In Film Movement’s recent 4K restoration of 2004’s Hotel, prolific Austrian director Jessica Hausner dabbles in folk horror and the terrors of the liminal over a decade before the likes of The Witch or Skinamarink. Like if Daphne du Marier’s Rebecca took place in the Overlook Hotel while the Blair Witch lives in the backyard as a tourist attraction, Hotel displays an awareness of genre tropes while staying true to Hausner’s penchant for keeping an audience engaged and demanding they draw their conclusions. Any film collection prioritizing the work of women directors would do well to add Hotel to its ranks, though this difficult film would appeal more to a niche audience that appreciates arthouse horror.
When the demure, young Irene (Franziska Weisz) begins work as a live-in night porter at the Hotel Waldhaus in the Austrian Alps, she grows intrigued with the local folklore of the “Lady of the Woods,” a witch who lives in Devil’s Cave just outside the hotel’s premises. No one knows what happened to the previous young woman working Irene’s job, Eva, but her name seems to haunt the premises, like that of the first Mrs. de Winter. (There’s also a Shining-esque group photo featuring Eva – her plain features nearly match Irene’s, save their contrasting hair colors.)
Irene, wielding a cross necklace she deems her “lucky charm” and the red-rimmed glasses Eva left behind, grows uncomfortable with the controlling and cold nature of the hotel staff. As her co-workers’ standoffishness escalates to bullying and petty theft, Irene feels torn between the dangerous unknown and the insufferable known. What awaits her beyond the hotel?
The lore of the Lady of the Woods tells of a medicine woman, who cured colds and rheumatism in the late 1500s, before being burnt at the stake for practicing witchcraft. Centuries later, hikers went missing close to her rumored home, Devil’s Cave. This fear of women and their autonomy reverberates in the rules at the Hotel Waldhaus. Irene and her fellow female porters are not allowed to date, though Irene eventually breaks that rule after meeting a charming, aspiring graphic designer at a club in the woods.
The staff also hesitates to provide Irene with a key to the hotel pool, only acquiescing once she agrees to strictly use it after hours. This distrust of women clashes with the hotel capitalizing on the story of the supposed witch lurking in their woods – they even provide guests with brochures about her and decorate one of the hallways with a glass display case dedicated to the woman.
Aside from faltering muzak in the hotel elevator and some ambient noise, Hotel lacks a soundtrack, letting the audience sit in the same silence as Irene. We feel her loneliness and boredom. (Until it moves past boredom and into dread, of course.)
In contrast to the limited soundtrack, Hausner’s playful and purposeful use of color once again shines through - the prevalent use of green in the film’s color grading and set design makes the red, hotel uniform vest/pencil skirt combo pop, as well as the lush velvet curtain behind the concierge desk. The greenery in the forest compliments the red of Eva’s lost glasses, and the club's flashing lights alternate between this green and red. Even as Irene explores the darkest corners of the Hotel Waldhaus, her uniform compliments the hotel’s walls before they both fade to black.
Hotel’s lack of character building keeps the audience at an emotional distance, instead relying on its atmosphere to convey a sense of dread within its unsettling world of witches outside and bullies inside. Despite Hotel’s short runtime, the film’s tension risks flatlining for an uninvested audience. But Hausner’s imagery and the questions it poses linger long after Hotel ends. While the film’s conclusion might feel unsatisfying, the powerful mood and mystery of Hotel Waldhaus carry the film beyond its literal plot and into something more irrational and unnerving. In the film’s final act, a housekeeper warns Irene to “leave the hotel,” but will Irene ever escape?
What kind of film series would Hotel fit in?
Hotel could make for an unexpected entry in a “Don’t Go in the Woods” horror series, one that explores this popular trope within the genre. Hotel could also play in a retrospective of Jessica Hausner’s work leading up to her most recent and accessible films, Club Zero and Little Joe.
What kind of film collection would Hotel be suitable for?
Hotel would be suitable for film collections that prioritize women in film, international films, and horror films, namely of the arthouse variety.
What academic subjects would Hotel be suitable for?
Hotel would be suitable viewing for classes on folklore and modern mythology. Hotel would also work well in film classes focused on the power and purpose of color onscreen.