An adaptation of an Algernon Blackwood tale by writer-director Kier-La Janisse, presented in the annual short film presentations entitled "The Haunted Season", The Occupant Of The Room is a seasonally-tinged horror that, despite everyone involved, I reluctantly have to admit to really disliking.
Don McKellar plays a man, Minturn, who turns up at a remote hotel to find that his assumed reservation is not in place. And the hotel is fully booked. Well, there IS one room, but the occupant could return at any moment. A woman has gone trekking through the snowy surroundings, and it is assumed that tragedy has struck. If Minturn doesn't mind the circumstances, or the fact that the occupant could return (disturbing him, and requiring him to vacate the room at short notice), then maybe he could be accommodated.
I like what Janisse is aiming to do with "The Haunted Season", but it already looks as if she hasn't quite managed to stay in line with her own mission statement. Each episode/tale is supposed to be the kind of ghost story enjoyed at Christmas, a tradition that goes back many years. The most famous example of these would have to be A Ghost Story For Christmas, the fine BBC series that ran for a number of years, and has currently enjoyed a bit of a resurgence under the stewardship of Mark Gatiss. There are many others I would recommend, mainly in literary form, from classics written by the likes of Dickens and M. R. James to the wonderful, if slight, A Christmas Ghost Story, written by Kim Newman. I would even recommend the tale we had last year in this series, To Fire You Come At Last. Not this one though. It somehow lacks the required spooky atmosphere, focused instead on diving fully into the mindset of a main character who spends most of the time more confused than unnerved.
McKellar isn't bad in the main role, certainly trying hard to carry most of this short on his shoulders (as we spend most of the time with him alone in his room, of course). It's an internal performance though, given absolutely no help from his surroundings. Yes, there's a hotel room, and I understand not having money for outdoor shooting, but a few shots of snow-crusted windows and maybe some stock footage would have helped immensely. Ben Petrie and Delphine Roussel are okay in their small roles, despite both being required to act stilted and awkward in a way that also works against the potential spookiness. Janisse may have thought that this would help the atmosphere, but I would disagree. Although never physically onscreen, a voice performance from Maxine Peake is a welcome highlight.
I really like the work that Janisse has done when it comes to her writing, her curating, and her documentary work. And I am sure that she is happy with how this has turned out. It just didn't work for me. I like my Christmas ghost stories to feel much spookier and chillier than this, although part of my problem with it may be down to the source material from Blackwood (who is far from my favourite of the celebrated writers in this genre).
3/10
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