I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Austrian screenwriter and director Jessica Hausner's second feature film which she wrote, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 57th Cannes International Film Festival in 2004, was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 29th Toronto International Film Festival in 2004 and is an Austrian-German co-production which was produced by Austrian director and producer Antonin Svoboda, producer Suzanne Marian, producer Philippe Bober and Austrian cinematographer and producer Martin Gschlacht. It tells the story about Irene, a young woman who arrives at a grand hotel in the Austrian Alps where she has been hired to work as a receptionist. Irene looks forward to getting started with her new job, but her perception of her position changes when she learns about the woman she has replaced who strangely disappeared. Irene tries to find out more about the woman by asking the other employees, but they ignore her and as time goes by she begins to wonder whether or not her life is in danger. Precisely and acutely directed by Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner, this brilliantly paced fictional tale which is narrated from the protagonist's point of view, draws a dense portrayal of a dutiful and sociable woman who begins to reconsider her line of work at a less crowded countryside hotel when she becomes aware of the enigmatic story about her predecessor. While notable for it's Gothic milieu depictions, sterling production design by production designer Katharina Wöpperman, cinematography by the director's frequent collaborator Martin Gschlacht, editing by Austrian film editor Karina Ressler and significant use of sound, this subtle and modestly romanticizing psychological thriller contains some fine use of music. This cryptic, profoundly mysterious and character-driven horror story where a remote hotel functions a one of the central characters, is impelled and reinforced by it's minimalistic and rigorously structured style of filmmaking, lurking tension, cogent narrative structure, esoteric characters, the efficiently understated acting performance by Austrian actress Franziska Weisz as the female protagonist and a good supporting acting performances by Austrian actress Birgit Minichmayr. A dark, nuanced and poignantly atmospheric mystery.

Boring Austrian hotel requires boring receptionist to replace previous receptionist (probably also boring) who has disappeared, or been disappeared, into surrounding dark spooky forest; possibly gobbled up in the cave. By our Lady of the Woods. As boredom material.Actually, I might have assumed too much there – imagined too much drama, or too much haunty horror. Which is no doubt what the director would like me to do: see all the strange goings on she's – deliberately – not been showing. And also reading into the narrative all the story she's not been developing, or even really providing. The new receptionist Irene never says very much; and the other characters don't say much to her either. Is something "funny" going to happen to her? Hopefully yes – otherwise watching this film will have felt like a waste of time.Come the end something funny does happen to her. But it still felt like a waste of time. There's been too much concealed as opposed to revealed or released dramatic tension. The direction far too mutedly mannered. Far too withheld.

I saw this "movie" on a movie festival yesterday. The story sounded moderately interesting, so I entered the cinema hall with the feeling the movie will be somewhere around the average level.Now I'm re-reading the previous review and still can't believe the author founded this movie great... Different people, different points of view, I would say.I'll tell you what happened at the cinema.10 or 15 minutes after the beginning, maybe 3 or 4 people already had left the hall, grumbling for what crap they gave their money! Most of the rest (including me) were gazing at the screen, refusing to believe a movie released at 2005 could be so incomparably stupid! When the agony finally finished, this movie, out of a sudden, made most of the people roar with laugher! I would really suggest it for all the people suffering from some sort of depression or inferiority complex;) You feel really dumb? Believe me, yours is nothing... :) I personally found this movie unbelievably boring, with boring storyline (well, I would say no storyline at all), boring characters that are just moving around and do nothing, and totally boring dialogue. After 30 minutes of watching you will just want to get out and stop that pain... However, the average score of the movie shows that it has its audience, and this audience loves it (I can't believe that, but it's a fact). Look, I'm European too, and hearing (and saying) every day how stupid are Hollywood movies these days, expect from an European movie (awarded!) to not be one of the top 3 worst movies ever in my personal list!

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 Kubrick's The Shining. Second time director Jessica Hausner however, is no Kubrick.The 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 we'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.Note to amateur filmmakers everywhere ... If I can't put myself in the place of one of the films characters, and the situation isn'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)