Gone at Midnight; The Hitchcock Hotel

 

I watched the Netflix documentary about the Cecil Hotel in downtown L.A. and the tragic death of Elisa Lam. She was reported missing and her body was found days later in one of the water towers on the roof after residents reported the water being discolored and tasting funny. I shudder to think how awful that must have been, for everyone involved. 

The footage released of Elisa in the elevator on the 14th floor is very disturbing and I had a hard time watching it, but I don't know why. I can't articulate it. Anderson suggests that the footage was slowed down to allow it to be edited: a chunk is missing. If you run the footage at a higher speed, it's not as strange or disturbing. I didn't try it myself, but it makes sense. 

He tried really hard to make the case that there's more to it than just poor Elisa being off her medication and having some sort of manic episode and ending up in the tank. I'll admit there are some oddities in the case (whether or not the hatch was closed is just one of many: the first employee on the scene who searched the roof said it was, but apparently he's disappeared and hasn't been heard from since). I just don't know if I'm willing to make that leap that he did. No matter what happened, it's a terrible, heartbreaking event. 

I really enjoyed "The Hitchcock Hotel". Alfred opened up a hotel near his old college with a Hitchcock theme. He's invited his five best friends from college for a free weekend, where he plans to get his revenge. As we (eventually) discover, Alfred was running an essay writing business and was found out and expelled. Of course there's more to it than that, but that was the basic premise. 

When Alfred is killed halfway through, that throws a wrench in it. There was a great twist at the end.