By JOHN W. BOWEN
Starring Don McKellar, Ben Petrie and Delphine Roussel
Directed by Kier-La Janisse
Written by Kier-La Janisse from a story by Algernon Blackwood
Severin Films/Shudder
Documentarian, author, publisher and occasional RUE MORGUE contributor Kier-La Janisse‘s directorial debut in narrative drama, “THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM,” is the second annual instalment of SHUDDER’s THE HAUNTED SEASON, inspired by the BBC’s original A Ghost Story For Christmas. Janisse shows tremendous affinity for that beloved British holiday TV tradition, and that’s a good thing because they were very cool, subtle, atmosphere-driven little flicks.
Based on a 1909 Algernon Blackwood story, “THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM” concerns a weary traveller (Don McKellar) who arrives at a small country inn in the Swiss Alps during a snowstorm several nights before Christmas in 1933. He’s informed that the place is booked solid. However, he’s given the option to stay in a room rented to – but no longer occupied by – a woman who went out into the wintry wilds several days earlier, never returned and is now feared dead. Our protagonist reluctantly agrees and spends a wild night plagued by malfunctioning amenities, ominous noises, “an infection of melancholy,” and eventually, terrifying dreams that may not be dreams at all.
While the aforementioned BBC Ghost Story vibe rings loud and clear, make no mistake, this is no mere nostalgia trip. Janisse and her collaborators seem perfectly at home in this century-old material, seamlessly blending live action in subtly desaturated colour with trippy black-and-white animated sequences, bolstered by a fantastically evocative, string-driven score from Anju Singh. Its 30-minute run time (basically a longish short film) is ideal for the content, which would have dragged fatally if stretched even close to feature length. Overall, “THE OCCUPANT OF THE ROOM” is a perfectly creepy little diversion for a blustery winter’s night.
