Shuteye Hotel (2007)
*** (out of 4)
Animated homage to film noir has a couple detectives showing up at the Shuteye Hotel where an unknown killer has been knocking off those staying there. Before the night is over they will find out the truth behind the killings. This here is certainly a different type of short for the director as it doesn't feature any laughs and instead goes for atmosphere and mood. The animation here is more of a reddish-brown and I thought this worked perfectly for the subject matter. Film noir was usually the black and white but the different style it's given here works very well and makes for the most interesting thing in the film. The actual story really didn't knock me over as I had somewhat of a hard time following what exactly they were trying to do. I got the spoof aspect but I'm still not overly certain about the story trying to be told. I think fans of film noir or horror will enjoy this more than just your typical animation fans.
