The Diplomat Hotel (2013)

It’s Disappointingly Good Enough

Like always, keep your expectations low so if you don’t get what you expected, you’re still surprised. What I’m saying is, I kind of had high expectations for this movie since I remember seeing little snippets of it as a child and thinking, “Damn, they went through some shit.” Of course, this isn’t to say that the movie is bad or that it was majorly disappointing.

It’s good enough. I see some of the complaints with the film, criticising it for the plot and how they just “wasted their budget on it”. They complain that it wasn’t scary and it was nonsensical. I, however, have a different opinion. I don’t mind that the movie wasn’t scary. It has little to no jump scares. The only thing that might scare you is the little “trick of the eye” moments or the admittedly unnerving setting of the film. There are “ghosts”, sure, if we can call them that but I would argue that the supernatural element of the film is more psychological. Of course, there are certain points that contradict this opinion of mine but I think this because the film already begs the question of, “Is the place really haunted or is it haunted because the people say it is?” and kind of portrays how fear, paranoia, and anxiety play into the supernatural realm.

The one aspect I can confidently give praise to is the acting. The actors did well in this film. I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t expect anything less of Gretchen Barretto.

In the end, the film is fine. Was I disappointed? A little, yes. But it’s good enough to find it interesting. The production and the acting save it from total dislike.

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