Is there anything more annoying than an uptight/ignorant hotel receptionist?
When a man arrives during a stormy night at a fairly seedy-looking hotel, he is told by said receptionist there aren’t any rooms despite keys in most slots for pretty much the entire hotel.
After some financial incentive, he caves and gives the visitor the key to room 217; but low and behold the key doesn’t work.
Things start to get very strange when the man goes back downstairs, only to discover he is also at the reception having his earlier conversation with the receptionist; is this some kind of vortex or time loop conundrum?
The most immediate takeaway from Room 217 is just how beautifully shot it is, with every frame carefully figured out. You can feel the griminess of the hotel and the storm that is intensifying outside.
This is a haunting and understated tale which uses atmosphere and tension over shock value and cheap scares and feels all the better for it.
Bloody Flicks 