from the start, that is the direction we’re heading, at least until we’re not. We begin with Minturn (Don McKellar), a school teacher, who arrives at a hotel in the snowy Alps. Arriving late in the evening and without a reservation, he accepts a room belonging to a missing hotel guest. As he settles in for the night, strange occurrences begin to occur, leaving Minturn with a sense of melancholy and foreboding dread.

There exists an initial creepy factor at the start of the film. The hotel is icy and desolate. The porter (Ben Petrie) and chambermaid (Natalia Terry) act peculiarly. The presence of a Christmas tree amid the shadows and growing mystery heightens the tension. It is the arrival of the proprietress (Delphine Roussel) who shows Minturn to the room. This ratchets up the creepy factor to an eleven. For the first five to ten minutes (the film is only 30 minutes), there is an allure of mystery. Characters speak in riddles, and the atmosphere is ghostly, literally and figuratively.

Sadly, once Minturn reaches his room and falls prey to things that go bump in the night, the mystery is gone, and the story devolves. Now, to his credit, McKellar can elicit a captivating performance, even with a bare-bones script and rampant predictability. The story hinges on the missing occupant of the room that Minturn now finds himself in. What might have been a compelling premise resorts to theatrics, over-the-top flashes, and choppy cinematography; all that is missing is a pyrotechnic show.

Ultimately, the reveal of the mystery is a dud. We never know much about these characters beyond surface-level explanations. On the one hand, they are merely chess pieces in this too-clever-by-half ghost story. At the same time, a lack of characterization in a weak-kneed story leads to an all-around disappointing tale.

We are told information rather than experiencing it. Minturn describes a sense of melancholy, particularly as the missing woman’s belongings surround him. However, aside from some artistic liberties with the cinematography, there is never a sense of dread or an expression of genuine fear. Events occur in the form of box-checking, leading to a story that becomes increasingly predictable and less frightening.

Now, the apparent rebuff to this critique is the runtime. It is a short, clocking in at thirty minutes, including a commercial. A fair point, but it does not hold water. Genuine suspense can arise in the briefest of runtimes. The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt as just two of many examples. The Occupant of the Room has a lot working for it—a strong actor, a creepy atmosphere, and a clever mystery hook. The problem is that there is a waste on all fronts. Much of it feels like exaggerated community theater, without any zip or cleverness.

It is a shame, as Kier-La Janisse directs the film and has wonderful eyes and flair. What derails this film is that it is an adaptation of the short story of the same name. A case of what works on the page may not necessarily translate to the screen. The Occupant of the Room boasts promise, but squanders it at the pivotal moment: when the character enters the hotel room.

The Occupant of the Room is currently available to stream on Shudder as a part of The Haunted Season anthology series.