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Overall Rating : 7.5/10
Directed By : Nimród Antal
Luke Wilson (Old School)
Kate Beckinsale (Underworld : Evolution)
Frank Whaley (Cherry Crush)
Ethan Embry (They)
Supplied By : Sony Pictures
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : August. 1, 2007
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| PLOT A married couple on the brink of divorce is forced to stay at a roadside motel when their car breaks down. Inside their room, the couple finds a stack of snuff films which were filmed in the very room they’re staying in. They quickly discover that their room is rigged with cameras, and if they don’t escape, they’ll end up the next victims on tape. |
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| THE REVIEW David and Amy Fox used to be the happiest of couples, that is until their toddler son died in a horrible accident. On the verge of divorce the couple are driving home after the anniversary party of Amy's parents - in which they had to pretend to get along the whole time. While driving, David almost hits a raccoon in the middle of the road, causing him to slam on his brakes and lose control. After the fact, the car is still running, but their has been significant damage done to it. Despite being told by a roadside mechanic that it would hold up until they arrived to their destination, the car soon would brake down. With no options left, the naive couple decide to stay at a seed motel nearby that is maintained by a strange guy named Mason. They are soon checked into a room that Mason calls the "Honeymoon Suite" and everything seems fine except for a little hesitation to sleep without clothes, due to the filthy nature of their surroundings - that is until, someone or something proceeds to beat at their door and the door next to, only to disappear the next minute. David then goes and asks Mason for assistance, but he seems to not want to help, explaining that he and his wife Amy are the only customers he's had for the night. David returns to the room to find that the disturbance has seemed to cease, he eventually decides to wind down a little by watching some Television. When he see's the television is not in working order he pops in a VHS tape that is nearby, and discovers that the tapes have footage of violent and brutal murders on them - committed by a group of mysterious men. The more and more David watches the screen, the more he is intrigued by these snuff films...until he and Amy notice one thing, these particular snuff films were actually recorded in the very room in which they have rented! Soon the mysterious masked men are out to make another film, a film that stars the two of them - David and Amy must find a way out before it's to late. When VACANCY's trailer begin airing on TV for it's theatrical run, I assumed with I always do with these recent Thriller films that all coming out - I assumed it would be another one of those boring "Hollywood-ized" Thrillers, made simply to cash in on a few bucks. And with films like PREMONITION and THE NUMBER 23 coming out, in which they were hyped really big, and yet were only half as impressive as their trailers were(At least THE NUMBER 23 was the better of the 2 mentioned), who could really blame me? So before I watched the DVD today, I had only one thankful thought in my mind, which was, "Well, at least it's not a remake", but even with that thought, I didn't expect it to be that great. But let me admit something, I was wrong about VACANCY, very wrong! I can't believe it either, but I have to say that VACANCY is a great movie for a number of reasons. First the set up; the setting of the Motel is a great one, it's in a isolated area that is more or less a ghost town - and one fear that basically everyone shares at some point is that staying in an unfamiliar place overnight can be a scary thing. To add to this fear, the film adds a haunting plot, in which our couple finds out that the Motel Manage is organizing activities in which he and a group of conspirators actually tape themselves beating and killing the customers that happen to stay in the room, that happens to be that "unfamiliar place" they are staying in overnight. so the fear of unfamiliarity and death are essentially combined here, and to bring this all together the film also has a great villain in the form of Mason. Mason is a bit "out there" and is definitely a strange character that is real twitchy, the great thing about the character is that his actions are unpredictable. Besides the suspense, the film has a passionate under-core, as it comes in the form of David and Amy's marriage. After their son accidentally falls to his death down a flight of stairs Amy blamed herself, and David himself, and the tension seemed to tear the marriage apart, but what they fo through here, mends the broken relationship, ultimately giving a reason for the audience to want to see the two survive and it works - it has the "root for factor" to keep people glued to it. VACANCY has the feeling of an old fashioned Thriller going, for it, Often films will be compared to Hitchcock films, as this one has, but most don't deserve that privilege, but VACANCY in my opinion, is one film that does. Although there are no fancy camera angles or tricks, the Motel's gloomy atmosphere presents something that cant help but remind viewers of Hitchcock's very own PSYCHO when they see it. I also liked the fact that the cast is very limited here, in reality there are only three featured characters in VACANCY, and like some of the great older thrillers, whom were often limited in budget, with a smaller cast, VACANCY was able to be more Story driven, rather than character....and that's what is good about it. The acting was actually above average. Initially when one would imagine Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson in a film together - you'd probably say "just how would that work out". Luke Wilson is one most known for comedic roles, while Beckinsale is now best known for her role in the UNDERWORLD films, but surprisingly the two have a believable chemistry Frank Whaley, offers a great performance as Mason the Motel Manager. I don't know but I found myself really liking this character. Mason is an oddball, whom has a dweeby geekish appearance with mannerisms such as a "tick" in his movements, the presence just come off good on screen. At times it may seem as if Whaley is over-acting in the whole process, but I think it gives sort of an essence of imperfection to Mason......he is a character that is definitely memorable. Overall, I thought VACANCY was an awesome film, and unlike a lot of the recent similar films that have been released recently that are seemingly missing something, this film is basically complete as far as what is needed; you have a great atmospheric setting, a fearful scenario, good plot, and characters whom are interesting. |
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| GORE
METER 2.5/10 Not very gory. Most of the gore is displayed within the Snuff films. There is a stabbing(that is basically off screen) and a scene in which a car runs over and suffocates someone. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 5.5/10 The score was pretty good, with many suspenseful backing tracks..... the main theme ironically resembles the theme used in PSYCHO is similarity. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Honestly before seeing VACANCY, I actually thought that I wouldn't like it much at all. But it turns out that VACANCY happens to be a great suspenseful story, and unlike many as of late, had very little gore at all, and relied on story. I highly recommend this to anyone whom wants to get away from all of today's "gore" films, and see a film that can be just as entertaining with the use of simplicity. This DVD will be released on August 14, 2007 |
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